Sate Kajang Hj Samuri founder dies
KAJANG: Founder of Sate Kajang Hj Samuri chain of restaurants, Datuk Samuri Juraimi, died at 12.05am yesterday from liver cancer. He was 73.
The self-made man began his business in 1992, and had become one of Malaysia’s most successful food entrepreneurs.
His daughter, Nor Ilyana, 37, said her father was diagnosed with stage four liver cancer earlier this year after he went for a medical examination following abdominal pains.
Samuri was discharged from hospital five days ago.
“He was resting at home when he breathed his last at 12.05am,” Nor Ilyana said.
Samuri was buried at the Kampung Sungai Ramal Dalam Muslim cemetery at 9am yesterday.
He is survived by his wife, Datin Jani Mohamad Amir, and five children, Norsham, Sofian, Nor Ilyana, Shafeq and Nurul Aqilah.
Jani is the granddaughter of Samuri’s satay mentor Tasmin Sakiban, the owner of a famous satay stall here at that time.
Netizens took to social media to express condolences over Samuri’s death.
Anthony George said: “Rest in peace. Thanks for your legacy satay
creation.”
Esmeraldo Soliano said: “Satay Kajang will never be the same again. The touch has gone.”
The story of Samuri’s rise to success is legendary. He learnt how to make satay when he was in secondary school. Tasmin, an immigrant from West Java, taught him how to marinate, skew and
grill satay meat in a unique way.
Every day after school, he would help Tasmin until he finished schooling in 1963.
Although he later joined Telekom Malaysia, Samuri still helped Tasmin, and left his job in 1987 to focus on the satay business.
When Tasmin died, his children asked Samuri to take over the business.
In 1992, Samuri opened his own satay business, naming it Sate Kajang Hj Samuri, at a cost of RM18,000.
Today, Sate Kajang Hj Samuri has become a household name. It has over 20 branches in Selangor and Negri Sembilan, and offers chicken, beef, tripe, liver and gizzard, fish, mutton and rabbit satay.