Baker and family the sole voters from Kg Masjid Lama
TANJUNG MALIM: A visit to Slim
River town will not be complete without going to Kilang Roti
Mokhtar.
Said to be one of the oldest traditional bakeries in town, it is run by 57-year-old Mokhtar Amat Mohamad Taqi and his wife Norhashimah Amir.
Mokhtar Amat said the bakery, located in Kampung Masjid Lama, was started by his uncle in 1949.
“My father took over the business a couple of years later before it was passed down to me in 1990.
“Together with my wife, we bake about 1,000 buns daily,” he told The Star.
“We can sell an average of 800 to 900 buns every day.
“During peak periods like weekends and school holidays, we can bake up to 1,500 buns,” Mokhtar
Amat said, adding that their children would occasionally help when they are around.
“We have seven children and the youngest is in secondary school.
“Two are studying in universities and they will help out during their semester breaks,” he said.
The bakery was closed during the first few weeks of the movement control order in March before reopening several weeks ago.
“One of our busiest times would be during Ramadan but this year was slightly different.
“Instead of having customers coming to us, we delivered bread to our customers within a 10km radius.
“We are operating at normal capacity now,” he said, adding that the bakery sold up to six different types of buns with assorted fillings and toppings like sesame, red bean and coconut gratings.
Mokhtar Amat said the bakery also had customers from overseas such as Brunei, the United Kingdom and Japan.
He added that his family was the only one staying at the village.
“There used to be a few more houses but they have been demolished a few years ago.
“So, my wife, two of our children and I are the only ones from the village who will be voting in the by-election,” he said.
“As someone who was born and bred in Slim, it is my hope to see better development here,” he said of the three-cornered fight between Barisan Nasional’s Mohd Zaidi Aziz and Independents Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi and Dr S. Santharasekaran on Aug 29.