KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s Ramadan bazaars have been roaring to life as traders and buyers alike welcomed the relaxed regulations on public movement as the nation transitions into the endemic phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Considered to be a staple tradition of the fasting month, the bazaars are where carefree attitudes are most evident, as stall owners lay out their offerings and call out to buyers looking for delicacies to indulge in.
Stall operators met by The Vibes said they were thankful for the opportunity to earn a living during trying times, though they lamented the rising prices of goods.
With a spread of self-cooked East Coast dishes laid out before her at her stall in the Kg Baru bazaar, Nik Norhidayah Mohd Nawi, 39, said the crowd this year was much better than the previous year when strict movement curbs were still in place.
But costlier raw materials such as eggs and poultry products may offset whatever profits that traders make this year, she said, with prices of key ingredients like salted eggs going up by a third to RM60 now.
“Costs of goods have increased but my profits haven’t gone up by much, despite more customers dropping by this year,” Nik Norhidayah said, adding that she won’t raise her prices as her customers are feeling the pinch too.
Muhammad Hanapi Ilyanus, 27, has a less pessimistic view of the situation. Despite suffering abysmal sales last year, he said he refused to give up on his “tau fu fah” business selling homemade soybean drinks and sweet bean curd desserts.
“That’s just how business works, you can’t expect to be making profits all the time,” he said, adding that he is thankful for the bigger crowds this year.
“There is still a crowd here, even when it’s raining. Bare roads were normal last year when I had a stall in the Wangsa Maju bazaar.
“You could call and call for customers to drop by, but you would just be wasting your energy,” he said.
Meanwhile, over in Bangsar, husband-and-wife duo Muhammad Yazid Saufi, 31, and Samsiah Saifuddin, 34 are in their third year of running a stall selling honey ayam percik and are grateful that people are once again flowing in to explore bazaar wares.
“Everyone knows that they have to be careful, but business is picking up since visitors are more carefree than they were last year.
“Ramadan bazaars were unable to operate at all two years ago, so we’re very thankful now that we can at least be here and do what we can to find a living,” Samsiah said, noting that her stall has recorded nearly twice the profits made last year.
In Kota Kinabalu, roti john seller Mohd Zariff Razlan was overjoyed when the government allowed restaurants and stalls to reopen at normal hours.
He said the pandemic forced him to close his restaurant that he ran for five years before the lockdowns.
Zariff is happy that he can go back to doing business, with the goal of opening a new restaurant.
“Maybe when I manage to have more savings, I will find a permanent shop to restart a new restaurant,” he said. – The Vibes, April 9, 2022
Additional reporting by Jason Santos
