Eviction.....

Last evening as I was sitting and sipping my coffee at my favourite shoplot, I noticed that the Malay lady proprietor of the shoplot looked distressed though she tried to hide her facial express. This young, hardworking and honest living Malay lady together with her brother rented the shoplot to run her cafe business and I must say that they really did well. They worked hard, always smiling and joyful. Always greeting my colleagues with smiles and respect, I have begun to develop a good liking to this place when it was opened about 6 months ago. Though there weren't much cooking in that small cafe, the proprietor's mother would bring in the home-cooked Malay dishes and I tell you, those dishes are some of the best kampung dishes I have tasted. From soto ayam ( love the accompanying black chilli sauce ! ), assam pedas daging, sambal ikan to gulai ikan sembilang to vegetables and lemak nangka and so on, it was delightful to be able to sample these simples dishes. The other thing I like about this place is that the food is fairly priced. In todays' economic situation, cheaper and tasty food seemed to be a fantasy away but this places offered that small luxury to simple wage-earners like us. I guess, the lady proprietor, Ann had that idea and it was indeed a welcome fare for us and the simple folks out there. Business was so good that usually by 4.30pm when my colleagues and I stepped in to have our tea break, the kuih-muih would have been sold out and we had to content with just our drinks. We didn't mind as we were more for a place to freak out during tea time rather than the food.

I remembered one day very well when I stepped into the shop and I wasn't having much money in my pocket. It was middle of the month syndrome and I have had lots of outstation travels that week. I then picked out a sambal egg, vegetables and some assam pedas daging sauce and ordered a  tall glass of coffee. I was just back from an outstation trip, hungry and tired. I also remembered taking out the cash I had in my pocket - a fiver and I had calculated and I was hopeful that it was enough to pay for my meal. I guess, the  proprietor, Anne could have noted my physical gesture of calculation at that time. She then came over to my place and gave me a piece of fried chicken and at the end of the meal, she charged me an amount of RM 3.00 for my entire meal! I never forget that kindness that she had shown me. It wasn't a big deal for many but to me, that shows a lot of heart, man.

Anyway, coming back to the present situation, it seemed that she was served with an eviction notice yesterday afternoon. Her lease of the place was cancelled and she was told to move out by end of July. Poor lady was visibly upset but she tried not to show it to her customers but the red-teary eyes and worried look could not be hidden. Her brother who makes the drinks was also visibly upset with the Management as it was hardly a month's notice and there was not meeting with fellow shoplot owners before the issuance of the eviction notice. Sometimes, you often wonder if the "green-eyed monster" had caught up with some people in the establishment of the Management or probably the "invisible hands" of influence had once again plaqued the very fabric of society today. Here is a classic example of a very successful food shop which belted out food at affordable prices, tasty food and the place is clean and someone wants to close it? Something is definitely not right here and it is really distasteful to send an eviction note to a shop that was doing well. It just doesn't make sense nor add up, isn't it? It is really funny how an even dirtier shoplot at the end of the road could operate for years and obtained an "A" certificate for Kebersihan when rats as big as cats run riot at the back section and front section of the shop. Sometimes, you often wonder what is wrong with  the Management of the shoplots or the local authorities for that matter!

To me , my take of the issue is not that the Management is losing money on the rentals but I guess, like all good businesses - envy, jealousy and dirty competition tactics had crept into the fold. This is happening at every level of businesses we have today.  I guess, with "Simply Anne Cafe " doing good and brisk business - bringing in every layer of ethnicity of people into the shop with their various food attraction, some people in the same competitive food business could have developed the hernia of envy as business leaked from their shops and trickled into this shop. Well, that's the way it is in the business world today - they say, it's a jungle out there - be eaten up or fight a fruitless/futile fight against the rich/crooked.  I say, there is definitely  GOD and He KNOWS! I did not say much to Anne or her brother but deep in my heart, I know that something good will come out of this. In the meantime, I stand in support of this brother and sister team. Wouldn't you?