A Tale Of Nasi Lemak And Ayam Penyet

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A good friend of mine, Din (not his real name) is a very smart entrepreneur. While being a speech coach and a speechwriter for some well-known personalities in the country, he also invests in fancy restaurants and vending machines.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, Din’s business took a hit. He was forced to temporarily cease operations of a few restaurants while cutting down others. Since the maintenance cost of his vending machine business increased by 15 percent, he discontinued it as well.
While figuring out his next plans, Din met his former staff member who asked if he would be interested in investing in his younger brother’s business. This guy wanted to open up a burger stall in Sungai Penchala and presented Din with an irresistible burger sample and a business model. Long story short, Din invested RM5,000.
Three months later, Din was presented with a weekly cash report, indicating good profit. The young guy then proposes a second burger stall in a different area, to be managed by a friend. Totally impressed, Din signs a contract with him, transforming the RM5,000 initial investment to a 10 percent profit share in the business.
As a people person, Din enjoys investing in people and watching them grow. Words about Din and the investments he makes on people spread fast - soon, he had people coming up to him with business ideas, hoping he would invest in them too. Din found himself investing in a bunch of low-scale, roadside stall businesses - burgers, doughnuts, kuih-muih, ayam goreng kunyit, nasi lemak, ayam penyet and many others.
Watching his business partners run their stalls has given Din great satisfaction, as he explains it to me, “Food is life, Fa. At this time when many people are experiencing financial constraints, these roadside stall owners are our saviours. With tomato rice and chicken rice priced at RM5 or lower, they enable many to afford a decent meal. Even if we purchase the wet ingredients at the market, we cannot possibly prepare home-cooked tomato rice or chicken rice for a family of three for RM15.”


According to Din, not everyone is appreciative of the roadside sellers. When I asked him to explain, Din took a deep breath before sharing the story of one of his business partners, a domestic violence victim who lives with her children including a special needs child. This woman whom Din fondly calls “kakak” (sister) owns a nasi lemak and ayam penyet stall.
Apparently, Din received a phone call from the kakak yesterday morning, informing him of an incident at the stall. She tells Din of how a stranger came to her area, dressed very neatly, and began inspecting the place. As the other stalls were closed and kakak was the only one operating at the time, he decided to pay her stall a visit.
“Akak berniaga apa (What are you selling)?” the man asked.
“Sekarang jual nasi lemak. Lepas tengahari jual ayam penyet pula (I sell nasi lemak until noon. After that it’s ayam penyet),” she explains.
The officer then congratulated the kakak because her stall has been selected to be featured for a story in the local newspaper and will be visited by a deputy minister that same afternoon.
“Jangan risau. Timbalan menteri akan datang dengan rombongan untuk meninjau keadaan rakyat. Media pun akan hadir sama jadi kedai makcik akan jadi terkenal (Don’t worry. The deputy minister will be visiting with his entourage to take note of the difficulties endured by the people. The media will be here too and they will take many photos of your stall to be featured on their daily),” the officer said.
“Apa saya perlu buat (What should I do)?” the kakak asked, still unsure of her role.
“Tak perlu buat apa, cuma pakai penutup muka dua lapis, sembunyikan peralatan masakan yang nampak mahal dan selerakkan sikit kedai. Dan juga tolong bungkus sedikit nasi lemak dan ayam penyet untuk rombongan (Nothing much, except wear double mask, keep away the stainless steel cookware and please mess up the stall, don’t make it look too neat. Also, please pack a few nasi lemak and ayam penyet for the entourage.”
“Bungkus apa? Berapa banyak? (What should I pack? And how many?)” the kakak asked.
“Ikut ikhlas (up to your sincerity),” the officer replied.
“Ikut ikhlas? Saya tak faham. Berapa encik nak beli ?(My sincerity? I don't understand. How much are you buying?)”she asked once again.
“Ala, bungkus la ikut ikhlas (Just pack some as gifts),” he repeated.
Finally, the kakak understood what the officer meant and decided that his presence was not good for her business.
“Encik boleh tolong pergi cari gerai lain tak? Saya ni tengah berniaga. Tolong jangan ganggu saya cari makan (Sir, can you look for some other stall? I am doing a business. Please do not disturb me working),” she blatantly said.
Din was so proud of kakak and the way she handled the blood sucking leech. According to him, it was nothing new, those leeches are real and would suck dry anyone they could find. He and his friends in the fancy restaurant business experienced it themselves.
“As a speech coach and a speechwriter, I worked with many of them. They learned about me and my business and naturally came to visit. I have had ministers visit my restaurants and my friends’ restaurants, dine in with their family, friends and entourages and leave without paying.
“It’s a well-known fact that when these big shots visit your restaurant, they expect you to be thankful, snap a few promotional photos with them and hang it up on the wall. They feel they are doing you a great favour just by dining there.”
Looking at my jaw drop during our video call, Din quickly added that not all of them are alike. Some do pay for their meals. And some would just pass a sum of cash - if it doesn’t cover the bill, one should just be thankful that they paid at all.
“How do you deal with this, Din? If it was me, I would have made a big fuss!” I said. Din laughed.
“Fa, when it happens in a proper establishment as in restaurants, the cost can still be covered. But imagine it happening to people like kakak who are already struggling in life especially during this pandemic, it is really hurtful.
“The roadside sellers have already got their hands full as it is, managing their stalls, their customers and observing the standard operating procedure (SOP) - they do not deserve to be taken advantage of. Instead, they should be assisted as they are doing the public a great help by providing food at affordable prices.”
I agree with Din. I have seen many stalls giving away free meals to those who cannot afford food. Struggling in their own way, these wonderful people are still finding ways to help those in need. Charity runs deep in their veins.
Sadly, most of those who are in positions to do charity and help the people are busy promoting themselves, fussing over white flags and hijacking charity efforts. They have no empathy for ordinary Malaysians like kakak.
At the end of the day, it will always be #rakyatjagarakyat. - Mkini

FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a director, a struggling producer, a photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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