The Sudin family an enterprising lot
KUCHING: Kampung Siru Melayu villagers hope perimeter survey of the village could be carried out soon to enable them to have land titles.
With land titles in hand, villagers Mohd Zaki Sudin, 29, and his mother, Ana Saili, said they would feel more at ease.
“My parents bought the land in 1970 for RM250. We have been staying here for the last 30 years, but because we don’t have the land titles, we feel like we are squatting on the land,” laments Mohd Zaki.
Though staying at Kampung Siru Melayu, a Malay village about a two-hour drive from here, Zaki and his mother are an enterprising lot.
After attending courses organised by the Agriculture Department, Zaki, since two years ago, has been involved in ‘kelulut’ bee farming with three of his brothers, including his youngest sibling who is still in Form 5.
Presently, ‘ kelulut’ honey is popular and one kilogramme can fetch RM100.
“Our difficulty now is marketing our honey. We don’t have any outlet, and, therefore, have to sell it to either to the Agriculture Department, or to middlemen, where the price they offer is less,” said Zaki.
Apart from bee farming, the Sudin brothers have also been offering their service to anglers by taking them out for overnight fishing.
The Sudin brothers, usually two of them at a time, charge RM550 for an overnight trip to fish in the South China Sea in their own fishing boat.
Their mother is no less enterprising. She is one of the most sought- after shell craft masters in the country, and she had been invited to showcase her work at the national stage.
“I am number six among 14 siblings. I was not picked by my mother for school. Instead, I was told to do shell craft, and I have been doing it since young.
“I have been invited five times to showcase my work to various places, including in Kuala Lumpur,” Ana said, with quiet confidence.
She has been making seashell wind chimes, seashell hanging plant-holders and other seashell decorations since 1960. It is tedious work, but with the help of four villagers, her cottage factory can produce five big wind chimes or 10 small big wind chimes per day.
“These seashells can be found at the beach. They are still aplenty, but there were more before.”
Ana has made such a name for herself that for large orders, they had to be placed well in advance. The main orders are from here and Serikin. Recently, there was a booking for 500 wind chimes.
“No one really taught me how to make these seashell decorations. I created them myself.”