MELAKA: Syafriel Sekumbang left his village in Indonesia 31 years ago to seek a better life in Malaysia. The 60-year-old man initially worked in the construction industry before taking up odd jobs to make ends meet.
He then decided to do what he loved best — mending shoes, a skill he learnt as a young man in his village in Medan.
Today, the cobbler operates a small stall along Jalan Parames-wara in Banda Hilir, Melaka, with a catchy name: “Mender of Lost Soles”.
The name, a wordplay of the word “souls”, became popular with the customers, locals and foreigners alike.
“I owe it to the kindness of strangers who helped my business grow.
“One day, as I was getting ready to set up my stall, a man from an advertising company next door, presented me with a two-piece signboard.
“I was surprised. He told me it was a gift from his boss. At that time, I had no idea who his boss was; I had never met him.
“Since I can’t speak English, I didn’t know what the sign was all about.
“Later, the owner of the advertising company came and explained to me what it meant. It put a smile on my face and I couldn’t thank him enough for his kind gesture.
“Now, I can explain to my customers what the signboard means and why it was put up,” he said.
“The name may sound like I am offering help to those searching for emotional strength.
“In a way, I help my customers get back on their feet... one sole at a time,” he said.
Syafriel, an Indonesian permanent resident, previously operated his business in front of a shop in Melaka Baru, Batu Berendam.
“In November last year, the owner sold his business and the new owner didn’t want me there in front of his shop.
“Business in Banda Hilir was not too good initially, but it picked up after I put up the signboard. People now come to my stall to repair their shoes, including the foreigners.
“I charge between RM2 and RM5 for gluing, RM15 for stitching, and between RM40 and RM45 for changing of soles.
“Sometimes I do not charge a single sen if it involves just mending simple holes in the soles,” he added.
“When I was in my 20s, I worked as a cobbler in Medan, Indonesia where I learnt how to mend, and even make shoes.
“We operated the business from my boss’ house with only about 10 to 20 people.
“If I had the raw materials, I can even do custom-made shoes for both men and women,
“One of the shoemakers is my friend who asked me to join him to seek greener pastures in Malaysia in 1980s. He told me that there was plenty of job opportunities, especially as construction workers.
“Eventually, I came to Melaka in 2011. While my friend continued to take on odd jobs, I decided to start a small business fixing shoes. I called it ‘Klinik Kasut’ and it was located in front of a saloon.
“Business was pretty good until the saloon was closed down to make way for a self-service laundry shop. That’s how I decided to move to Banda Hilir.
“Eventually, I met the people who changed my business forever.”
New Sunday Times spoke to Winston Chan, a proprietor of Sign World Advertising, who decided to come up with the signboard for Syafriel.
“When he first came here to start his shoe-repair business, he did not even have a proper signboard.
“He had only handwritten pieces of cardboards with the words ‘Klinik Kasut’.
“The name Klinik Kasut is quite common and is used by most local cobblers here.
“I noticed that Syafriel was having a tough time attracting customers, so I wanted to help Syafriel give his business a better-sounding name on a proper signage.
“I took literature in school and I remember the phrase ‘mender of bad soles’ in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. It inspired me to come up with the name for the signboard, with the word ‘bad’ replaced with ‘lost’.”