Selling roti canai amid floods

PASIR MAS: An eatery operator in Rantau Panjang, near here, decided to continue his business as usual even though it was inundated under 0.2 meters of water since early Saturday morning.

Mohd Fadli Mat Zain, 45, said that running an eatery during floods was the first experience for him and his wife as he had only set up his business here for about a month.

“Previously, I sell fruits in Tanah Merah but moved here (Rantau Panjang) to run an eatery even though the shop owner had informed me that the water would rise during monsoon season.

“This is my source of income, by selling ‘roti canai’ and other freshly cooked dishes,” he said when met at his shop here, Sunday.

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Mohd Fadli said by conducting his business as usual in a flood-hit area had benefited him as he was able to generate more revenue when many outsiders visited his eatery as they came to the area to see the flood situation.

“When I opened the stall at 7 am yesterday, the water from Sungai Golok, located about 200 metres from town, started to overflow into this area and an hour later, combined with heavy rain, water began to enter my shop by then.

“Despite floods, I am imposing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) in my shop to control the spread of Covid-19,” he said.

“The current water level still let me operate my business as usual, but I am taking precautions by keeping important items in high places.

He said if the heavy rains continued and caused the water level to rise further, he would close his shop to move for safety.

“Residents here are used to this kind of flooding every year,” he said, adding the flood situation also benefited him as he generated about RM200 up to RM300 sales daily compared to RM100 to RM200 on a normal day.

Meanwhile in TERENGGANU, a shop selling roti canai in Kampung Seberang Tayor, Kemaman has become the talk of the town after a video featuring several patrons enjoying the popular dish in knee-deep water went viral on Facebook, Saturday.

The owner of the shop, who is also the roti canai maker, Mohd Khairul Anuar Hamzah, 29, said he did not expect video on the incident to go viral with many people contacted him to get confirmation.

"On the night before the incident, I had prepared almost 10 kilograms of flour and planned to open the shop as usual.

“I did not expect when at 5 am, the water started to rise but has not yet reached knee level. I thought as the dough was ready, I continued to make and sell the roti canai. However, as the rain continued, the water started to enter the shop, with more customers joined the queue,” he said when contacted by Bernama here, Sunday.

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Mohd Khairul Anuar, who has been selling roti canai since 2018, said it was the first time such an incident had taken place and it would be a wonderful memory, especially when many residents who were also affected by the floods could eat at his shop.

“‘Alhamdulillah’ (praise be to Allah), the roti canai sold out within four hours after opening at 7 am. Many came including the village head and some even called to make reservations,” he said.

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