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19 and running a
hawker stall
The owner of “Alham Famili Food”, shares with MARK IGNATIUS FERNANDEZ the perfect recipe of being an entrepreneur and a student, simultaneously.
Alham, the owner of Alham Famili Food alongside his parents at the front of their stall. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD ALHAM B AYOB
A typical day for Mr Muhammad Alham B Ayob – a 19-year-old polytechnic student and hawker stall owner – would be to wake up at 5am and prepare the stall for business. As soon as the clock strikes 8am, he rushes home for home-based learning.
A few years ago, Alham’s parents rented a hawker stall near their residence, but they had to stop its operation as they moved to a new residence. Alham wanted to continue his parents’ legacy and decided to open a hawker stall.
Now, Alham runs a hawker stall, Alham Famili Food, at Jurong East serving up iconic Malay dishes like Satay, Kway Teow Goreng and more.
At the early stages of its opening, Alham found himself having difficulties upholding the responsibilities of the stall on top of his busy schedule at school.
“It was definitely a painful experience as it was both physically and mentally exhausting,” says Alham.
On top of struggling to survive each day, Alham faced criticisms about juggling both running a hawker stall and attending school from the people around him.
“Some of the comments I would get is that I am being too ambitious. I should concentrate on completing my studies instead of the stall,” Alham says.
His biggest supporters are his parents who would cook and sell the dishes whenever Alham is busy with school. Also, his family members would help to promote the stall on their social media accounts to attract more customers.
A proud moment for Alham and his mother when he received an Edusave award for his academic excellence. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD ALHAM B AYOB
“It was his dream to open a hawker stall and we have been talking about it for a very long time. When my son decided to open up a stall, both his dad and I together with his elder brother supported him in every way we could so that he could also focus on his studies,” says Mrs Faridah, Alham’s mother, who is a homemaker.
Even though Alham worked approximately 3 hours a day at the stall, excluding weekends, he managed to excel in school and obtain a spot in the Director’s list for his excellent performance in his studies.
Alham makes sure that he clarifies any doubts he has, regarding his studies, with his lecturers. If you do not see him at the stall, he is probably in his room, working on his assignments, maintaining his exceptional grades.
“I am so proud of my son for how far he has come. It was definitely not easy watching my son survive each day with just 2 hours of sleep,” says Mrs Faridah.
“Thankfully I have a few good friends that I can rely on. So, whenever I need to catch up on something, I will text them to find out more,” says Alham.
A memorable moment captured in pictures when Alham together with his groupmates Darien Tan and Rosemary Tan after their final submission for one of their modules. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD ALHAM B AYOB
“He has always been a great teammate in group projects. There was never a time where he used his business as an excuse to not engage in group work,” says Ms Rosemary Tan.
“Being his friend has taught me that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it,” she adds.
Alham is not satisfied with having one hawker stall. He intends to open another outlet in 2022. But now, with the Phase Two (Heightened Alert) being introduced, he fears that his dreams of a new stall may not come true.
Although hawker owners receive support packages from the government, for Alham, the main issue is obtaining supplies for his dishes. But he continues to stay optimistic and finds new ways to work towards his dream.
This is satay, freshly prepared by Alham's parents and is one of the crowd's favourites. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD ALHAM B AYOB
In the future, Alham hopes to expand his business further so that more people can enjoy food from the Malay cuisine.
“One day, I hope to open up a bistro where I can modernise the Malay cuisines to something more attractive,” says Alham.