Army Retiree Makes Big Bucks From Tapioca

Army retiree Jamaluddin Singah is now an entrepreneur in his own right with a handsome income from tapioca. Pix: Melati Mohd Ariff

By Melati Mohd Ariff

SEPANG, Oct 19 (Bernama) -- Tapioca could be regarded as a "life saver" for the people when Malaya was under Japanese occupation during the Second World War.

Boiled tapioca was also a common diet especially for farmers after toiling in the rice fields or vegetable plots.

Despite its humble nature, this once a poor man's diet could change the lives of those who are smart enough to grasp opportunities and willing to sweat it out.

Army retiree Jamaluddin Singah, 60, from Kampung Bukit Bangkong, Sungai Pelek near here, about 100 km from Kuala Lumpur, for instance, is now an entrepreneur in his own right with a handsome income from tapioca.

On average, he earns about RM69,000 monthly from his tapioca chips and snack business which he started in 1987.

Jamaluddin's Perusahaan Sepang RJ had a modest start. He did not depend on bank loan either but his business venture continued to prosper.

With the help of the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA), his tapioca chips have gone places to Singapore, Brunei, Bahrain, China and Taiwan.



A NEED FOR A BETTER LIFE

Success was not achieved overnight. He earned it through years of hard work, out of his desire to provide a better and secured life for his wife and five growing children.

Jamaluddin, who hails from Rembau, Negeri Sembilan, was only 39 when he retired from the army after serving the mandatory 21 years for rank and file soldiers.

"After retirement, I thought of my wife and children. I had to look for a job to survive. It's different if you're single, you can quit anytime, nobody will shed tears," he told Bernama at his office here.

With a monthly pension of only RM300 that could hardly cover his expenses, Jamaluddin thought his future would be bleak if he was only leaving it to fate.

"It was while working as a security guard with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia at Jalan Semarak in Kuala Lumpur that I thought hard how I could earn an extra income.

"Zamri, my second child, even remarked that I am still working for a living and wearing uniform (as a security guard) after retiring from the army," said Jamaluddin.



SETTLING FOR TAPIOCA CHIPS

He started to dabble in business by selling carpets and crockery before settling for tapioca chips to earn extra income.

With RM50 as capital, he bought a frying pan and a grater to start his tapioca chips business.

What started as a small venture using a simple stove and firewood grew by leaps and bounds over the years. From one stove to 10 and from firewood to gas.

His hard work and perseverance did not pass unnoticed. Officers from the Agriculture Department eventually paid him a visit and offered their help.

"They came and offered me a deep fryer which was used by someone whose business had not gone on well," Jamaluddin explained.

From one automatic fryer (given by the Agricultural Department), he added two more as the demand for his tapioca chips grew.

In the early days, Jamaluddin was on his own to market his tapioca chips. He managed to gain the support from shop operators along the highway and also petrol kiosks, besides mini markets.

"I then got to know FAMA and participated in their expos," Jamaluddin said.



PLANTING HIS OWN TAPIOCA

At the start of his business, he produced up to two-and-a-half tonnes of tapioca chips a day. Last year, Perusahaan Sepang RJ produced 199 tonnes and for 2005, the output is expected to be over 200 tonnes.

To meet the growing demand, Jamaluddin decided to grow his own tapioca plants. He started planting them about five years ago and the farm which is located about four kilometres from his house now covers an area of 40 hectares.

The tapioca plants that he grows produce yellow tubers which is ideal for making chips.

"If you talk to people, they say it's easy to grow tapioca plants, just break the stem, throw it and it'll grow. If you just want to eat the shoots, you can do that but to get good tubers, the plants must be well looked after and fertilised. I used imported fertilisers from Germany. We also have to prepare beds before planting," said Jamaluddin who hired four Indonesians to work at his tapioca farm.

It takes about 10 months before the tubers can be harvested.

To ensure a constant supply, he plants them on a staggered basis.

"Once the tubers are harvested, they must be immediately processed and fried. I'm also careful in buying from suppliers. If the plants are not properly looked after, the tapioca chips when fried would turn brown," explained Jamaluddin.



IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING

But the tapioca chips business these days is not the same as when he first got started. Competition is getting stiffer as more producers get into the market.

Even the prices of raw materials such as diesel, cooking oil and plastic for packaging have increased.

Jamaluddin cited cooking oil as an example. It used to be priced at RM23 per 17kg but now has gone up to RM35.

"Eating tapioca chips is not a necessity. If we raise the price, people may not want to buy them. For that, we've to continuously look for markets besides preserving its quality," he added.

Marketing is the key factor in business.

"Let's say I produce a delicious food product but if I don't know a thing about marketing, the most I could do is to sell it around the villages or the sundry shops. If we're good at marketing, we can go as far as Kuala Lumpur and Johor," he said.



SHEER HARDWORK

As an army retiree with no business background, Jamaluddin is ever willing to share his recipe for success with others.

As he put it: "To do business we must be friendly. Customers are the master, it's not wrong to be humble. We must also do things with all sincerity.

"Time is crucial. When I first started this business, I used to work with my wife until midnight. All the workers would have gone back but we didn't mind. If we're going to the farmers' market, the lorry would be ready by 4 am," he said.

Jamaluddin thanked FAMA for its tremendous help in promoting his tapioca chips.

"Time has changed. Even the rich are eating tapioca chips now. When FAMA wanted to sell my tapioca chips in canisters, I was initially skeptical. After we tried it at a hypermarket, we saw the potential and its demand is increasing," said Jamaluddin.

Packaging, he said is also crucial in getting to customers.

"We cannot afford costly TV commercials so packaging must be attractive," said Jamaluddin who was in Singapore recently to promote his products.

"While I was in Singapore, I noticed how the young and old select a product, they go for the packaging. It seems to them that if the packaging is attractive, the contents would be excellent too".

And promotion is important to attract customers.

"If you're selling a product, you must promote them. You can't just leave it on the table. You must get the people to try and taste it. If it's in the hypermarket, you must have a promoter," he said.



A STRING OF AWARDS

Perusahaan Sepang RJ now produces 16 types of snacks. His flagship tapioca chips come in various flavours, too.

Other snacks include banana chips, onion crackers, dhal crackers, anchovies fingers and a number of traditional Malay biscuits.

The snacks are marketed under the label "Kerepek Rizal" (Rizal is Jamaluddin's youngest child) while the tapioca chips marketed by FAMA is sold under the "Agromas" brand.

They are also sold at several farmers' market in Kuala Lumpur such as Setiawangsa, Pusat Bandar Damansara and Danau Kota, Setapak besides the pasar rakyat in Kelana Jaya.

Perusahaan Sepang RJ has won a string of awards for its products at the annual national-level Farmers, Breeders and Fishermen's Day celebrations since 2003.

In 2003, it clinched first place in the processing category for agricultural produce, first place for product category this year (salted banana chips and spicy tapioca chips) and again first place for chips category this year.

Having achieved success, what would be his next move?

"I plan to retire. Even now I only act as an adviser. My wife helps me to oversee quality in the kitchen. It's up to my sons Zaily and Rizal to continue with what I've started. Zaily used to work in a bank and Rizal is pursuing business studies.

"I hope both of them will work together to manage this business. As people would say, I have cleared the forest, they just have to reap the harvest. I hope they would succeed and make this business more prosperous," said Jamaluddin.

-- BERNAMA

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