The Malaysian Insight

IN its heyday, the beach at Kampung Seberang Takir was filled with racks used to dry seafood under the hot sun, the traditional way, to be made into dried fish, dried anchovies and shrimp paste (belacan).

Demand for the fare is high and guarantees the livelihoods of 30 operators who drive the economy in the Kuala Terengganu village.

It also guarantees the survival of traditional fishermen in the village, but this is now under threat. Only two dried seafood businesses are left.

The once thriving cottage industry began a slow death in tandem with development around the village, which despite its rural setting, cannot escape the urban sprawl from Kuala Terengganu city, the state’s administrative capital.

Villager and dried seafood processor Alias Ismail said that lack of capital and development has led to operators closing shop, one by one.

There is no longer space to dry and process the seafood because most of the land in the village has been swallowed up by construction projects.

One such project was the Kuala Terengganu drawbridge across the river mouth, a new mosque and a new coastal road that links Seberang Takir and Kuala Nerus across the river to Kuala Terengganu urban centre.

The new road, about 10km from the drawbridge to Teluk Ketapang, separates villages from the beach where a breakwater is also being built.

The dried seafood industry also does not receive any help from the state government, said 56-year-old Alias.

“We have nowhere to dry the seafood. We need material to build drying racks but because of costs, we just use bamboo poles to make a simple structure.

“There is not as much space because the land has been taken to build new roads and a mosque, so we just dry it wherever there is empty space,” he said.

He said that the state government should help them, so that the traditional cottage industry does not die out.

“The government could be providing us with facilities, such a space to dry the seafood.

“Even if they can’t help 100%, 50% will do,” he said.

Alias said the lack of support was disappointing, as dried seafood is one of the state’s oldest cottage industries and is often promoted as a tourism product.

He also said the death of the industry would eventually spell the end for coastal fishermen.

“It’s sad to see that people don’t think this industry is important, but the impact is great.

“Each boat requires at least 15 workers. If our industry is not here, these fishermen will lose their jobs, which is why we don’t understand how the government could have overlooked us, since dry seafood is the oldest industry in Seberang Takir, compared to crackers (keropok) and batik.

“Even officers from the Fisheries Department do not know that there is a dry seafood industry in Seberang Takir when their office is less than 2km from the village,” Alias added.

Mohd Aimy Shahril, who makes belacan and dried anchovies, said he is worried that the traditional industry will die out because it is not able to attract young people.

Aimy, 20, said he is the only one who has continued the business he inherited from his father.

“I took over when I was 16-years-old. For the rest of the industry, there aren’t that many left in the business, only three, but one of them is already inactive. So, there’s only two left,” he said.

Aimy said young people do not want to do this kind of work because it is hard with no guarantee of huge profits.

“Our profit now is not a lot compared to the past. During my father’s time, you can make money if you are in the dried seafood industry, but now costs are higher as we need to pay the workers, while fish catch is also decreasing.

“Our daily cost to produce belacan and dried anchovies is RM1,500 and we can make RM2,500 (profit) from that. It’s just enough for us to live on, it’s not like before,” Aimy said.

He added that traditional entrepreneurs are also affected by large commercial businesses.

“This is why we need assistance from the state government. We are not only asking for monetary help, but we want a long term plan to ensure the longevity of this industry and to ensure that it does not die out,” he said. – May 12, 2021.