SECONDHAND booksellers in Chowrasta market in Penang are hanging on despite plunging revenue because of Covid-19. 

They said while they were willing to do other work to sustain themselves, they vow to keep their heritage family-run bookstores open everyday.

Nasir Ahmad Abdul Jabar, 54, said he has two jobs in order to make extra money.

He said he would be at his bookstore until the evening and then would continue working at a restaurant to make ends meet.

“I open at 11am and close at 5pm during this pandemic. In a month we can only get RM10 to RM20.

“After I close my bookstore, I will help a friend at a restaurant to get my daily salary, if the business is good on that day.

“Because of Covid-19 I cannot rely on selling books, I need a part time job because there is no option,” said the man who has been selling books for the past 36 years.

He followed his father’s footsteps, adding that he would not stop selling books.

“Whatever happens, I will take care of this business. Maybe to survive we need to work elsewhere, but we also need to take care of these books, some of which are more than 50 years old and not easy to find.

“I do other work to make extra money, it doesn’t matter and I will keep this store because I love it,” he added.

Nasir has been renting the shop in Chowrasta Market for the past 30 years. The rent is RM130 per month.

Before moving to the Chowrasta Market, Nasir’s shop was in Macalister Road, the previous hub on Penang’s secondhand book trade.

Severe drop in income

Nasir said sales at his bookstore were severely reduced since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.

He said he had to accept that he could earn only RM10-RM20 a day.

“At the end of 2019, thank god for the many customers, I could get RM2,000-RM3,000 a month.

“It was a little less in January but when the government announced the movement control order in March, my income from the bookshop dropped to zero.

“I reopened in June and managed to make some money but since there were several new clusters in the past month or so, the business has been declining.

“For the past two or three weeks, we had no shoppers. I open the shop but it is empty,” he said.

Nasir said the majority of his customers were foreign tourists who had stopped visiting due to closed borders.

Locals are going out less frequently due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases.

Another bookseller, Mohamed Assalam Gulam Mohamad, 47, said that he has not received a single customer in the past week.

Assalam, who inherited the book business from his grandfather, said the Covid-19 outbreak caused the business to be unpredictable.

“After we reopened the business last June, there was some hope but since there are new clusters, people do not come out.

“Previously you can get RM2,000-RM3,000 a month, now you can get RM1,000 only,” said Assalam who had been in the business for 25 years. 

He said he also sold books online and that has helped him earn extra income. But for him, physical sales were more satisfying.

“I am more satisfied when customers come, visit the store and find the books we sell, it is more fun.

“Selling online does help, but people will buy only when there are books that we promote on social media. If in the store, they will take a long time to look at the books here,” he said.

Despite the hardship caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, he said he will continue because selling books is a hobby for him.

“This store is not just a heritage, not just for making money, but it is also my hobby. I have been selling books after following my grandfather, which is more than 30 years now.

“So no matter what, I will still take care of this bookstore,” he said.

The Chowrasta market was established in the late 1800s and is popular with tourists for its stalls selling food, kitchen appliances, pickles and souvenirs.

Brisk online sale 

Another secondhand bookseller, Sabri Sabran Naseer Khan said his was selling his books online.

The 25-year-old said he had been promoting books through his Facebook page for the past four years.

“I only keep books at this store and then I take it from here to be sent to customers. I am usually in the shop for only two or three hours, while updating Facebook with the available books.

“I sell comics, novels, literature and history books online and there are customers,” said Sabri.

Unlike other traders who complained that their income was affected by Covid-19, Sabri said during the MCO, he was still able to do business because of the high demand for books.

“The business is still the same as before Covid-19. I am actively selling on Facebook and there are regular customers waiting for me to advertise on social sites.

“This shop is just a store but customers can come and look. What I sell in this store is the same as on Facebook,” said Sabri who owns two shops.

“People are looking for secondhand books, as new copies can cost RM50 but a used copy is only RM10.”

Penang, which was previously a green zone, turned into a yellow zone following the emergence of several new clusters recently.

Among the clusters that exist are the Ara Cluster, the Remand Prison Cluster, the Seberang Perai Prison Cluster, and the Alma Cluster. – October 25, 2020.