By Soon Li Wei & Rohani Mohd Ibrahim
SEKINCHAN: Hate going to the wet market early in the morning just to get some fresh seafood? With fresh seafood deliveries, you don’t have to worry about that anymore.
All you need to do is to place your order on Bang Amat’s TikTok account, ‘Hasil Laut Saudagar’ and just wait for your fresh seafood to arrive at your doorstep.
Bang Amat has the gift of the gab with his own style of connecting with his customers that is both entertaining and informative by introducing the various types of fish and seafood on his video platform.
Wearing bright yellow boots, a fisherman’s rain hat and a red flowery apron every time he appears on TikTok, Bang Amat, who was born and bred in Sekinchan, would occasionally hold up some raw fish to be introduced to his followers, interspersed with some humour and useful information on seafood.
His ‘Hasil Laut Saudagar’ account has now raked in 22,800 followers on TikTok since its launch last March.
Bang Amat or his real name Abdul Faris Mohd Bakri, 30, said he started selling fresh and frozen seafood through the social media as he was spurred by the platform’s popularity especially in buying and selling of products.
“In the beginning, I was just giving myself a try at selling fish on this platform to make it easier for my customers to get their supplies of fresh seafood.
“By placing their orders for fish through the social media platform, customers do not have to leave their homes, or get caught in the traffic jam or going through the hassle of parking their car, etc.
“Sales through the TikTok platform allow seafood lovers to avoid going out of the way to the fresh market for their supplies of fish, crabs, squids and prawns,” he told Bernama.
Sales on TikTok
According to Abdul Faris, he would usually go live on TikTok twice that is from 10am to 12.30pm and 2.30pm to 4.30pm, daily except Saturday.
He said fresh seafood bought through the live sessions on his TikTok account ‘Hasil Laut Saudagar’ will be delivered direct to the customers’ homes using the frozen courier service.
“Through the TikTop app, we would usually depend on the ‘yellow bag’ function to make it easier for our customers to place their orders as the ‘yellow bag’ function is rather limited, we only offer frozen fresh seafood in combo form, depending on our stock.
“Fish sold include siakap (seabass), jenahak (snapper), kerapu (grouper) and tongkol (cob fish) that are already skinned and cleaned, and normally we would sell together with squids and crabs in a combo box with prices between RM99 and RM199,” he said.
Abdul Faris said, customers only need to place their orders and transfer their payments online and they will receive their orders within 24 hours.
“We will process their orders on the same day with the products to be picked up by the frozen courier service company at 7pm on the same day.
“Besides that, customers can opt for self pick-up at certain locations in Sekinchan,” he said adding that a RM30 fee is imposed on deliveries that are sent direct to the house.
Declining to disclose his income, Abdul Faris said he usually sells between 100kg to 150kg of fresh seafood every time he goes live on TikTok.
“Among the goods that are popular among my customers are frozen combo products which they said are cheaper than the marketplace.
“Besides selling fish and seafood, I also include informative videos on the types of fish and other seafood including their health benefits for my followers.
“In those videos, I took the opportunity to promote my own kampung, Sekinchan as a tourist attraction,” said Abdul Faris, who harbours a dream of becoming a tourism icon for Sekinchan one day.
Source of income
Sharing his journey, the entrepreneur said that before becoming a ‘TikToker’ of seafood, he tried his hand at a variety of jobs including as a padi farmer.
“I was actually taking risks (job hopping); after becoming a padi farmer, I thought to myself: why not venture into the fisheries sector.
“Coincidentally I was given an opportunity by a fish wholesaler here to provide a space for me to sell fish ‘live’ hence allowing us to get our fish supply from the jetty.
“At the same time, I was able to help the fishing community in Sekinchan to market their products, hence saving time and providing easy access for both customers and fishermen,” said the father of two, aged three and a four-month old.
For Abdul Faris, the fisheries business can generate lucrative income for those wishing to make it as their source of livelihood, but not many people are aware of its potential due to the lack of public exposure on the industry.
“One needs only to be creative and is willing to think out of the box to instill public awareness on the fact that the fisheries industry can generate a profitable source of income for them,” he added.
“It’s just not going out to sea as a fisherman but what’s important is selling your catch in a creative way can be income generating,” he said.
He said that besides that, their sales proceeds can be invested in other business such as opening a seafood restaurant and turning “fish kelong” (fishing deck) into a homestay and in addition, the fishing village can be turned into a tourist attraction.
“It can indirectly generate spillovers for other sectors such as tourism. For example, in Sekinchan, many tourists capture their moments during their visit here by taking photos near the padi fields, looking for the best place to eat and visit coastal areas.
“At the same time, Sekinchan is also known for its padi fields, including a padi museum which provides information on padi cultivation and rice production,” he added.
Though Sekinchan is a fishing village, it is better known for its beautiful stretches of padi fields.
The vast, well-irrigated and organised padi fields around Sekinchan province produce one of the highest yields of rice in the country. Sekinchan is often visited for its fresh seafood and draws diners from Kuala Lumpur.
Leveraging social media’s power
To the younger generation, Abdul Faris said they should not be ashamed to venture into areas that are said to be “dirty” and “dangerous.”
“Take this fisheries sector as an example. Many people are not interested in this field due to the stigma attached to the job. The mere mention of fisheries evokes images of fishermen and the job is perceived as dangerous and non-profitable.
“Contrary to popular misconception, this field has enormous potential. As such, the younger generation should change their mindset,” he added.
Abdul Faris also welcomed the younger generation to follow in his footsteps by selling seafood on the social media.
“The power of the social media is tremendous. While new at TikTok, I’ve got over 20,000 followers and many are supportive of my business.
“Hence, I believe with the creativity and innovation demonstrated by industry players and government agencies, more youth will be attracted to join the sector,” he added. – BERNAMA
