SANDAKAN: Starting with just RM700 from his own pocket to breed soft-shell crabs in November 2013, a former lorry driver’s persistence eventually earned him huge success in the business and is now reaping RM7,500 a month.
Suhaili Abdurahman, 39, from Kampung Bambangan near here was confident of the venture’s potential and was determined to “stay the course”.
“After finishing my Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia, I tried to apply for work at a government department but was unsuccessful.
“But I like the sea and hoped to find a job which will bring me closer to the sea,” he said.
He said this when met by reporters during a visit by Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub to Suhaili’s soft-shell crab platform in his village yesterday.
A father of three, Suhaili got his inspiration to breed soft-shell crabs after seeing a friend farming crabs successfully and he also acquired knowledge from surfing the internet.
He was then convinced he could do it even though he was working as lorry driver then.
“After seven months, I could see progress in my business and I injected RM3,500 of my own money to expand my business to 25 cages.
“In 2015, I took the decision to stop working as a lorry driver and devoted my time to the business,” he said.
In 2017, Suhaili received sponsorship from the Fisheries Department via the Model Aquaculture Farmer Programme (PLAC) which provided a boat, engine, cage as well as a floating shed and course as well.
Now, he has 39 cages of soft-shell crabs as well as other marine produce such as mussels and fish like red snapper, spotted barb and grouper.
According to him, he sells between 200 to 500 kg of soft-shell crab a month to wholesalers and seafood restaurants around Sandakan. – Bernama
