DAP Politician Sells Durian For A Living Now After He Stopped Serving As Johor Assemblyman
Cheo Yee How said his income has been affected after he stopped serving as a state assemblyperson, which reportedly comes with a RM9,000 monthly salary.
After he was replaced to contest in the Johor state election in March this year, DAP politician Cheo Yee How has resorted to selling the King of Fruits to make a living
Cheo, who is the DAP Pulai parliament liaison committee chairman, has been posting photos of himself selling the thorny fruits at a kopitiam in Johor Bahru, Johor.
According to Oriental Daily, his stall at Taman Bukit Indah has received enthusiastic support from local residents, who gave thumbs up and said the durians are delicious.
He told the Chinese daily that his income has been affected since he stopped serving the state assembly.
Since durians are in season, he and three of his friends joined hands to start selling the fruit.
Cheo was dropped from his party to contest in the Johor state election in March this year, reported Malaysiakini. The seat is currently held by his party member Liew Chin Tong.
According to a June 2021 Sinar Harian report, citing sources from local newspapers, Johor state assemblypersons makes RM9,000 a month in salary, while those in Sarawak receive the highest monthly salary of RM15,000 among all assemblypersons from other states.
"We mainly sell online. [On 19 June], I started a stall at Pearl Restaurant in Taman Bukit Indah and received a lot of responses from the public," Cheo said
The former state assemblyperson mans the stall at the kopitiam personally, and the move has caught many netizens' attention.
"Durians are supplied directly from the orchards, and currently, they mainly supply the Musang King variety," he said.
Cheo's posts about his new durian business have received up to 1,600 likes on Facebook. Hundreds of netizens expressed their support for his new business venture in the comments sections.
Speaking to SAYS, he confirmed that he is still an active member of DAP and has not quit politics yet
"Currently, (the party doesn't) have any decisions for public office (for me). I just focus on selling durian," he said when asked whether he would contest in the next election.
He told Oriental Daily that anyone who is interested in buying durians can visit his newly-created Facebook page called "豪野山菓 Fruity Direct" or they can find him on his official Facebook page Cheo Yee How 邹裕豪.