This method makes use of a resist technique; applying areas of cloth with wax (a dye-resistant substance) to prevent them from absorbing colors when the cloth is dipped into dye.

Not only as a dye-resistant substance, the wax applied is also used to control colors from spreading out from a particular area to create motif when the dye is painted.

A method thought to be over a thousand years old, today, batik has taken on a much wider meaning. It can be referred to:

• cloth block printed with wax or
• cloth decorated with hand-drawn designs.
• cloth decorated with traditional batik designs without the use of the resist method

The use of batik has also extended from clothing to everything from home furnishings and table cloths to handicrafts.

We can also can find Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wearing batik shirt in most formal and informal functions.

His wife, the late YABhg Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood, had played a pivotal role in the resurgence of the traditional batik. The current Malaysia Batik - Crafted For The World campaign was initiated by her to put Malaysian batik on the world map of fashion.