Hopes

LKIM Jetty, Kg. Gelugor, Kerteh

Despite Kerteh's image as oil-town in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, some of the inhabitants still rely on the sea to earn a living. There is a jetty near Kg. Gelugor, just a few minutes away from my home where we can see fishermen coming back from the sea.

I was wandering around the jetty area with my camera when an old man approaches me to have a chat. He introduced himself as Pak Hakim. With typical traditional fisherman's look, he is very ambitious about improving his life. But then, hope is just a hope.

In his damaged boat

His boat was damaged by the rough sea waves years ago and he cannot go fishing since then. With his limited capacity as traditional fisherman, he went searching for financial assistance to enable him fishing again but to no avail. I managed to have a chat with him and asked what type of assistance he is looking for. He replied, a 15 HP engine and some money for boat repair are all he needs. He has the tools to repair his boat but funding the replacement parts is the issue.

He hopes that he will be able to fix his boat and start bringing the anglers to his 'lubuk' for fishing trip. I left him sitting, pondering on his damaged boat when the sun sets. I hope he will be able to achieve his dream.