Wan Junaidi – a down-to-earth person, says café owner  

KUCHING (Jan 29): ​​For regular customers and hawkers of Yong Hua Café at Jalan Satok here, the presence of Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar at the café is nothing extraordinary.

In fact, they claim that the café is the newly appointed Sarawak governor’s preferred spot for his cup of ‘Kopi O’, ‘Beef Kut Teh’, ‘Sup Tulang’ and ‘Mee Jawa with satay’.

60-year-old Saptuyah, who works at the café, said Wan Junaidi has his own personal preference of drinks and meals.

“Kopi O (Hot black coffee) is his favourite, alongside his favourite dishes, and it has been like that for years,” she said.

Suwit, a 50-year-old ‘Beef Kut Teh’ food operator, said the halal-version of the Chinese’s Bak Kut Teh was one of Wan Junaidi’s favourite dishes at the cafe.

She and her husband, Ah Lai, run the café and have been serving the Beef Kut Teh for close to four decades.

“To make the beef tender, we cook it for about seven hours so that it will absorb all the herb ingredients,” she said, adding that food brings people closer such as in the case of Wan Junaidi.

“We have known Wan Junaidi even before he got married with the late Datin Seri Fiona. At that time, he was still a police officer,” said Suwit and Ah Lai.

“He is very generous, kind hearted, humble and easygoing,” they said, adding that Wan Junaidi had often paid for the other customers’ meals at the cafe.

“Those who have known him know how warm his personality is, he is indeed a true people leader,” they said on Wan Junaidi’s appointment as the eighth Sarawak governor.

“We pray that Tun will always be blessed with abundance of health,” they said, while conveying their congratulatory notes on his appointment.