TAIPING: The misery of living in Lorong Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur almost 10 years ago has caused a woman not to look back and move forward for a better life.
Sharifah Nurul Shahida Syed Abdul Rahman(pix), 37, a former homeless person who used to wash dishes at restaurants, is now an icon of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) for expanding her ‘ikan pekasam’ (fermented fish) business overseas.
“I decided to migrate to Kuala Lumpur to get a more lucrative income for my family in Kamunting.
“However, luck was not on my side, for a year I was begging by the drain, I was heavily pregnant and together with my ex-husband, we were relying on public sympathy to get our daily food and drink.
“I worked in a restaurant and we were living from hand to mouth so I had to send my child to a foundation while I was working,“ she told Bernama when met at her processing plant which is about 90 minutes from the Jelapang Toll Plaza.
With the money earned from washing dishes, she returned to her hometown in Kamunting and decided to trade by the roadside selling ‘laksa’, ‘bihun sup’ and beverages.
“At the same time, once a week I would go to Plaza Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur by bus to stock up items such as bags, make-up and other things for sale in Taiping.
“It was during these trips that I met a ‘Sahabat AIM’ who worked as a toilet attendant at Kamunting Bus Station. I then joined this programme and it changed my life completely,” said Sharifah Nurul Shahida, who is fondly known as ‘Kak Sha’.
AIM was established to offer a closely supervised micro-credit financing scheme to the poor to undertake any economic activity based on their skills as an effort to increase family income and this was utilised by Sharifah Nurul Shahida to start her business.
According to her, the initial capital of RM2,000 from AIM was used to buy catering items and her business began to grow and her ‘ikan pekasam’ sales once reached up to two tonnes a month during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
Sharifah Nurul Shahida said the secret to her success is that she utilises social media such as Facebook and TikTok.
“I am not worried now because I have agents and stockists who are very dedicated all over the state, not forgetting my stockists who are abroad, namely in Australia and Singapore.
“Without my employees in this factory, I would not be able to run it alone. I have about eight employees here who are between 17 and 45 years old, I can divide my time for my other businesses, namely restaurants and catering,” she said.
Sharifah Nurul Shahida said she also studied the technique of making fermented fish which took her everywhere including Lenggong and Gerik and has now managed to produce nine types of fermented products including squid egg, meat and beef tripe which became the talk of the town because of their uniqueness.-Bernama