State polls: Business booms for Penang traders, coffeshops as campaigning ramps up

BUKIT MERTAJAM: A sudden wave of political campaigners here took coffee shop owner Lee Kong Hock and his workers by surprise recently.

In a mad rush, the 60-year-old said they had to make over 100 drinks for party volunteers and voters when Pakatan Harapan candidate for Padang Lalang Daniel Gooi Zi Sen stopped by.

“That is almost half the number of drinks I sell on a normal day!” he said.

Lee said Gooi and his team was at his shop for a tea break and many passers-by walked in to speak with the candidate.

“It was a small but happy bonus for my workers and me,” said Lee, who opened the coffee shop in Taman Sri Rambai six years ago.

With the hot weather brought about by the South-West monsoon, drink sellers like Lee are enjoying brisk sales as political campaigners stop to rehydrate themselves.

Many food sellers and retailers throughout the country are seeing better business ever since the campaign period started.

Hawker Nor Asimah Ahmad, 37, who runs a stall Near Gooi’s election operations centre, has been contracted to provide 15 meals of rice and local Malay dishes every day for two weeks.

“This is a real bonus as the contract increases the number of meals I sell a day by more than half,” she said.

On Penang island, Chew Jetty Cafe operator Chan Eng Leong, 52, said he had been busy since nomination day.

His coffee shop is located in Weld Quay where the clan jetties are, and the area would only be bustling on weekends, mostly with tourists.

It also lies within Pengkalan Kota constituency – the smallest state in the country at only 1sq km – and party campaigners stop for food and drinks almost daily.

Chan said his 60-seat coffee chop is jam-packed on days when Pengkalan Kota candidate Wong Yuee Harng does his walkabouts.

Meanwhile, Jacky Lim, a customer at another coffee shop in Weld Quay drew a small but steady crowd – all because of his closely-cropped hair with the Pakatan Harapan logo shaved in.

The 48-year-old pasar malam trader said: “I’ve been a Pakatan Harapan supporter for a long time and two elections ago, I had my head shaved with a DAP logo.

“I’m a Paya Terubong voter but this morning, I came to Pengkalan Kota to express my support for Wong,” he said.