Sandakan’s famous ketupat street now barely making sales 

SANDAKAN – It is an annual tradition in Sandakan town during Hari Raya Aidilfitri to have some 30 temporary stalls set up right at the road divider of the busiest street, Jalan Pryer here, selling ketupat.  

Villagers, mostly women aged 40 and older would come all the way from islands nearby after purchasing coconut leaves in bulk, set up temporary roofs with canvases, and sit on the floor before they start weaving ketupat.

The tradition started decades ago. Now, the Sandakan Municipal Council has allowed them to set up their temporary stalls legally, charging them RM15 per day for about a week before Hari Raya.

Sadly, Rina Sahibil, 62, said that she only managed to sell about RM20 to RM30 a day, a huge difference from about five years ago when she would earn about RM250 a day. 

“I don’t know why. Maybe the economy is bad…people don’t have money to spend. 

“Back in the day (five years ago) people would line up to buy these ketupat. Now, people just don’t buy anymore,” she said.  

Ketupat is a traditional dish that utilises coconut leaves woven into a diamond-shaped pouch. 

Rice would be inserted into these pouches before being cooked, infusing the rice with the aroma of coconut. 

The ready-made or woven ketupat is sold in different sizes, RM2 for four pieces of larger ketupat, and about RM1.50 for five small ketupat.  

Rina said she started selling ketupat here every year since her daughter was nine years old, and now her daughter is already 34 years old.

“If it (the bad sales) is because of the economy, then I hope that the economy will improve.

“But I hope that it is not because the tradition is dying. I hope people will keep ketupat as a must-serve dish during Raya,” she said. 

Rina said despite her sales being discouraging this year, she enjoyed weaving ketupat at the same spot every year.  

However, with today being her last day at the stall this year, she said her income this year is only enough for her to buy food to break fast.  

Other sellers around the street also claimed to have minimal sales this year, while a few said the profit was sufficient for their families to have some extra money to be spent to celebrate Hari Raya. – The Vibes, April 21, 2023