CHOCOLATE plays an important role in the life of Khalib Dahuri, former employee of Cadbury Confectionery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the producer of Cadbury dairy milk chocolate here.
"I found the love of my life, thanks to chocolate," reveals the 57-year-old former chocolatier Khalib.
Not only he spent almost the first half of his life committed to the world of chocolate, he also found his life partner at his former workplace.
Even his eldest daughter is currently employed at the same company, who also found the love of her life there.
After he completed his secondary school, Khalib who hailed from Kuala Selangor, left his hometown to work at the Cadbury production facility in Shah Alam.
"A relative of mine, who also worked there told me that there was an opening there. So I upped and left to begin the next chapter of my life," he says.
A luxury treat
Growing up in a rural area in Selangor in the late 1960s, Khalib remembers that chocolate was a luxury to him and his family members.
"When we, my siblings and I, were young, our family was very poor and we could only eat chocolate once a year," he recounts.
That would be during Hari Raya Aidil Fitri celebration, when the said relative would visit his parents' home, bearing gifts consisted of those sweet and brown goodies.
"But because I have 10 brothers and sisters, we had to share those and could only try a bit of everything," says Khalib.
So when he started working at Cadbury, he thought to himself: "I can finally eat and enjoy chocolate to my heart's content!"
"But little did I expect then, that I would be spending the next 36 years, pouring my heart and soul to the company which produces this sweet snack," he recounts.
Creating memories
Looking at how Khalib devoted almost four decades to chocolate and the company, one would wonder what had actually kept him there for so long.
To this, he says: "I love working here, working with my former colleagues. We were all working hard to earn an honest living. At the same time, we're also close to each other."
Such camaraderie is what brings Khalib back to the factory, after his retirement, to visit his former colleagues who are also his friends.
The chocolatier says most of his memories working there were as sweet as chocolate itself.
But of course, as Forrest Gump puts it: "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get," there was one particular incident which Khalib says was not a pleasant one.
There was a time when the country was shocked by reports claiming that two types of Cadbury chocolate contained traces of porcine DNA.
"I can remember vividly how worried I had been at that time. There were angry consumers who came and flocked outside the gate and started to throw stones towards the factory.
"Since both I and my wife were working at the factory, what could have happened to us was beyond imaginable. What if this could lead to the company here to be closed down for good?
"Both my wife and I would lose our source of income, and how can we and our four children survive then?" recounts Khalib on the harrowing experience which occurred in 2014.
Fortunately, the Islamic Development Council of Malaysia (JAKIM) finally confirmed that Cadbury is halal and does not contain pig DNA.
These days, Khalib runs a small business in his hometown.
He says although it wasn't a huge business enterprise, it was enough to keep him busy and still making himself useful.
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