Kota Baru Puspen to start marketing muruku in June

KOTA BHARU: Kota Bharu's Narcotics Addiction Rehabilitation Centre (Puspen) will market various types of murukku in the local market under the Sokongan Untuk Kepulihan Anda (SUKA) initiative implemented by the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK), in June.

Its director Adzmiral Nawi said murukku was selected as the popular snack is very close to the consumers regardless of religion and race, especially when celebrating their respective festivals, and it is also very easy to make and does not require a lot of energy.

He said among the types of murukku that will be marketed are murukku bintang, murukku leper, murukku salted egg and murukku cheese and the selling price also depends on the type of murukku, starting from RM20 to RM30 per container.

"We are currently planning to market this product by looking at the potential in the market and for a start, we will give the clients or residents' families a taste of this murukku first during a visit in conjunction with the Aidilfitri celebration.

"Once we receive feedback from the families, we will do promotions through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to create awareness among the community and any parties who want to collaborate and help us market the murukku," he told Bernama recently.

Commenting further, Adzmiral said the products produced 100 per cent by residents at the centre and assisted by some Puspen staff, can provide early exposure to how to process the snack and benefit them to work on it when they are released later thus generating income.

He said that the ingredients used to make this murukku are also easily available in the market such as rice flour, wheat flour, eggs, and margarine, and the time it takes to prepare is not too long.

"Thus far, Kota Bharu Puspen has a total of 33 male residents, aged 21 and below, and on average they come to this centre voluntarily to undergo the rehabilitation phase after being caught with drugs.

"Alhamdulillah, I saw that they were very happy when they were making the murukku and they are fast learners. Some of them even said they want to sell murukku once they are back in the community," he said.

-- BERNAMA

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