Single mother of eight earns good income from selling murtabak
KUCHING: About four years ago, Zuriah Abdul Hamid, 39, lost her husband, Khamis Isnin, a retired soldier who died after suffering a stroke.
Even more disheartening, she was four months’ pregnant with their eighth child. Sharing her experience with Bernama, Zuriah said losing the sole breadwinner and being left with seven children to look after was very difficult for a housewife.
“At that time, the only way to survive was to sell murtabak, which my late husband and I used to sell only during the month of Ramadan or special events since 1998,” said Zuriah, who is from Kampung Gita Laut here.
She was also encouraged to run a business to generate an income for the family by the then Tupong assemblyman Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman. Not only that, the late Daud also ordered 1,000 pieces of her version of murtabak, called ‘murtabak boom’ (round- shaped omelette pancake filled with bits of vegetables and minced meat) in conjunction with the 2013 Aidilfitri open house at his residence.
“I gave birth to my eighth child on the first day of Aidilfitri, was discharged from the hospital on the second day and later went to the market to buy the ingredients to make murtabak,” she recalled.
Last year, she received equipment such as a stall, stove and others from the Sarawak Social Welfare Department under the Welfare Micro-Entrepreneurs programme.
“I have also attended courses organised by several government agencies such as the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute ( Mardi) and the Community Development Department ( Kemas),” she said.
Zuriah said that after just a year, the business boomed and she asked to leave the programme to make way for other entrepreneurs. — Bernama