Deft hands

Her hands may be gnarled with age, but Mak Cik (Aunty) Ida can still stich pandanus leaves colourfully dyed in various rainbow hues to make this tudung luang, a traditional food cover that her Bajau community has been using for generations.
Now in her 60's, Mak Cik Ida carries on her craft without the aid of spectacles. Her reputation of making the finest tudung luang is so established that she is usually invited to demonstrate her skills at the various handicraft events around Kota Kinabalu during the Kaamatan or Harvest Festival in May.
But it is at her simple wooden house at Kampung Kuala Abai in Kota Belud district, about an hour's drive from Kota Kinabalu, where Mak Cik Ida quietly goes about stiching together what has become a distinctive Sabahan souvenir.