Fresh graduate jumps into aquaculture business

LABUAN: His family had high hopes for Melvin Teo, who recently graduated in civil engineering from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to become an engineer, but he chose to venture into aquaculture business and currently earns more than RM16,000 a month.

Although his clothes are always wet and stinky, the 27-year-old is more than comfortable to expand his father’s TLG Maju Enterprise anchovies business and even started a catfish ponds in Kampung Belukut near here.

Early in the morning, he and nine other workers began the grading process of the anchovies according to size to be packed. Next, he went to the catfish ponds to check his farmed fish.

Last December, he initiated the catfish pond with 3,500 fingerlings supplied by the Labuan Fisheries Department and started harvesting the first yield last February with an average income of between RM1,300 and RM1,500 a month, despite being marketed only within Labuan.

“For the time being, the catfish is supplied to three restaurants operated by entrepreneurs from Peninsular Malaysia, as catfish dishes are among the favourite dishes of the Peninsular people,” he said.

Meanwhile, Saiyidatul Syahirah Jasney who graduated in Hotel Management and Catering from Politeknik Kota Kinabalu also did not pursue a career in the field of hospitality but aspired to venture into food processing business.

“Upon graduation in 2012, my deep interest in business helped me to experiment producing my own chilli sambal recipe using anchovies, kekek fish and salted fish,” she said when met at her factory in Kampung Bebuloh Laut.

From an initial capital of RM50, she produced three types of sambals which received very good response beyond her expectations and since then she intensified the sambal production and expanded its marketing through the social media platform.

The Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) helps her by providing a processing machine, and after two years the company named Mezra Femes Enterprise has successfully penetrated the market of Peninsular Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore.

She is now comfortable with a monthly income of more than RM10,000 from her chilli side dishes, namely Sambal Lado Travel, Sambal Penyet Travel and Sambal Ikan Kekek while another product, Sambal Ikan Masin will be marketed soon. - Bernama