<
strong>By Muhammad Basir Roslan
KUALA LANGAT (Bernama) -- After losing his job at a furniture factory, a place that gave him a steady income and invaluable carpentry experience for almost five years, MD Erwan Tini, 40, took the opportunity to reinvent himself.
No doubt he was devastated at first, but that did not dampen his spirits as he knew that it might be time for him to bounce back from the doldrums. For his own survival, he became a pasar malam trader and undertook food catering for wedding events until he succeeded in realising his dream.
In 2016, MD Erwan succeeded in setting up his own furniture workshop, Bengkel Anai-anai Craft, a joint venture with two other colleagues, Azhari bin Basiran and Saufi bin Maiswan.
Among the examples of furniture produced by Anai-anai Craft using high quality imported wood. Photo credit MD Erwan Tini.
Since then, business has been brisk with large orders from the local community around Kuala Langat and other places in Selangor, he said, noting that priority is given to quality in addition to durability and uniqueness of its furniture.
At present, Bengkel Anai-anak Craft operates from his family’s ancestral home at Lot 1625, Jalan Manggis, Batu 9, Kampung Sijangkang, Telok Panglima Garang, said MD Erwan, who was responsible for quality maintenance at the factory he was working at, told Bernama recently.
PRIORITY TO WOOD QUALITY
Anai-anai Craft receives many furniture orders from residents around Kuala Langat and nearby districts, with the workshop's income reaching around RM10,000 a month. Photo credit Muhammad Basir Roslan
“At our workshop, we do not use just any other wood as priority is given to resilience and durability of the furniture produced. We use imported wood pallets from Cold Continents such as South America and Europe. This wood is rather expensive and its quality is of world standard.
“Besides pinewood, we use local, high quality rubberwood coated with Formica that is imported from overseas,” he said.
Among the products at the Anai-anai Craft workshop with repeat orders from customers are file cabinets as well as full furniture set for hair salons, such as equipment cabinet, tables and payment counters.
Demand has also been encouraging for other products such as coffee table, kitchen cabinet, shelves, as well as living room chair and table sets.
Reflecting on the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Movement Control Order (MCO), he said, many furniture orders were stalled as wood imports were affected by the lockdowns imposed by most nations during the pandemic.
“Some customers cancelled their orders as they were unwilling to compromise on delivery delays of their furniture.
“During the pandemic, furniture orders were badly hit. Some furniture could not be produced due to the shortage of existing wood pallets while additional wood could not be dispatched by courier companies, forcing us to refund deposits of some customers.
“At that time, our business hit rock bottom....we only managed to produce whatever furniture that we could and sold at affordable prices to the local community,” he recalled.
WAKALAH ZAKAT GIVES RAY OF HOPE
Photo credit Muhammad Basir Roslan.
Bengkel Anai-anai Craft is among the small and medium enterprises (SMES) selected to receive assistance through the Wakalah Zakat initiative, spearheaded by telecommunication provider, edotco Malaysia Sdn Bhd in collaboration with non-governmental organisation (NGO), Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (ABIM).
Wakalah Zakat is a policy of zakat money refunds administered by zakat collection centres to eligible asnaf (hardcore poor) to help them in business by purchasing equipment for their operation.
According to MD Erwan, last April, he received several machines such as wood bench drilling machine, air compressor and multi-purpose wood polish with a total cost of RM2,410 during the first year of the programme’s launch in 2021.
“Prior to receiving the machines, the time spent to produce a piece of furniture took nearly two weeks using old existing machines. But now, we are able to get it done just three to four days.
“Our monthly income also showed positive results as more furniture could be produced within a short period of time, with many orders received. At present, our workshop can achieve monthly returns of about RM10,000,” he said, expressing gratitude for this achievement.
FISH BUSINESS THRIVES AFTER RECEIVING WAKALAH ZAKAT
A fish seller in Sijangkang, Saidi Omar said he took advantage of the aid of the Zakat Wakalah program in the form of a cooler as an additional space to store fish
and vegetables.
Another Wakalah Zakat beneficiary, Saidi Omar told Bernama his small-scale fish business thrived after receiving the assistance last April.
“Previously, my monthly income from the business was around RM500 a month, excluding losses incurred especially when some fishes in supply had gone bad.
“However, with the refrigerator that I received through the programme, I was able to stock up my fish and vegetable supply. Thanks to the zakat assistance, I have been able to earn RM900 for my business.
“I am very grateful for this as my life is so much better now. Before this, I was working as a lorry driver but had to stop work as I was suffering from a spinal cord condition,” he said, adding that he is assisted by his son, Syaiful Nazmi, 17, who is still studying.
As his movements were restricted by his condition, he managed to open a small stall opposite his house at Jalan Pisang, Kampung Sijangkang. Among the fish types sold are tenggiri, (mackerel), parang (wolf-herring) pari (stingray) kerisi (threadfin bream), pelaling (Indian mackerel) and cencaru (torpedo scad).
He also receives orders through Whatsapp messages from his customers with payments received upon delivery.
LONG-TERM BENEFITS
ABIM president Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz.
According to ABIM president Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz, the Wakalah Zakat programme was driven by the awareness to help the asnaf out of the crutches of poverty.
“We have been helping the asnaf by giving them food. But this form of assistance has not been able to solve their problems for the long term in terms of improving their livelihoods,” he said.
He said the programme is now implemented in three phases, namely screening, training and delivery.
The screening phase is conducted by collating data of asnaf who run their own small business, involving several states including Selangor and Perak, while the training phase requires selected participants to undergo online training on entrepreneurial ethics and financial management in business for two days.
“For the delivery phase, ABIM and edotco will hand over business equipment required by the participants to help their business to grow,” he said, hoping that recipients of the Wakalah Zakat will benefit from the initiative.
edotco Corporate Communication Head Noreen Sabrina Mohd Noor said, continuous assistance is needed to encourage more organisations to set up funds similar to the Wakalah Zakat programme to help SMES upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Noreen Sabrina Mohd Noor
Through its collaboration with ABIM for the second year, edotco contributed RM81,000 in zakat fund, with 28 SME owners in the Klang Valley receiving RM3,000 each.
“We want to help badly hit SME owners by providing them with equipment and machinery needed as well as providing them with business training.
“These SMEs usually need new, modern and high technology machinery given that there are still many small businesses that are still struggling to get back on their feet after the nation’s transition to endemic phase,” she added.
Translated by Salbiah Said
BERNAMA
