Little coffeeshop a bustling haven during by-election
Old world charm: The Xin Aun Nong Yong coffeshop in Tapah Road. — RONNIE CHIN/The Star
TAPAH: Even as the Ayer Kuning by-election heats up with incendiary rhetoric, a little Chinese-style kopitiam in Tapah Road has been quietly bustling with customers from all creeds and communities.
The quaint Xin Aun Nong Yong coffeeshop has been serving Malays, Chinese, Indians and people from other backgrounds for the past 90 years and will continue to do so after all the bigwigs and politicians leave after the by-election.
Owner Phua Ah Leng, 67, said customers from all communities have patronised the shop even before she took over the business.
'My late father took over the business from the previous owner many years ago, while I took over about 30 years ago.
'Under the previous owner, the shop has welcomed all,' she said when met.
'The shop was only known as a Hainanese kopitiam back then, and was quite popular among the locals who come mainly for breakfast. I am just continuing this.
'We don't sell food with pork, and our fares include beverages, homemade buns, toast, kuih and nasi lemak that we get from Malay traders,' she added.
Phua with her shop's homemade buns. — RONNIE CHIN/The Star
Phua said the majority of her customers are from the Malay community.
'Their favourite is half boiled eggs and toast. Some of our other popular items are boneless curry chicken buns and chicken buns, which contain an egg and green peas.
'We also sell vegetable, red bean paste and kaya buns. Our kaya is homemade and is cooked over a charcoal fire, which I learned from my father,' she added.
Phua, who was born and bred in Tapah Road, said the small town used to be lively during the 1960s and 70s, unlike now.
She said a lot of out-of-towners used to stop by the shop for a break, as motorists would pass Tapah Road to get to Teluk Intan.
'Construction of newer roads and realignment of traffic flow have seen fewer people coming through here, causing a lot of shops to lose business and shutter.
'Back then, a class at SJKC Phui Chen can have between 30 and 40 pupils, but now there are about 35 children of various races studying there.
'Most of the younger generation have also ventured to other bigger towns or cities to make a living, leaving this place quite deserted.
'I also used to work as a clerk in Pahang and Kuala Lumpur but came back to take over the business,' she added.
Phua said the Ayer Kuning state by-election has brought more people to the small town.
'Business has been quite good in the past week. I would normally serve about 60 customers daily but now get 30% to 40% more business,' she said.
She hopes her daughter, who currently helps at the shop, would take over the business one day.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Trump says China will supply rare earths in ‘done' trade deal
President Donald Trump says the US is 'getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%' in a social media post. - Photo: Reuters WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said a trade framework with China has been completed, with Beijing supplying rare earths and magnets 'UP FRONT' and the US allowing Chinese students into its colleges and universities. The United States and China will maintain tariffs at their current, lower levels following negotiations between the two nations this week in London, Trump said on Wednesday (June 11). He said the deal is subject to final approval by him and Chinese President Xi Jinping. 'OUR DEAL WITH CHINA IS DONE, SUBJECT TO FINAL APPROVAL WITH PRESIDENT XI AND ME,' Trump posted on social media. 'WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT!' A White House official said the agreement allows the US to charge a 55 per cent tariff on imported Chinese goods. This includes a 10 per cent baseline 'reciprocal' tariff, a 20 per cent tariff for fentanyl trafficking and a 25 per cent tariff reflecting pre-existing tariffs. China would charge a 10 per cent tariff on US imports, the official said. In a later post, Trump said Xi and he 'are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade. This would be a great WIN for both countries!!!' His post suggested China may have to restart rare earth shipments before the US agrees to lower export controls on key technology. And his comments left doubt about whether Beijing could negotiate tariff rates even lower. 'FULL MAGNETS, AND ANY NECESSARY RARE EARTHS, WILL BE SUPPLIED, UP FRONT, BY CHINA. LIKEWISE, WE WILL PROVIDE TO CHINA WHAT WAS AGREED TO, INCLUDING CHINESE STUDENTS USING OUR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD WITH ME!),' Trump said. US and Chinese officials said on June 10 they agreed on a framework to get their trade truce back on track and remove China's export restrictions on rare earths while offering little sign of a durable resolution to longstanding trade tensions. At the end of two days of intense negotiations in London, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters the framework deal puts 'meat on the bones' of an agreement reached in May in Geneva to ease bilateral retaliatory tariffs that reached crushing triple-digit levels The Geneva deal faltered over China's curbs on critical minerals exports, prompting the Trump administration to respond with export controls of its own preventing shipments of semiconductor design software, aircraft and other goods to China. Trump's shifting tariff policies have roiled global markets, sparked congestion and confusion in major ports and cost companies tens of billions of dollars in lost sales and higher costs. - Reuters, Bloomberg
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Deal ‘is done', says Trump, as China and US trade truce gets back on track after London talks
BEIJING: China and the United States agreed to revive a fragile trade truce after two days of talks in London, further defusing tensions between the two geopolitical rivals. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (June 11) that the deal with China 'is done' and that the relationship was 'excellent'. Hours earlier, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, who led the negotiating delegation in London, called on the US to 'stay true to your words', and 'demonstrate good faith in keeping promises'. The agreement, which concluded close to midnight on June 10 in London, followed a roller coaster of rising and easing tensions over non-tariff measures, after both sides agreed in May in Geneva to a 90-day truce that sharply lowered tariffs on each other's goods. The main sticking points since May were Beijing's restrictions on rare earth exports to the US and Washington's curbs on the export of chip design technology to China. In a Truth Social post, Trump said full magnets, along with any necessary rare earth minerals, will be supplied upfront by China. In return, the US will provide to China 'what was agreed to', including allowing Chinese students to attend colleges and universities in the US, which he noted 'has always been good with me!'. Separately, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters that the 'framework' reached in London puts 'meat on the bones' of the Geneva agreement, adding that it will still need approval from both leaders. He said Chinese restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets and some of the recent US export restrictions would be removed 'in a balanced way' but did not provide details. China's Vice-Commerce Minister Li Chenggang told reporters after the talks that both countries had agreed on a framework to implement the consensus that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump had reached after a June 5 phone call, as well as May's trade truce. He described the talks as in-depth, professional, rational and frank. 'The progress achieved at the London talks is beneficial to enhancing trust between the two countries, advancing the healthy and stable development of China-US economic ties, as well as provide positive energy to the global economic development,' Li said. Analysts saw the latest talks as positive. Professor Wu Xinbo, director of the Centre for American Studies at Shanghai's Fudan University, said he expects the US to roll back the non-tariff measures threatened or imposed on China after the Geneva talks, such as revoking visas of Chinese students studying in the US. 'As for the Chinese side, it may accelerate the process of rare earth exports to help resolve the urgent needs of the Americans,' he said. The May agreement was derailed on June 1 when the US accused China of 'slow-rolling' licences for exports of rare earths, which are critical in the production of cars, chips and other products. China dominates the world's rare earth supply chain, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of the global mining output and processing about 90 per cent of the total supply – a trump card Beijing has cultivated for decades. However, economist Bert Hofman noted that China's delay in rare earth export licences was partly due to 'bureaucratic inertia'. 'The process was cumbersome and brought issues for industries around the world, not just for the US. So it was not specifically targeted at US companies,' he said. Washington, meanwhile, activated its own levers on China. On May 29, it announced the revocation of visas for Chinese students and issued export control guidelines for AI chips, as well as effectively halting sales of chip design software to China. Chinese tech firms that design chips rely on such foreign software, known as electronic design automation. China's Ministry of Commerce on June 2 criticised these measures as discriminatory and accused the US of violating the consensus of the Geneva talks. Just as all the signs pointed to the breakdown of the truce, the June 5 call between Xi and Trump was widely seen as having reset fraught relations. This was followed on June 7 by China's Ministry of Commerce's announcement that it had approved a number of applications for rare earth exports, and will continue to strengthen the approval process for such applications. Even as the London talks were ongoing, Beijing strategically underscored its resilience. In a front-page interview on the official People's Daily on June 10, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei discussed China's technology and research capabilities, particularly in chips. The Chinese telecommunications equipment giant has emerged as a national champion for areas such as AI chips called the Ascend processors, which Washington has recently warned other countries against using. Asked how he feels about Huawei being under a blockade, Ren said: 'Don't think about the difficulties – just do it, one step at a time.' - The Straits Times/ANN
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Roundup: Zimbabwe pledges favorable environment to attract more Chinese investment
HARARE, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing the country's business environment to attract more Chinese investment. A roundtable discussion on strengthening Zimbabwe-China business cooperation in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare gathered representatives from various government agencies, including the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), the Department of Immigration Zimbabwe, and the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA). Felisters Chikandiwa, chief facilitator at ZIDA, highlighted China's strategic importance to Zimbabwe's economy, noting that China has been one of Zimbabwe's leading investment source markets over the past few years. "From our investment figures, we have seen that there has been quite a high level of investment activities from the Chinese business community in Zimbabwe. We value the investment that the Chinese community is bringing into Zimbabwe," Chikandiwa said. She further pointed out that Chinese investors have shown a strong interest in Zimbabwe's mining, manufacturing, construction, energy, and transport sectors, among others. Abigail Moyo, chief staff officer responsible for crime in the ZRP, said, "We value cooperation between the Zimbabwean police and Chinese investors. We encourage continued communication and cooperation to ensure the safety and security of Chinese investors and their assets." Munetsi Madakufamba, executive director of the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC), a think tank based in Harare and one of the event organizers, highlighted the need to strengthen partnerships and promote mutual understanding between Zimbabwean authorities and Chinese enterprises. "We aim to create a conducive business environment that supports sustainable development and mutual benefit," he said, adding that Zimbabwe has immense potential for growth and development, and Chinese businesses can play a pivotal role in supporting Zimbabwe's growth. Noting that Chinese investment in Zimbabwe has been impactful and transformative, Madakufamba said China has indeed become a major player in Zimbabwe's economic landscape. "What sets Chinese investments apart, if compared with those from other source countries, is the speed of implementation, size, impact, and transformative nature," he noted. According to Madakufamba, Zimbabwe and China should work together to create a more favorable investment climate that attracts more Chinese investment and promotes sustainable development in Zimbabwe.
