KUALA LUMPUR: Shopping malls as well as outlets selling Aidil Fitri goods are receiving more shoppers as the fasting month of Ramadan enters its final week before Hari Raya.
Maybe some of the shoppers feel that the goods may see a ‘drop’ in the price offered as Hari Raya gets closer particularly in the final days of Ramadan while there are others who simply love the thrill of making last minute shopping. When the shoppers were asked about this, various replies were received.
Some said that they did not have time to shop earlier due to work commitments and time constraints.
Others were waiting for the ‘bonus’ usually handed out by employers in the final weeks of Ramadan.
“Several years back, I bought my son’s songkok at the last minute at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. I had no choice as I was working and my son was schooling in the day.
“So we went looking for the songkok at night,” said one of the last-minute shoppers, who wished to be known as Abu Haziman.
“Yesterday, I was asked whether I would be able to accept another pair of dress to make. Since there is less than one week to Hari Raya, I rejected her request.
“The dresses of my clients are almost ready. There will be some who would take their dresses one day before Hari Raya,” said dressmaker Kuan Yoke Mei, who started business in the city some 27 years ago.
According to Kuan many of her clients had came to her to make their dresses since June. As of the third week of Ramadan, Kuan had sewn more than 200 pairs of dresses for her clients.
A visit to a shopping complex at The Curve, Kota Damansara near here found the ground floor lobby filled with booths and stalls offering Hari Raya goods for shoppers.
Among these stalls are that selling children’s garments including dresses for young girls.
The price was determined by the size of the dress.
Among those for sale are floral baju kurung priced at between RM50–RM80.
At another booth that offers women’s attire, the trend appears to be dresses made from cotton cloth.
“The cotton cloth came from India. It is of quality and comfortable to wear”, said the booth operator.
The dresses were offered between RM220 and RM269 for each pair.
“I set up a booth here in order to get a new networking of customers. I am confident that as Hari Raya approaches, more will come and buy the cookies.
“We started making the cookies since early Ramadan. Everybody want freshly-made cookies,” said young entrepreneur Sharifah Noorazlin Syed Ramzan.
She also offers hampers made from various types of cookies. The hampers are priced according to the customers’ budget.
The cheapest hamper was offered at RM10 while the others were priced as high as RM100 each.
“We prepared 50 special hampers. They were requested by customers who wished for more exclusive wrappings,” said Sharifah Noorazlin.
As for ‘duit raya’, many have yet to change their money for new bank notes even as Ramadan moves into its last week as they were still ‘calculating’ the amount to be included in these ‘little green envelopes’.
“The RM1 and RM5 notes are still in demand. There are those who also prefer RM10 notes. This year I will visit the Holy Land to perform the Umrah a few days before Syawal, hence the need for the new notes is not that pressing.
“I will look for the new bank notes after I come back,” said Siti Ismail on the tradition of giving away ‘duit raya’.
For Hazirah Abdul, duit raya is something ‘not to be missed’ in the festive season.
“Even though I am the eldest in the family, I still receive ‘duit raya’ from my parents.
“My younger siblings are more fortunate as they still receive (duit raya) from relatives” It is fun, she added. — Bernama
September 8, 2010, Wednesday
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