He left his engineering job to flip prata and he has no regrets

Why I Do What I Do is an original AsiaOne series where we showcase people with uncommon professions and what it takes to get there. In Why I Do What I Do: After Dark, a five-part spin-off, we take a closer look at the night owls who work while the rest of us are sleeping.

---

The term "flipping prata" may be synonymous with being wishy washy, but that couldn't be further from the truth when it comes to this prata man, 48-year-old Osman Bin Abu Bakar.

For over 20 years, the Malaysian has worked at various prata shops in Singapore with a singular focus on his dream — to be his own boss one day.

From leaving his 78-year-old father back home to giving up an engineering job, he tells AsiaOne that it hasn't been easy, but he has no regrets.

It's well past midnight when we meet him at Akbar 24 Hours Restaurant, where he's been working for over a year, but he's bright-eyed and chipper.

The Johor native works from 6pm to 6am on most days, churning out prata after prata at the popular supper joint.

But it's the very start of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) when we meet him, so the restaurant, typically filled with supper-goers, night-shift workers, and the occasional drunkards, is unusually quiet.

"If it's normal times, I won't be sitting here talking to you," Osman chuckles. He explains that the first half of his shift is usually hectic — just the way he likes it.

"Six hours gone like that. You don't get tired. Don't even have time to think."

[[nid:525769]]

Here at Tanjong Pagar, he can make over 300 prata on a good day. But that's nothing compared to his stint at a Jalan Kayu prata shop, he boasts. When things got busy, he often had to make between 3,000 and 5,000 prata, he says.

But it's no sweat for him — prata-making is in his blood, he tells us. Back in Johor, he grew up helping out at his father's prata shop, learning how to swing prata from age 10.

He then took a short detour to pursue a diploma in engineering after getting a "good result" for his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, the equivalent of the GCE O-Level exams here.

"Demand for engineering was high, so I followed my friends," he explains. "I thought this will bring a good future to me. We also didn't know the [financial crisis] would happen."

He had finished his diploma and even secured a job as a technician with a Japanese company in Johor, says Osman. But the 1997 Asian financial crisis upended his career. As his company sought to move overseas to reduce costs, Osman found himself turning back to what he knew best — prata.

At the time, his eldest brother had just opened a prata shop in Johor Bahru and offered to hire him, paying him the same salary he'd received as a technician.

It was not an easy decision, Osman admits. "I felt some sadness in my heart because I learned and studied to be an engineer. I thought, 'Got future or not? Can I get back this [technician] job after this crisis?'"

But his brother's words of advice struck a chord with him.

"He said, 'What for you want to work for other people? Open your own [place] and become your own boss.' So that became my inspiration. From there, I forgot about the engineering field."

His new dream, Osman says, is to open a prata shop with his brother here in Singapore as the country is "good for business". But he's also not ruling out setting up a shop for his semi-retired father back in their hometown of Segamat.

And he's already thought of what he'll call it.

"Maybe I'll put my father's name or my late mother's name," says Osman, his eyes twinkling.

In order to make his dream come true, Osman has been steadily saving $500 a month and aims to open his first shop by 2024.

Among the sacrifices he's made is giving up on precious family time.

Osman has six siblings, most of whom are working in Singapore as well. But with all of them working at different restaurants or different jobs, he only sees them occasionally when they meet up at Tekka Market on their off days, he says. But with Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) restrictions in place, even that has been scuppered.

As for his father in Segamat, it's been about two years since they saw each other.

[[nid:527501]]

"I'm very worried about him. With the third MCO (movement control order) over there, I tell him not to go out," Osman says.

While he is able to return to Malaysia under the Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) scheme, he would have to undergo a 14-day quarantine there, and a 21-day stay-home notice when he returns to Singapore.

"You earn here and pay there," he scoffs, shaking his head.

Despite not being able to meet, he says his father is happy and proud of him and his siblings.

"He's very understanding. He gives his children the opportunity to do what we want to do," says Osman. "He just tells us, 'Don't do anything against the law in Singapore. Take care of your name, take care of our family name.'"

In the meantime, Osman is learning to enjoy the rare bout of downtime at his job thanks to the pandemic.

"I've become lazy," he quips. "Now the time goes very slow. Like snail. Last time like cheetah."

kimberlylim@asiaone.com