FOURTEEN years ago, a mother-of-six set out to help her husband in his work as a mechanic.
Now, she has become increasingly well-known in Besut, Terengganu, as a skilled mechanic in her own right.
Zainab Salim, 45, has attracted the attention of car users in Terengganu and Kelantan for being highly skilled in repairing car gearboxes.
“I watched my husband, Zahari Mohd Zin, 59, repair vehicles before I began helping him.
“My interest intensified when I managed to repair a damaged engine component on my own,” she told Bernama at her workshop in Kampung Alor Saji.
Zainab said she started by acquiring skills in repairing petrol and diesel engines.
Once she mastered that, she moved to working on manual transmission gearboxes, followed by those for automatic transmission vehicles.
She said that despite being in the male-dominated automotive repair industry, her workshop has steadily attracted customers because she was the only one skilled in repairing automatic transmission gearbox components around Besut district.
“Previously, car owners with damaged automatic transmission gearboxes would immediately replace the entire gearbox with a new or used one.
“But if they came to my workshop, I would try to repair the damaged components.
“So, it saves customers money and ensures gearbox durability,” she said.
Zainab now focuses on repairing automatic transmission gearboxes.
For the past four years, she has been single-handedly operating the workshop since her husband suffered a stroke and nerve problems that resulted in him losing his vision.
She said her second child, Muhammad Azani, 19, often helped her instal or remove heavy gearboxes, especially those of four-wheel-drive vehicles.
She said that although some customers had initially doubted her capabilities, many now came from other states to have her repair their car gearboxes.
Zainab’s expertise has also led to her being invited by a technical and vocational education and training (TVET) centre in the district to teach its automotive students.
“Like with any other profession, there are challenges.
“I went through tough times when customers did not pay for repair works or tried to avoid settling their debts,” said Zainab, who previously worked as a clerk at a government agency in Besut.
“I need to earn a living and support four of my children who are still in school,” she added.
