Home away from home

23/07/2003

WAN Abdullah is the unofficial mayor of Johannesburg. The Malaysian, from
Kelantan, decided to try his luck in South Africa 15 years ago, and today,
his WGS store in Village Walk, Sandton, can be considered as the "Malaysia
Hall."
WGS (Wan's Gems Store) is a cosy little place, where discounts await
every Malaysian - with a touch of Malaysian hospitality.
The Malaysian journalists covering the Champions Challenge in Randburg,
South Africa, first heard about Wan on board a Malaysia Airlines flight.
Salleh, the head steward, recommended WGS if we were looking for bargain
stones and stone trees.
Even though we forgot to ask Salleh for the shop address, it was not
hard to find.
Hungering for some spicy food on the third day in South Africa, we
walked into a Cape Town Malay shop at the Sandton Shopping Complex and
asked the manager for Wan.
He immediately retorted: "Wan Batu? Yes, I know him." And after
shuffling through his calling card rack, he handed us Wan's card.
We called his handphone, with some reservation, but were greeted by a
warm voice at the other end. And that night itself, Wan arrived at our
hotel and took us to his shop. Talk about Malaysian hospitality.
We were given a quick tour of his shop, as it was nearly closing time,
after which we sat down for coffee, with Wan becoming our tour guide.
Every question about Johannesburg was answered sincerely, and he even
gave us helpful tips on how to survive in this crime-ridden country.
"When I came here 15 years ago to try my luck, the situation was much
worse. Now, it is much safer but still, make sure you plan your excursions
properly. There are plenty of nice places to visit here, but make sure you
guys go with a licensed tour operator, because they will take care of
you," said Wan.
Wan keeps a visitors' journal in his shop, and flipping through its
pages, names of various Malaysians, some famous, have been jotted down.
Datuk Dr Siti Hasmah's picture was on the wall, with various other
Malaysians who have walked into Wan's store.
After the journalists had picked out their favourite stones, and a good
discount given, we started talking about hockey and Wan found out that the
Malaysian players had no one to cheer them on at the Randburg Hockey
Stadium.
It was decided there and then, that the Malaysia Airlines cabin crew,
led by head stewrd Salleh, that was housed at an adjacent hotel, would
come and cheer the Malaysian boys in the crucial match against England.
Salleh promised about 17 crew members as cheerleaders - but we still had a
problem. Where to get Malaysian flags?
Not a problem for Wan though!
He phoned his friend at the Malaysian Tourism Centre in Joburg, and
within 30 minutes, the flags were delivered to WGS, which by now was quite
crowded with Malaysians as more Malaysia Airlines cabin crew had walked in
and joined us.
(END)