Cover image via Habsah Ismail/Bernama
Warung Kopitiam Beruk in Kampung Melor Lama, Kelantan, gives 'monkey business' a new definition
Bernama reported that the quaint coffee shop is a favourite joint for local monkey handlers and their furry companions.
Image via Habsah Ismail/Bernama
They gather every morning around 7am to fuel up, chit-chat, and conduct monkey trade before they head off to work to harvest coconuts.
The kopitiam is owned by 40-year-old Rohaida Ibrahim who started the business about 10 years ago in 2008
Her husband Mohd Saiful Mohd Sori, 45, is a monkey handler as well, and has been training monkeys to pick coconuts for more than 20 years.
Image via Habsah Ismail/Bernama
Monkey owners treat the kopitiam as a lepak place for their pets to mingle and play with other furry friends
One patron who frequents the food joint is Mohd Saiful, who owns a 15-year-old monkey named Dolah.
He told Bernama, "Usually the monkeys eat what I eat. If the master eats rice, it eats rice too. If I drink Milo, it too, drinks Milo."
Dolah hangs out with the kopitiam's other furry friends, such as Mamat, Din, and a female monkey named Saripah.
Image via Habsah Ismail/Bernama
The kopitiam regularly hosts coconut-plucking competitions as well, which has attracted a lot of interest, including from foreign tourists
Zaidi Zakaria, a regular at the kopitiam, says that the monkeys are given simple commands like "Ish ambil" or "Eh atas" to pluck a young coconut, while "Yak" means "no".
Yassin Awang Puteh, 72, from Kampung Merbau, said that he has had Mat Soyok, aka 'Koyak', for five years and the monkey is a good worker.
Koyak is able to pluck 200 to 300 coconuts a day when the pair work from 7am to 11am.
