This is Mek Kechin Eh Toum, 44 years and a bumiputera Malaysian of Thai decent who speaks the local Chinese and Bahasa dialects fluently and could pass off as a Malay. She's been living in Kuala Terengganu for the past 21 years after marrying a Malaysian of Chinese origin from Kelantan. Together they have 5 kids, with ages ranging from 3 to 17. She runs a noodle and "halal chap-fan" shop in the heart of Kuala Terengganu. Every day she wakes up at 5am. to prepare food for the school going kids and starts operating the shop from 8am. to 5pm. The family lives in the RM200 a month rented, 2 bedrooms upstairs with a living room on the ground floor behind the shop.
Her customers are mainly the local Chinese and once in awhile a few Malays drop by. The sight of a Chinese altar in the shop does not encourage the local Malays to venture in. But she has no problem with the neighbours who know she serves no pork. The shop is bare save the necessary furniture and the wooden walls too are not rich trappings to attract the customers she needs to earn enough to have a comfortable live. Her husband works in a saw-mill in another part of town and brings home about a thousand a month.Together with her earnings of around RM 5oo a month she finds it hard to make ends meet.
Her wish is for more customers to patronise her shop and help from the government to ease her burden on school expenditure. Sure she received her RM300 of the "wang ehsan" but then how much can that stretch......when you have 5 growing kids in need of everything from milk to uniforms to food. She says there's never enough money !
Well, you might say, she's better off then most others, yes, but remember this is supposedly the second most richest state in the country. Why then isn't she comfortably rich ?
If aid came in the form of a business loan to up-grade her shop and fit it with better furnishing, then maybe the customers will come. And an altar in the premises should not be a reason to shun an eatery as compared to the more affluent neighbouring shops. Now that's sad. And as I heard her story and left after having a really tasty bowl of noodles and a glass of iced coffee, I was treated to this sight of 2 uniformed policemen astride their horses trotting lazily on the streets of Kuala Terengganu. Now suddenly that's a strange sight, the things that are happening here in Kuala Terengganu, with a by-election round the corner !
Goodnight and Godbless !
Her customers are mainly the local Chinese and once in awhile a few Malays drop by. The sight of a Chinese altar in the shop does not encourage the local Malays to venture in. But she has no problem with the neighbours who know she serves no pork. The shop is bare save the necessary furniture and the wooden walls too are not rich trappings to attract the customers she needs to earn enough to have a comfortable live. Her husband works in a saw-mill in another part of town and brings home about a thousand a month.Together with her earnings of around RM 5oo a month she finds it hard to make ends meet. 
Her wish is for more customers to patronise her shop and help from the government to ease her burden on school expenditure. Sure she received her RM300 of the "wang ehsan" but then how much can that stretch......when you have 5 growing kids in need of everything from milk to uniforms to food. She says there's never enough money !
Well, you might say, she's better off then most others, yes, but remember this is supposedly the second most richest state in the country. Why then isn't she comfortably rich ? 
If aid came in the form of a business loan to up-grade her shop and fit it with better furnishing, then maybe the customers will come. And an altar in the premises should not be a reason to shun an eatery as compared to the more affluent neighbouring shops. Now that's sad. And as I heard her story and left after having a really tasty bowl of noodles and a glass of iced coffee, I was treated to this sight of 2 uniformed policemen astride their horses trotting lazily on the streets of Kuala Terengganu. Now suddenly that's a strange sight, the things that are happening here in Kuala Terengganu, with a by-election round the corner !
Goodnight and Godbless !
3 comments:
Alter? You mean 'altar'?
They(police) can be anywhere they want. I suppose it was too heat up at KT that require more police than the high crime rate area. :D
I believed all over Malaysia there are a lot of people like her. Not surprising at all. With such a government, we cannot see a brighter future for them.
anon of 22;00,
thank you for pointing out the spelling error....now ammended.
cheers !
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