This is a story of the man behind the iconic ‘DAHFA’ brand dried fish fillet, which many Sarawakians remember from their childhood.
A journey from rags to riches
Growing up in Sarawak, one might recall grasping at a stack of strings of dried fish fillet during each festive season. Then, despite our small mouths, gulping it down in one go. It was the age of wondering if the next house we visited would serve it — the DAHFA brand dried fish fillet snack.
Despite the passage of decades, the snack retains its texture, taste, and appearance. Each festive season, most children look forward to its mild spicy flavour. Despite being available all year, the dried fish fillet tastes best during the festivities. This is followed by a glass of carbonated beverage. The combination is part and parcel of every festive season.
The man behind the snack
As I was flipping through the Sarawak Entrepreneur Of The Year book, I came across the late Chai Tze Khin, the founder and chairman of DAHFA Foods Manufacturing Sdn Bhd. His numerous accomplishments and success earned him the title of Master Entrepreneur 2013, a commemoration from the Sarawak Chambers of Commerce Industry (SCCI). His product has won the hearts of Sarawakians and people all over the country; his contribution is a source of pride for the state.
Chai was born in 1940 to a poor family in Canton Province, China. His father, Chai Ka Chim, had left to work as a tin mine labourer in Indonesia. He later relocated to Pantu, Sri Aman, to work on a farm. Seven years later, Chai, his mother, and his younger sister moved to Sri Aman, Sarawak to reunite with his father.
The family began a new life, living in a simple hut they built themselves. They planted paddy and pepper to make a living in a foreign land. Chai began his education at the Pantu Chung Hua School at the age of 11 despite difficulties and challenges. Despite his father’s objections, he later advanced to Chung Hua Middle School No 3.
After marrying Lee Aie Choon in 1960, the 25-year-old Chai moved to 15th-mile Serian/Simanggang Road to grow pepper. In 1971, he made a decision to abandon farming and move to Kuching, Sarawak, in search of greener pastures. For over a year, he worked as a street hawker before starting a small business producing crackers and supplying snacks to the school canteens.
The turning point
The year 1975 was regarded as the spark — the trigger — to his entrepreneurial success. As the city’s business grew, Chai was able to garner a good amount of capital to purchase a semi-automated food processing machine. This increased his production volume, and the quality of the snacks improved.
Chai’s perseverance and persistence in the business industry helped him advance in his career. Later, in 1976, he travelled to Taiwan in search of new product ideas. This is when he discovered an early variant of dried fish fillet, a popular local delicacy there. Sensing the delicacy’s market potential, Chai negotiated with a Taiwanese producer to learn how it was prepared.
When he returned to Kuching, Sarawak, he and his family experimented with various ways and methods to produce the dried fish fillet. By doing so, Chai was able to source local ingredients and introduce them to the local market. The DAHFA brand dried fish fillet’s growth in the local market was slow at first, but it showed long-term potential.
Hard work pays off
No success comes easily. Chai’s company, DAHFA Foods Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, pioneered the dried fish fillet and has remained focused on the snack while experimenting with different packaging variants. Despite the fact that the world is an oyster, there are opportunities to expand and profit. Chai believed that a business can grow by evolving its core competencies. This also meant that a business should not venture into the unknown, regardless of the potential profit.
He was initially concerned that his competitors were large businesses with multiple product lines. As he pondered how a small Sarawakian company could defend its market position, Chai found courage in the fact that he had pioneered the snack in our local market.
With this in mind, Chai remained steadfast in his efforts to improve product quality, maintain prudent financial control, and provide the best value to his customers. With over 40 years in the industry, the DAHFA brand snack is proof that hard work pays off and that no business is too small to succeed.
