Sajid Assan showing off the famed Nasi Ganja to the camera.
IPOH: You know you have made it when your RM4.80 nasi kandar is mentioned in the same breath as cartoonist Lat and Olympic medallists during a live broadcast on national TV.
“Never in our wildest dreams did we think this would happen,” said Mohamed Niathullah Syed Mustafa, who is the manager of Perniagaan Nasi Kandar Ayam Merah.
On Tuesday night, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak delivered the National Day message at Putra World Trade Centre where he mentioned Lat, Team Malaysia’s Olympic medallists and “owners of the popular vanggey nasi kandar stall in Ipoh” as icons of unity.
Vanggey means “come” in Tamil. It refers to the way the rice seller would call out to their customers in the early days.
“For him to call us icons of unity is a big honour,” Mohamed Niathullah said when contacted.
Earlier that day, he and his son-in-law Sajid Assan were asked to send packets ofnasi vanggey to Kuala Lumpur.
Little did they know what would transpire at PWTC.
“We thought we were going to just deliver food but we were surprised when the Prime Minister mentioned nasi vanggey in his speech,” he said.
They were told to deliver packets of the nasi kandar after the National Day address but suddenly asked to get ready for the event at PWTC.
“We didn’t know what was in store and when the Prime Minister mentioned our names, we felt really honoured. We had brought the food, thinking we were just going to deliver it.”
Later, they went to Najib’s residence in Jalan Duta. The Prime Minister was surprised to see Mohamed Niathullah delivering the food personally.
“He was surprised to see us. We chatted for a while and when he took a bite, he immediately said that this was the best food,” said Mohamed Niathullah.
“He also said our food was cheap. Imagine paying RM4.80 for chicken, rice, curry and vegetables. He said it is affordable for many people.”
Mohamed Niathullah said they been in the business since 1957, adding that their Indian-Muslim stall, which operated from a Chinese coffee shop, made them all the more unique.
