KOTA BARU: All a barber in town wants in return for a haircut is only a prayer.
This goodwill service is currently being offered at The Jangot's Barbershop. The shop in Kubang Kerian is owned by Mohd Rosli Wang Noh who said that a prayer is all he asks for from his disabled and elderly customers Mohd Rosli, who strongly believes in giving it back to society, especially the less fortunate, said it was duty that he has vowed to take as he wanted to help ease the burden the less fortunate ones.
"I do not wish to burden them even more on top of whatever difficulties they are already going through. I do it out of generosity and believe that by offering free haircuts to the disabled and senior citizens, God will reward me one way or another," said the 36-year-old adding that a prayer for him would mean more than a payment for his services.
Mohd Rosli said he has received good support and his services are well received by the people of the town, although the senior citizens do feel a little shy coming to his shop for a free haircut.
"Maybe some of the older customers feel shy coming over because they feel that the interior and setting is more suitable for the younger generation but that is not true.
"Many a time the older customers who come by, would insist on paying for their hair cut but when I tell them that it's a sincere act of charity, they understand," he said when met at his shop today.
He said he chose to name the shop The Jangot's Barbershop because the word jangot in the Kelantanese dialect means dressing up to look good.
For other customers, Mohd Rosli said he charges between RM15 and RM90 for a complete package. Apart from haircuts, the shop also offers facial services for their male customers.
He said in Kelantan it is rare for shops or salons to offer such services for men so this is one of the reasons why he is offering facial services at his barbershop.
"Our employees are all well trained and we normally advise our customers to make an appointment before coming in because on average they would have to allocate at least an hour or more at our shop," he said.
Besides, the range of services offered at the shop, Mohd Rosli said he also offered free trainings for students who were keen on learning the trade.
"So far I have taught about 10 of them, all between 16 and 17 years old and from the 10, five have managed to earn extra income from plying the trade even though they are still in school.
One of them is Shahrul Ikhwan Mat Yazid, 17, a student at Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) in Pengkalan Hulu, Perak.
Shahrul said he learned how to be a barber last year and now he is making extra pocket money giving haircuts to students at the school.
"I became interested last year when I was on holiday here. I studied for about a month under Mohd Rosli during my break and now I'm putting my new skills to good use at my school during my free time, after studies," said Shahrul.