KEPALA BATAS: Muslim families are being careful with their spending as they face the start of a new school term for their children, as well as the Ramadan fasting month.
A check by The Star at several grocery stores and wet markets here showed that many Muslims were seen making final preparations to observe the fasting month.
Many of them were seen purchasing essential items for cooking their sahur (pre-dawn) and iftar (breaking of fast) meals.
Businesswoman Julia Othman, 38, said her preparation this year was modest and she tried not to overspend.
“I only buy items that I want to use to cook within one or two days,” she said when met at the Kepala Batas wet market yesterday.
Julia said she wanted to do her best to avoid waste.
Housewife Azizah Hashim, 54, on the other hand, practises buying groceries in bulk to save money.
“Buying in bulk allows me to plan ahead on what to cook for iftar and sahur,” she said, adding that she has invested in a large refrigerator to store more groceries.
The grandmother of nine said that on the first day of Ramadan, all her children and grandchildren will descend upon her house at Permatang Bertam to break their fast together with her and her husband.
She said her husband helps her buy groceries when he is not working.
“We both keep an eye out for food products selling cheaply. We buy food for cooking regularly, so we know when something is being sold cheaper,” she said.
Civil servant, Ramli Ahmad, 40, was spotted at a shop in Taman Paya Keladi here shopping for groceries.
He said it has been a routine for him to make trips to the market or grocery store, especially during the Ramadan month.
“It is easy to shop here, as all the items that we need for cooking are available and affordable,” he said.
Meanwhile, a grocery stall operator at the Kepala Batas wet market, Noor Zaini Khamaruddin, 39, said among the most sought-after items during Ramadan were salted fish, salted eggs, papadam, foo chuk (dried bean curd sticks) and dried shrimp.
She said these items were relatively cheap and easy to prepare for sahur and iftar.
“It is not only cheap, but also delicious to be eaten with rice,” she said.
