BY GABRIEL LIHAN and ELEAZAR BARRICK PETER
KUCHING: Walking around Pesta Sematan 2023, you will notice a mango stall in the area which is hard to miss as it is the only one there.
‘Jus Abam Sayang’ stands out with its bright yellowish banner, and the beautiful mangoes displayed at the stall will entice you to try one.
Iskandar Dollah, 49, who has been running the business for nearly 10 years said the idea came when he visited Kuala Lumpur many years ago at a Ramadan Bazaar.
“When I went to KL, there were food trucks lined up and some at the time were selling mangoes.
“When I went back to Kuching I wanted to do the same, and I had to find out what worked for the local market and find a source who could supply mangoes,” he said.
According to Iskandar, he was the first to start the mango business, selling mango juices from fruit to juice.
Among the many challenges that Iskandar faces is that mangoes are seasonal and to sell them whole year-long can be a hurdle.
Iskandar told New Sarawak Tribune at the Pesta Sematan 2023 compound recently that he gets his mangoes from a supplier in Kuala Lumpur who orders the fruits from Thailand.
“However, currently, it’s not in season. So I am unable to get my mangoes from Kuala Lumpur.
“I currently get my mangoes from a local supplier in Kota Samarahan,” said Iskandar, a local from Kuching, pointing out that it is through festivals such as Pesta Sematan 2023, that his business flourishes.
When there aren’t many festivals, ‘Jus Abam Sayang’ can be seen in residential areas around the city.
He said for every festival, he would bring at least 140 kilos of mangoes with him, which according to him is about seven baskets of mangoes.
He explained that his mango juice is pure mango, and the sales of his mango juice would depend on the weather.
“If the weather is hot, then it would sell like hot cakes, however, if it rains then the sales won’t be that great,” he said.
Iskandar normally sells large and medium sized cups of the mango juice, however for Pesta Sematan 2023, he only sells one type of cup size and if there’s extra mango he would usually add extra toppings to the mango juice.
Pesta Sematan 2023 kicked off on Friday (August 11) and ends on Sunday (August 13).
Iskandar’s ‘Jus Abam Sayang’ will be at the festival for all three days.
