At 83, Kok Ah Wah can still carve a traditional signboard. — Pix by Steven Ooi KEGEORGE TOWN, May 9 — Penang’s last traditional signboard maker Kok Ah Wah may soon be calling it quits as business dwindled to almost zero since the first movement control order in 2020.
She said they were paying RM1,000 for only the front portion of a shophouse on Queen Street in George Town. The signboards can cost anything from a few hundred ringgit to thousands of ringgit, depending on the size. However, this year orders have been few and far between with only one or two orders over a stretch of a few months.
Loh, who helps Kok paint and apply gold leaf on the carved words, said it is also time for Kok to ease into retirement.