By Muhammad Basir Roslan
KUALA LUMPUR: Seventy-year-old Md Sabidi Abdullah has proven that illness and age are not obstacles to becoming a successful entrepreneur.
He has been running the Mi Masjid restaurant in Segambut with the help his two sons since 2010, all while dealing with the debilitating effects of Degenerative Lumber Prolapse, a condition he was diagnosed with in 1995.
The condition causes a headache every time he moves, but despite it, Md Sabidi carries on with his tasks in running the restaurant.
His story has become such an inspiration that the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) decided to select him as one of the Tokoh Usahawan (entrepreneurial figure) MAIWP award recipients at the Semarak Syawal MAIWP event recently.
The Mi Masjid restaurant, located next to the Firdaus Mosque here, features dishes made with noodles that Md Sabidi makes himself.
The raw noodles are also sold to buyers around Kuala Lumpur. It has become so popular that his sales ring in at around RM19,000 a month.
A noodle like no other
Md Sabidi said he uses a “special ingredient” to make his signature noodles.
“If we ask other noodle makers, they’d say the ingredients used to make noodles are more or less the same — wheat flour, water, salt and sugar. My recipe is the same except for the addition of soda ash.
“The soda ash makes the noodle last longer and helps it retain its shape and not break during the noodle-making process. I don’t use limestone paste because it is bad for our health in the long term. If you see the noodles turning red when the gravy is poured on it, that indicates the presence of limestone paste,” he explained.
He assured that the addition of the soda ash was safe because it had been sent for testing at several laboratories in Kelana Jaya and Bangi for food safety assurance.
His restaurant is open daily except for Sundays, when it is open from 4pm to 11pm. At the time this writer visited the restaurant, it had only just opened but was already packed with customers. From observation, it seems that the restaurant can accommodate around 40 customers at any given time.
A customer who wants to be known only as Bard, 35, said that his most favourite dish on the menu was the Mi Bandung Special. The dish features noodles in slightly sweet hot gravy with meatballs and melted cheese, sold for RM10 a bowl.
Bard, who works as a bus driver, said that he also kept returning to the Mi Masjid restaurant because of the respectful way Md Sabidi treats his customers, the excellent service provided by his staff and the cleanliness of the restaurant.
Reaching success
Md Sabidi said he started out the business on a small scale after being forced to retire from his job as a bank officer in 1995 due to a spine injury.
“I still remember the day when I fell while trying to exit the elevator, causing my spine to become severely injured.
“I had to quit working in 2002 because I often asked for medical leave. I first started selling my noodles around my neighbourhood in the bid to support my family as I have seven children who were still in school at the time,” he said.
He used his monthly pension of RM1,500 a month as the capital for his business and to buy a noodle processing machine, a kneading machine and a noodle boiler, which costs around RM5,000 in total.
Demands for his homemade noodles grew by the day, inspiring a desire to go a step further. He approached MAIWP for financial assistance to buy more equipment to expand his business.
“In 2017, I sought financial aid from MAIWP totalling RM15,500 to buy equipment like chairs and tables, a freezer and a chiller. It was because of their help that my business grew.
“As an entrepreneur, I feel grateful for MAIWP’s help which they extend to those in need, particularly for the asnaf. My advice is that when things get tough, don’t easily give up. There will be always those willing to lend a hand,” he said.
(An asnaf is a person qualified to receive the Muslim tithe.)
Md Sabidi’s dream is to become the main noodle supplier for the Malaysian haj pilgrims going to Makkah and Madinah.
The chairman of MAIWP Datuk Seri Syed Hussien Alhabshee when commenting on the MAIWP Baitulmal aid said that the initiative had a bigger objective than giving a one-off aid.
“In line with the philosophy of the tithe, the assistance we give to the asnaf is to help them free themselves from the shackles of poverty and so that they can one day become zakat-givers themselves,” he said.
He added that since 2018, MAIWP had successfully helped 10 entrepreneurs from among the asnaf, all of whom are now generating a monthly income of between RM4,000 to RM24,000 a month.
MAIWP is also looking at multiplying the number of recipients to 100 entrepreneurs by next year. – Bernama
