Sole support: Koay fixing customers’ shoes when met at Island Glades in Penang. He usually comes in his motorcycle and parks it by the roadside. — K.T.GOH/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Near a row of shophouses most famous for their food stalls, a 75-year-old man is hard at work beside his equally old bike, with a small pile of shoes by his side.
KP Koay has been a cobbler for more than 60 years now, having fixed shoes for generations of customers – and he is still not about to walk away from the job he learnt as a lad.
Operating out of his 45-year-old kap chai, the Penangite is a familiar sight at Taman Island Glades here.
But the roadside at Island Glades is only his latest stop. The man, who learnt his skills at the age of 12 from his father, has really been around.
“My family used to run a shoe shop in the British army barracks before Independence. We made custom-fitted shoes for army members and their families.
“In the 1970s, we repaired and made shoes at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Butterworth and later, at its training school in Tanjung Bungah,” he said.
Koay said he set up a stall at Island Glades, a mere five minutes from his home, some 30 years ago. He has been working out of his motorcycle at the same spot since then.
These days, he keeps his operations lean and mends shoes just to pass time.
Regular customers and even their children have become friends.
“I want to keep myself occupied and continue practising my skills.
“At this age, I just want to be happy and not be stressed about life.
“Rain or shine, I will be here from Monday to Saturday, 1pm to 6.30pm,” he said.
Humble as his vocation is, Koay takes great pride in it, and is grateful that it has enabled him to successfully raise four children aged between 40 and 50 now.
“On Sundays when I am not working, I usually spend time with my grandchildren or hang out with old friends at a coffee shop,” said the grandfather of three.
Koay said he has noticed that as the pandemic eased, he has been getting more shoes to repair.
He explained that when shoes are left unused on the racks for a long time, they tend to start splitting and decaying.
“Customers started to dig out shoes they didn’t wear during the movement control order period,” he said.Most of the time, Koay said, he would either have to replace the soles or stitch the splits.
When customers present footwear that he finds to be beyond repair, he would just tell them to say goodbye to their beloved old shoes.
“I tell them their shoes cannot be restored anymore. I don’t want them to waste their money,” he said.
