Compiled by MAHADHIR MONIHULDIN, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN
LANGKAWI-BORN businessman, Rusasmizal Mohamad Ghazali, 35, is starting a new trend of selling a rather obscure local delicacy on the duty-free island – laktud seaweed.
“I manage a laktud seaweed farm, also known as latok, in Kubang Badak to attract visiting tourists who would like to bring home snacks other than chocolates,” Rusasmizal told Kosmo! Ahad.
“Me and my business partners, Mohd Rashid Hasan, 51, Abu Ramli, 62, and Sabri Musa, 44, learnt how to farm them three years ago via the Internet and started with only three farming tanks,” he said.
Rusasmizal would usually sell laktud, scientifically named caulerpa lentillifera, as Japanese snacks or serve them as complimentary food in hotel buffets.
“We used to plant laktud seeds from Japan purchased through an agent but now we use those from Thailand,” he said. “We sell them at about RM70 per kilo.”
> A fisherman out fishing for lobsters on the Pahang River one day was caught by surprise when he instead got hold of a 10.8kg stingray.
Muhamad Kuhairi Ahmad, 51, said he was only using a RM30 fishing set when he caught the fish, which took about an hour to rail in.
“I was pulled forward when my fishing hook got hold of something fast and strong, and I was afraid it would get away,” he told Kosmo! Ahad.
“Once I saw the fish appearing on the surface, I immediately dived into the river, pummeled it with my boat oar and pulled it into the boat.”
Originally hailing from Selangor, Muhamad Kuhairi said he is grateful for the catch as he usually goes to the Pahang River to look for lobsters.
● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ‘ >’sign, it denotes a separate news item.