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KUALA LUMPUR: Nestled in the heart of Petaling Street is Kien Fatt Medical Store, a treasure trove of herbs, spices and traditional Chinese medicine.
Loyal customers flock to the shop to purchase snow fungus and mushrooms – ingredients in popular dishes cooked during festive celebrations like Chinese New Year.
For the Chinese, mushrooms symbolise longevity, a fitting metaphor for this family business that has been operating since 1942. Kien Fatt Medical Store is a testament to the generations who have upheld the principles of hard work, frugality, sharp business acumen, and devotion to family.
FMT Lifestyle recently spoke with Ng Chee Yat and his daughter Vanessa, who represent the second and third generations of the business, respectively.
Chee Yat shared that the history of the medical store traces back to his late father, Kien Poon, the son of a Chinese physician who owned a medical shop in Rasa, a small town in Selangor.
But his father had bigger dreams. “He came to KL because there were more opportunities here. He worked as a shop assistant at a Chinese medical shop on Petaling Street. After he saved some money, he resigned and sold medicines on the street,” said Chee Yat, 67.
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He eventually saved enough to rent half of the shop that Kien Fatt Medical Store still occupies today. Realising he needed help, Kien Poon asked his brother, Fatt Poon, to join him. The name “Kien Fatt” is a combination of the siblings’ names.
To attract the non-Chinese, his father added a Jawi inscription of the shop’s name at its entrance. “Even then, we had customers from different races such as Indians and Malays,” said Chee Yat, adding that his father bought the shop premises in the late 1950s.
Largely influenced by his father, Chee Yat studied to become a pharmacist. In the early 1980s, he opened a pharmacy within their medical shop, aiming to enhance their services. With his knowledge of Chinese traditional medicine, he eventually set up a clinic in the shop as well.
Additionally, Chee Yat – who is the co-founder of the Kuala Lumpur Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, also located on Petaling Street – helped manage the business, as his father was getting on in years by then.
Explaining how traditional Chinese and western medicine can complement each other, he said: “Although your disease can be controlled by western medicine, if you’re still feeling uneasy and not completely normal, that is where Chinese medicine can come in.”
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Through it all, Chee Yat has remained committed to preserving the shop’s identity as a community-centred establishment.
In its early days, he recalled how the “sinseh” here helped customers with tasks like writing letters, making the shop a vibrant part of the community. Even today, he added, their customers are more like friends.
Still, business has been tough. “Back then, people came to the city centre to buy things. Business was very good. KL was also smaller then.”
But as the city grew bigger, he added, many regular customers relocated and began visiting medical shops closer to their homes.
The situation worsened during the pandemic, which was when his daughter Vanessa stepped in. “This was a walk-in business and there were no online sales. So, business dropped drastically,” the 36-year-old recalled.
Having previously worked as graphic designer in an advertising agency, she quit her job and used her skills in branding to build the medical store’s online presence.
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She started a website and social media accounts, and capitalised on online sales platforms such as Shopee and Lazada. She continues to explore ways to add convenience to the sales process while learning the ropes of the business from her parents and senior employees.
With family being at the heart of Chinese New Year, Vanessa shared her hopes for her family’s legacy as they await a brand-new year.
“My hope is that we’ll operate as we’ve been doing, and hopefully, I can keep it going for as long as possible.
“My father taught me that no matter how challenging it gets, you need to persevere. Whatever you do, take it step by step, and hopefully it will work out,” she concluded.
Kien Fatt Medical Store
59, Jalan Petaling,
50000 Kuala Lumpur
Business hours: 9am-4.30pm (closed on Sundays)
Learn more about Kien Fatt Medical Store on its website, Facebook and Instagram.
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