Prawn auntie, 64, still going strong and not ready to retire yet
LANGKAWI: Scores of people await the return of ‘ Mak Cik Udang’ (literally: the prawn auntie) from sea at the jetty of Kampung Bagan Nyior, every day.
Kamariah Hassan, 64, is the only fisherwoman in Pulau Dayang Bunting, where the village is located.
She is known as Mak Cik Udang because her main catch is prawns.
One of her regular customers, Ahmad Fauzi Ibrahim, 42, even places ‘bookings’ before she goes out to sea.
“I come all the way from the big island ( Langkawi) just to buy her prawns because they are really fresh,” he said.
Regulars like Ahmad Fauzi keep Kamariah going even at her age.
Many would argue that it was better for her to spend her sunset years resting at home or engaging in less challenging activities, but Kamariah disagrees.
“I have been doing this since my adolescent years and I’m still going strong. Why stop now?” she questioned.
Kamariah’s day starts early, going down to sea at about 6am every day.
She gets into a small motorboat and heads towards the straits of Bagan Nyior, where there is a concentrated population of prawns.
It is only four to six hours later that she would return to shore.
After selling her catch to awaiting buyers, she would go home for lunch.
After a brief recess, the hardworking Kamariah would go back to sea for another few hours.
Her daily prawn catch is only about two kilogrammes, in addition to the odd ikan belanak (mullet), ikan duri ( forked tail marine catfish) and ikan sembilang (eeltail catfish).
“That is enough to earn me about RM30, for daily survival. I do get monthly aid (from the government) but we cannot be dependent on the sympathy of others.
“I have never gone to school. My father has been bringing me out to sea since I was young,” said Kamariah as she told this writer about how her family had moved from Langkawi to Pulau Dayang Bunting.
Kamariah, the second of four children, said none of her siblings went to school either.
Her older brother was also a fisherman.
She chooses to sell her catch directly to customers instead of going through a middleman.
Her customers come not only from the island but Langkawi and Pulau Tuba as well.
Kamariah goes to the sea every day, except during the monsoon season or when she is ill or has an invitation to fulfil.
In addition to fishing, she also farms for a living during the monsoon season.
The sea that she depends on for survival has also been the source of her heartbreak.
In 1971, she lost her husband, then 40, and son, then 11 to the sea.
“The boat they were in capsized during a storm and they were thrown into the sea.
“They found my son’s body by the beach a few days later, but they never found my husband’s body,” she recounted.
The tragedy left a deep ache in her soul but she held herself together for the sake of her daughters who were then 14, 13 and seven years old.
“However, both my eldest and second child died when they were 39 and 29 due to illness. Only the youngest survived, and she is today already married with children,” said Kamariah, who has also remarried.
She acknowledges that she was not as strong as she used to be but is not ready to retire.
“I used to be able to go farther into the sea, but nowadays I can only net the prawns and fish that are closer to shore. Sometimes I just go to the river,” she said.
Her recipe for good health even in the old age is to drink coconut water and a lot of plain water.
She also stays away from sugary drinks, except when it is served to her, so as not to offend the person offering.
Kamariah says she will keep going to the sea for as long as she has the strength to.
“I am still strong. When it is my time to die, I would die, no matter where I am or what I’m doing. Praise be to God for giving me good health.” — Bernama