Economic
News Service journalist Niam Seet Wei won a consolation prize under
the Best News Portal Report category at the Malaysian Press Night 2018 and
presentation of the 2017 Malaysian Press Institute (MPI)-Petronas Journalism
Awards in Kuala Lumpur last night. She earned RM1,000 and a certificate.
The
following article “Old bike shop Choo Ho Leong spurred by renewed interest in
cycling” released on Aug 29, 2017 was among three reports she submitted for the
competition.
Renewed
interest in cycling has witnessed a thriving business among bicycle shops in
the outskirt of the capital.
In
Rawang, a small town just to the northeast of Kuala Lumpur, about 10 bicycle
shops are capitalising on the dramatic rise of cycling and ride-sharing – a new
craze in the capital.
One
of the bicycle shops, which passed through generations unscathed, was the 77-year-old
Choo Ho Leong in Jalan Bandar Rawang 2 in Rawang, home to over 120,500 people.
Opened
in 1940, it built its reputation over the years through hard work, service and
quality products. It has gone through difficult times when the bicycling
business was regarded as a sunset industry in 1980s.
Its
present owner, Mah Swee Meng, 66, the oldest of 10 siblings, took over the shop
from his father, Mah Kim Soo who passed the baton to him after 23 years.
The
senior Mah set up the shop upon arrival to the then Malaya from China’s Fujian
Province during the second Sino-Japanese War between 1937 and 1945.
Now
it is a good time to be in the bicycling business, prompted by deep interest in
cycling, as well as the phenomenal growth of bike-sharing which has made its
way to the capital.
The
business is riding on the wave of cycling craze despite competition from big
retailers, supermarkets, hypermarkets and online platforms.
For
Swee Meng, he had to give up schooling when his father asked him to take over
the shop.
“I
had to drop out of school when I was in Form Three. In a traditional family,
the oldest son has to bear the responsibility of looking after the family.
“So,
my father stopped me from schooling and insisted that I inherited the
business,” said Swee Meng, who is aided by his son, Mah Chung Siang, 42, and
daughter-in-law in running the shop.
Reminiscing
the past, Swee Meng said bicycles were not expensive then, as most of their
parts and frames were locally made, while only a handful were imported from
Japan, Taiwan and India.
When
China began to open up its economy in 1978, he said local factories producing
bicycles and its spare parts and frames were eventually pushed out of business
due to rising costs as they could be imported from China at cheaper prices.
“Made-in-China
items were then 30 per cent to 40 per cent cheaper than the locally-made ones,
and now, more than 80 per cent of the items in my shop are sourced from China,”
he said, adding that bicycle designs from China were also quite modern.
Swee
Meng said of late, Malaysian cycling enthusiasts, especially young people were
motivated by quality, so they were willing to spend thousands of ringgit to buy
a bike of their choice, as well as safety equipment such as helmets, gloves,
and knee and elbow pads.
During
the booming period three years ago, he said the Choo Ho Leong bicycle shop
could sell more than 30 luxury bikes – an exceptional scenario in Rawang.
“I
had never imagined that demand for expensive bikes could be so overwhelming, as
the bicycle industry was once described as a sunset industry by a local Chinese
newspaper,” he said, adding that in 1980s sales dropped as people spent so much
money on cars and motorcycles.
“Now,
the bicycle industry has revitalised due to rising ridership as youths and
health conscious people are turning to cycling, while bike-sharing is gaining
popularity in the city,” he said.
On
the contrary, his son, Chung Siang expressed concern over the challenges
confronting them as higher demand meant stiffer competition, as they had to
face up to nearly 10 bicycle shops sprouting in the small town since the last
decade besides supermarkets and online platforms.
“However,
we bank on our service, repair and maintenance. We service and repair all kind
of bicycles, ranging from mountain bikes to regular bikes, electric bikes, old
bikes, and even wheelchairs,” he said.
Occasionally,
one or two customers would ask the Choo Ho Leong bicycle shop to restore their
vintage bikes from the British colonial era, he said, adding that, “The skills
in restoring old bikes made us irreplaceable, and we are likely the only one in
town that are able to do this.
”We
are thinking of selling our bikes online to widen our customer base, but the
price war and lack of understanding of the digital world made us take a step
back. The steep competition will slash profit margin. We are still studying
it,” he said.
--
Bernama
“Cuaca
tak mengizinkan minggu ini untuk kami berkebun,” kata Yang Dipertua Kebun
Bandar Bernama (KBB) Abas Othman.
Selain
sebagai senaman, aktiviti itu dapat merapatkan hubungan warga Bernama, mendidik mereka
kepentingan menanam pokok dan mencintai kehijauan alam dengan berkebun.
