Penang Hawker Puts Up White Flag After Selling Off Washing Machine And Fans To Survive
"In tears, Ah Soon said, 'It's okay, I just want to go. It's not that I don't try, but every time I open a stall, it's MCO'," Bukit Mertajam member of Parliament Steven Sim tweeted.
By Jananey Ramachandran — 01 Jul 2021, 06:42 PM
Desperate due to the hardships of life and the burden of debts, a Penang hawker put up a white flag in his yard to ask for help
This caught Bukit Mertajam member of Parliament (MP) Steven Sim's attention on Tuesday, 29 June. He tweeted yesterday, 30 June, that he was informed of Ah Soon's plight via a Facebook message.
Not only did Ah Soon lose his salary, the debt has also increased. Ah Soon told Sim that his house rent, motorcycle, electricity, and water bills have not been paid for four to five months.
"Ah Soon also had to sell off his washing machine and fans to buy food," Sim said.
According to Sim, Ah Soon wants to do business again but is at a dead end due to the Movement Control Order (MCO)
"In tears, Ah Soon said, 'It's okay, I just want to go. It's not that I don't try, but every time I open a stall, it's MCO'," Sim tweeted.
However, the MP told Ah Soon not to give up. "Life goes up and down, hope remains," Sim said.
Sim then promised to pay for all of Ah Soon's rent debts as well as electricity and water bills.
He also helped the hawker open up and set up a new stall immediately and took the responsibility to pay the rent of the stall until the end of the year.
Most recently, Sim shared a photo of Ah Soon lowering his own white flag as his stall picks up business
Earlier today, 1 July, Sim tweeted details of Ah Soon's new stall.
According to Sim, Ah Soon sells all types of food, including duck rice, pork ribs rice, char hor fun, bee hoon, and many more. Sim also added that Ah Soon's stall is non-halal but hopes that Muslims can help spread the news to their non-Muslim friends to support Ah Soon's business.
The MP also promised to buy 50 packs every day this week from Ah Soon to distribute to the poor as an encouragement, to which Ah Soon said he will provide a discount as his contribution to the poor.
Ah Soon's stall is located next to the Caltex petrol station on Jalan Kulim in Taman Sentosa, Bukit Mertajam. It is front of Mee Ketam Haji Mohamad and a famous Chinese coconut drink stall. It is open daily from 11am to 7pm, except on Fridays.
