Flourishing SMEs in the kampung

JUST as I was about to go to bed last Sunday night, I got a phone call at 1.30am, saying that about 200 supporters of one political party were ready to jump ship and if I was interested in the story.

Source from (The Star Online): http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/4/26/business/13025498&sec=business
Published: April 26, 2013


Favourite hangout: The coastline in Sekinchan – a favourite place for the villagers to hang out.

They seek to take their businesses to greater heights post-GE

Being the troopers that we were, we (me and my colleague Foon Fong) were on the road headed to the scene virtually in minutes. Fortunately, two boys in the lobby of the hotel we were staying in were willing to take us there, about 3km off Sekinchan town. Once off the main road, we were on a slip road travelling through an oil palm plantation. It was pitch dark other than the beams from our headlights and the motorbike ahead of us.

That was Sungai Leman, and the change of banners at the Bilik Gerakan was just about to take place, with 20 people at the scene rather than the 200 mentioned earlier.

The following night, a nearby Bilik Gerakan was doused with a petrol bomb. Fortunately, no one was hurt and no major damage was recorded.

And that was as much excitement as we could get on our 13th general election (GE) campaign trail.

Sekinchan is a little town in the middle of the main rice bowl of Selangor, in the Sabak Bernam (SB) district. It is one of the major rice-producing areas in the country, and the total farming land paddy and fruits is about 1,740ha.

It is also a popular fishing village, and over the weekends, the main restaurants are packed with people from out of Sekinchan, especially those from Klang, Tanjung Karang, Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur.

All kinds of seafood are available, and fresh to boot. The fishermen leave for the sea in the dead of the night and are back after 10-16 hours with all kinds of catches. Their fishing trawlers are worth anything from RM250,000 to RM1mil and there is apparently only one man in Sekinchan who hand-makes the trawlers now. And much depends on the sea tide, which plays an important role in their catch.

Moving on, SB is a 35-minute drive from Sekinchan, one-way.

Along the main road, there are several stalls selling dodol, mentarang (although they are not in season, sign boards are everywhere), a variety of cendol like cendol pulut, cendol durian and cendol bakar, and even karipap, monster-sized.

In SB, towns like Sungai Air Tawar have miles and miles of banana and coconut plantations, and hence, cendol stalls are aplenty, because the key ingredient of this popular dessert is coconut. Keropok and kerepek pisang are also aplenty on sale here.

Coconut and banana trees are planted almost everywhere in Sekinchan and SB, but a lot of the land for coconut trees has also been converted to oil palm estates.

Surprisingly, there is a famous cookie enterprise off the beaten track in Sungai Air Tawar, which is about 20km from the main Sekinchan/SB road. Finding the place was a long drive along kampung roads but well worth it, as Hashimah's cookies are even sold in Mydin stores.

For someone living in remote Sungai Air Tawar, she has done well. During festive seasons, her orders are worth RM1.5mil. Her sister, Habshah, is also into the same business a km away, and there are a few kerepek pisang makers and a new entrepreneur who makes popiah rolls as well. Hashimah's trade secret is “do not compromise on quality and keep clean, and the orders will just roll in”.

Just outside Sekinchan, there is a natta de coco maker, a young Malay man who quit his job at the UEM group to venture into the business.

All these businesses give rise to jobs in the kampung. Some of them are fishermen and some of them are growers, but the common thread that binds them is their instinct to survive, and thrive. Out of this group, there are many who have become millionaires, who still move in the kampung folk circles.

And amidst the election fever, where the humble kampung road is heavily decorated with flags, posters, buntings and other election paraphernalia, these folk are busy going about their daily chores. But the one thing that they would want to know is: How can they take their business to greater heights post-GE?

Deputy news editor B.K. Sidhu says she has had enough of seafood after three days.