JOHOR BAHRU: ‘Keropok lekor’ (fish cracker), a traditional food among the people in the East Coast states, is now becoming a popular snack all over the country. Keropok lekor which is made of minced fish meat mixed with sago/tapioca starch, salt and sugar is still produced manually and the dough is rolled into a cylindrical shape by hand, making the process tedious and slow.
However, as demand for delicious crispy cracker soared, lekor makers are finding it hard to cope with their fast moving product. Joining the fray to improve the lekor-making process is a research team from Ibrahim Sultan Polytechnic in Pasir Gudang which came up with a lekor forming machine.
A keropok lekor producer in Bandar Seri Alam here, Sharul Shafik, 28, of Zazihan Enterprise, received the machine after applying for it under the Public-Private Research Network (PPRN) grant. Sharul said he needed the machine, costing RM42,800, to increase production for his fast expanding list of clients. “With the machine, I’m not only able to produce more in quantity, but also with improved quality, especially in terms of weight, size and length of keropok lekor,” he said, adding that the machine could process 15 kg of lekor dough in 10 minutes.
He hoped to increase his keropok lekor production by 80 to 90 per cent, from only 1,000 pieces a week previously, using the machine. Sharul, who holds an Advanced Diploma in Electronic Engineering (Medical) from Shah Alam polytechnic said, the keropok lekor business was started by his father 15 years ago.
“My father started the business from home with a capital of RM350 and now the business has expanded and in 2008, we moved to Taman Kota Masai,” he added. – Bernama
