Wok in the car park: Frying char kuey teow for a good cause

Kampar MCA chairman Datuk Lee Chee Leong (second from right) stopped by to support Chan's stall on June 11, 2022.

KAMPAR: For two hours on Saturday (June 11), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) lecturer Chan Wan Ling put down her books and picked up a wok to raise funds for the university's Education Foundation.

Assisted by a few lecturers and students from the university's foundation centre management and accountancy department at the campus here, Chan set up a char kuey teow stall near the Kampar Public Market parking lot and managed to raise RM2,121.

"It was the first time we did something like this and we did not set any target. We just tried to do as much as we can," said Chan, 37.

The response, she said, was overwhelming.

"One doctor even gave a cheque of RM500 for one pack of char kuey teow," she said.

Chan, who has been teaching at the university for eight years, said the fundraising activity was held in conjunction with UTAR's 20th anniversary celebration.

She said their char kuey teow stall was one of the many activities held by UTAR's various departments to celebrate the occasion.

"The money from the education foundation will be used for internal development, student scholarships and also for the UTAR hospital project," she added.

Asked why she opted to cook char kuey teow, the Ipoh-born Chan said she used to help her 67-year-old mother at her stall when she was a teenager.

"My mother has been selling char kuey teow in a coffee shop in Tasek for about 20 years.

"I started helping my mother when I was 13 and started cooking the dish when I was 16 or 17 years old.

She said she had confidence in her own ability, quipping that: "I am confident that I won't be giving lousy food to people."

Chan said she and her team took two weeks to prepare for the fundraising activity, adding that her mother also took a day off to support her.

Kampar MCA Youth chief Daniel Wa said he was there to show his support as a UTAR alumnus.

"I requested the Kampar District Council to allow Chan and her team to set up a stall at the parking lot," he said, adding that MCA's Crisis Relief Squad also set up a free health screening booth there.