KUALA LUMPUR: Hairul Azhar Md Zakaria’s passion for traditional Malay musical instruments since primary school led him to making seruling (flutes) and now, he has his own flute brand.

       The 26-year-old technician, who started learning to play the flute online, has been making ‘Seruling Buana Suara’ for the past seven years.

       “Starting in 2012, I played the flute for fun and to kill time because there were no gadgets like what we have today. I learned from watching YouTube, and at that time, my knowledge was limited.

       “Because of that, I was never really good at playing it, but since I know the basics, I decided to focus on making flutes which have disappeared since 2016,” he told Bernama.Sharing his experience in learning how to make flutes, the youngest of six siblings said he travelled back and forth between Semenyih, Selangor and Kuala Pilah, Negri Sembilan to study for two years under a sifu (master) known as Arul Seruling who he got to know via Facebook.

       Hairul Azhar said making musical instruments requires a lot of patience.

       “You need to be passionate about it to produce quality flutes which are to the customer’s satisfaction.

       “Actually, it is quite a complex art, as among others, it requires quality ‘Temiang’ bamboo. The material is quite difficult to find and not readily available. I also source the material from a supplier who lives in Kuantan.

       “It starts with the process of cutting the bamboo according to the desired length and cleaning it. After that, soaking the bamboo in saltwater and drying it at room temperature until the bamboo turns a cream -brown colour,” he said.

       According to the Kota Tinggi, Johor native, he takes at least three to six months to produce a quality flute, including carving the holes and painting it.

       He said it has to be done very carefully as bamboo is a sensitive material and there must be no mistake in getting the position and diameter of the holes accurate to get the scale and notes right.

       “Since working in this field, I have taken orders online, mostly via Facebook and Instagram. Once the flute is completed according to the customer’s specification, I will deliver it by post,” he said, adding that his flutes have gone as far as Brunei, Singapore and Indonesia.

       “When the country was under the movement control order, the demand increased by up to 60% as many Malaysians wanted to learn to play the flute,” he said.

       Hairul Azhar said at that time, he managed to make about RM13,895 with his flutes selling for between RM70 and RM170 based on features specified by the customer.