In Johor Baru, some food stalls are trying to maintain low prices despite the rising cost of ingredients to keep their customers happy. One such example is roti canai seller Madi Umar, 63, who believes he has some of the lowest prices around. He sells roti canai kosong, roti bawang, and roti bom for RM1 each. A packet of fried mee hoon or fried mee is also RM1 each. Madi used to sell a piece of roti canai at 90sen even when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, but due to inflation, he increased it by 10sen three months ago. To make it up to his customers, he gives them extra pieces of roti canai with their orders as a form of charity and allows them to help themselves to as much curry and dalcha as they please.
When Madi first opened his stall in Kampung Pasir more than 20 years ago, his roti canai kosong was sold at 50sen a piece. He now sells 600 to 700 pieces of the unleavened bread a day. His main goal is to ease the burden on customers by providing cheap food and drinks, which he sells at RM1 per glass. He also gives out free jugs of teh-o to customers who come in large parties. The retiree Yeow Ah Soon was all smiles when he purchased two packets of chicken rice at RM3 each at a stall in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, as he knows that the same dish at other shops could easily be as high as RM7 or RM8 each. The 41-year-old stall owner Vu Thi Minh, who has been selling chicken rice for almost 10 years, understands the importance of keeping prices low and affordable for her regular customers.
