THE MALAYSIAN TING-TING MAN

Leo Chia is standing behind his stall on a hot afternoon and serving his customers with a smile on his face. Three generations of his family have been selling ting-ting sweets in Malaysia since his grandfather started the business. “It’s hot,” complains Leo. “But I enjoy what I do and want as many people as possible to try these traditional sweets.”

Ting-ting sweets are small and hard and traditionally handmade by mixing white sugar, maple syrup and sticky rice. But Leo’s family use maltose and honey instead of white sugar. Leo learnt the job when he was 13 while he was helping his father to measure the ingredients. When he was young, he used to pop a few sweets into his mouth, and that’s why some of his front teeth are missing. “That’s only part of the reason,” he laughs. “Maybe I didn’t brush my teeth properly when I was younger.”

Last year, Leo’s father finally gave his son permission to run the business. When making the sweets, Leo needs containers of different sizes to measure the ingredients accurately. Leo makes the sweets between midday and 6 p.m. because it’s important to make the sweets when the temperature isn’t too cold.

In the old days, his grandfather used to sell and deliver the sweets from a basket on his bicycle. His father uses his motorbike to sell ting-ting, but Leo prefers to use his car. He says, “The more places I go to, the more customers I can find. I go wherever I think I can sell the most!”

Sundays are always the busiest because that is the day when most families go out together, and Leo enjoys meeting old and new customers. When there are big orders for a children’s party, Leo makes the ting-ting three days before the delivery.

All the sweets are sold at 2 RM a packet, and if business is good, Leo can make 100 RM a day. But on bad days, he might only sell one packet. However, he is a very determined person and always looks on the bright side. He says, “My father and grandfather supported their families by selling ting-ting and I hope to continue this tradition. We haven’t raised the price of the sweets for the past eight years even though the cost of basic ingredients has increased a lot. So the profits are less and I don’t make much money, but it is enough to make a living.”

Adapted from IGSCE past paper