Malaysia's singing kueh seller draws crowds at Penang market
Ms Lye Chooi Ngoh entertains marketgoers in Penang with classic tunes while selling fried snacks at her roadside stall.
GEORGE TOWN – With a microphone in one hand and a strainer in the other, Ms Lye Chooi Ngoh is a market sensation as she belts out classic Indonesian, Malay and Chinese songs.
Singing with gusto, she perfor ms classic Indonesian, Malay and Chinese songs such as Si Jantung Hati, Demi Cinta Nih... Ye..., Madu Dan Racun and Chan Fu at a coffee shop in Jelutong Market, a bustling hawker and wet market area in George Town on Penang Island, Malaysia.
The 58-year-old sells fried sweet potatoes, goreng pisang (banana fritters) and cekodok (mashed fried banana), and often engages her customers and fellow stall operators to dance along with her music.
When she experiences technical issues with the speaker, her customers cheer her on until the problem is fixed.
Behind her vibrant and jovial personality, Ms Lye shared that she sings to forget the painful sorrow of losing her 20-year-old son some 11 years ago.
A single mother of two, she said her son was autistic and she cared for him for 20 years.
'When he died, I was devastated. He did not like loud sounds or music.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Live: Ong Beng Seng set to plead guilty in case involving ex-transport minister
Singapore The past and future of Choa Bungalow, a 'last reminder' of Marine Parade's former shoreline
Multimedia How Singapore is rethinking nature in the city
Business Buyers take up over 900 condo units at three new launches in Singapore over the weekend
Business Are Gen Z-ers in Singapore worried about generative AI coming for their jobs?
World Trump is winning his trade war, but Americans will pay the price
Singapore No plans to fully liberalise cross-border ride-hailing services between Singapore and Johor: LTA
Singapore LTA, Singapore bus operators reviewing Malaysia's request to start services from JB at 4am
Surprisingly, singing keeps me alert and hyped, and when I do not sing, I get tired,' she said.
Ms Lye said she has been singing at the stall for seven years, but social media has recently made her more popular.
'Now I have a social media account and post the videos people take of me on it.
I sing old classics, but many now send me song requests, so I am in the process of learning new ones,' she said.
'I usually prop my phone up in front of me and read the lyrics as I sing along.'
She added that her performances have also boosted business as many customers come to watch her before buying some k ueh .
'Once I am done, I pack up and go join my daughter, who runs a coffee shop in Air Itam. I do not sing there as it is my time to rest,' she said.
Mr Lim Kah Khoon, 54, who runs the dim sum stall near Ms Lye's kueh stall, is often seen dancing in the background of her videos.
'Sometimes she invites me to duet with her and on other occasions, I dance in the background.
It is good fun and we treat each other like family.
It is a fun party for us as we work and keep the customers engaged too.
Sometimes they give us a round of applause,' he said.
Mr Kenny Yeoh, 45, who helps his mother with her claypot noodle stall on weekends, said he always joins in for a duet with Ms Lye.
'I love to sing and this is good fun for me.
I sneak away from my stall and belt out a few numbers with her.
We normally choose some Hokkien songs and it is the highlight of my week,' he said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
28 minutes ago
- Business Times
Hyundai, GM plan to jointly develop five vehicles, including electric van
[SEOUL] Hyundai Motor and General Motors (GM) plan to jointly develop five vehicles that will hit the market in 2028, including an electric van for North America, as the two automakers deepen strategic ties amid intensifying competition from China. The pair will develop four vehicles for the central and South American market, including a compact SUV, sedan and two pick-ups, all with the flexibility to use either an internal combustion engine or a hybrid system, they said on Thursday (Aug 7). GM will lead the development of the mid-size truck platform, while Hyundai will lead the compact vehicle and electric van. Sales of the five vehicles is forecast to exceed 800,000 units a year once production is fully scaled, they said. The South Korean and US carmakers sealed a partnership in September 2024 to jointly develop vehicles, engines and clean technologies such as electric and hydrogen powertrains, in the face of increasing competition from low-cost Chinese rivals and surging investments for their petrol-fuelled and electric vehicles. The partnership is Hyundai's first with another automaker for a large-scale project, paving the way for both sides to pool resources for more efficient capital spending and manufacturing operations in markets around the world. For GM, the new vehicles will mark a renewed push for growth in global markets after years of shrinking its international business. Under chief executive officer Mary Barra, GM has closed operations in Australia, Europe, India, and South-east Asia, while also restructuring its struggling China business. With Hyundai's help, the Detroit company hopes to have smaller vehicles designed for consumers who do not drive the large trucks that are popular in the US. BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
28 minutes ago
- Straits Times
DBS Q2 profit up 1% to $2.82 billion on strong wealth fees and trading income; beats expectations
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox DBS Bank declared an interim dividend of 60 cents per share and a capital return dividend of 15 cents per share. SINGAPORE - Singapore's largest bank on Aug 7 posted a 1 per cent rise in net profit for the second quarter, lifted by strong wealth fees and trading income. Net profit for the three months to June 30 was $2.82 billion, up from $2.8 billion a year earlier, beating the $2.79 billion forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg poll. The bank declared an interim dividend of 60 cents per share and a capital return dividend of 15 cents per share. The dividend payout is estimated to be about $2.13 billion. Chief executive officer Tan Su Shan said in a statement: 'Our ability to manage the balance sheet nimbly, grow deposits and capture market opportunities helped offset the external pressures.' Commercial book net interest income fell 4 per cent to $3.63 billion. This came as net interest margin declined 28-basis-points to 2.55 per cent from 2.83 per cent a year earlier as interest rates trended lower. Net fee and commission income grew 11 per cent to $1.17 billion from $1.05 billion a year earlier. Treasury customer sales and other income increased 9 per cent to $522 million from $478 million a year ago. Fee income was led by the wealth management segment, which saw fees surged to $649 million in the quarter, up from $518 million a year earlier. Markets trading income soared 124 per cent to $418 million from $187 million a year ago. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Some ageing condos in Singapore struggle with failing infrastructure, inadequate sinking funds World Trump eyes 100% chips tariff, but 0% for US investors like Apple World White House says Trump open to meeting Russia's Putin and Ukraine's Zelensky Singapore MRT track issue causes 5-hour delay; Jeffrey Siow says 'we can and will do better' Singapore ST Explains: What is a track point fault and why does it cause lengthy train disruptions? Singapore ST and Uniqlo launch design contest for Singapore stories T-shirt collection Asia Malaysia plans barrierless toll system modelled after Singapore's ERP Singapore S'pore and Indonesia have discussed jointly developing military training facilities: Chan Chun Sing Return on equity fell to 16.7 per cent in the second quarter from 18.2 per cent in the same period a year ago. Singapore's largest bank by assets said that the impact of lower interest rates was mitigated by balance sheet hedging and partly offset by strong deposit growth, which funded loans and an increased deployment into liquid assets. Customer deposits grew 4 per cent to nearly $574 million in the quarter from $551 million a year ago while loans were up 2 per cent to $433 million. DBS maintains its 2025 targets which include group net interest income to come slightly above 2024 levels, commercial book non-interest income growth to be mid- to high-single digits and net profit to be below 2024 levels. DBS reported earnings on the same day as UOB, whose earnings fell 6 per cent to $1.34 billion, missing expectations. Their results followed OCBC Bank, which on Aug 1 posted a smaller-than-expected drop in net profit as declining interest rates weighed on net interest income.
Straits Times
28 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Codelco asks to restart part of El Teniente mine after accident
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox SANTIAGO - Copper miner Codelco has asked Chile's mining regulator for permission to reopen a part of its flagship El Teniente mine after a collapse last week that killed six people, said two sources with knowledge of the matter. Codelco suspended mining operations at El Teniente, the world's biggest underground copper mine that produced more than 300,000 metric tons last year, on Thursday evening. Chilean mining regulator Sernageomin later imposed a formal suspension, and instructed Codelco to present four reports related to the cause and impact of the accident so it could evaluate lifting the measure. In a statement on Wednesday evening, Codelco said it had responded to three information requests from mining regulator Sernageomin and Chile's labor inspection office. REUTERS
