PENTERNAK BERJAYA

Saturday November 29, 2008

Accountant finds breeding cattle more satisfying than dealing with numbers

By HAMDAN RAJA ABDULLAH
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

A village boy, who had become a successful accountant, decided to turn cattleman to fulfill his boyhood dream of becoming a major cow and goat breeder in the state.

Saipolbahari Suib, 46, from Kampung Parit Tengah in Bukit Naning, Muar, who used to look after his father’s six cows when he was a boy, is now the owner of Say Full Sdn Bhd cattle farm near Pagoh.

Self-made man:Saipolbahari Suib.

With about 1,000 cows, including the Bali breed, and more than 500 goats from the Boer breed, Saipolbahari could be regarded as a successful agro-preneur in the cattle industry.

“It all began after I failed to win the Bakri Umno division Youth chief post in the party election in 2001.

“As an accountant, I was not regarded as a successful person by villagers,” he said in an interview.

Saipolbahari said he then decided to breed cattle on a large scale and he recently defeated Bukit Naning assemblyman Datuk Abdullah Ali for the Bakri Umno division chief post,

Sole importer:Bali breed cow at Suib's farm in Lubuk Bakul near Pagoh.

He imported cattle with the the assistance of the Malaysian Agriculture, Research and Development Institute (Mardi) and the Veterinary Department.

He said the state government later allotted him several plots of grazing area totalling about 80ha at Lubuk Bakul near Pagoh and he began developing the area into cattle farms.

At the same time, he added, he also set up his own cattle quarantine centre on a 2ha plot along the Pagoh-Parit Sulong road to house imported stocks to help the Muar Veterinary Department.

At work: Suib(left) feeding some of the cows inside his quarantine centre along the Pagoh - Parit Sulong road.

“I import several hundred heads of cows and goats at one time from Indonesia, Australia and Africa and these animals need to be quarantined for disease checks,” he said.

Saipolbahari said his commitment in the industry earned him the confidence of the Indonesian Government, which gave him the right to import the Bali breed cow or banteng Bali into Malaysia.

He said Indonesia also made him the sole importer of the breed and had given him permits to import 20,000 heads of the Bali cow in stages.

He said the Bali cow, which has more meat content and little fat, could weigh up to one tonne when matured, adding that, he had imported about 1,000 to date.

He said in the 80s, Felda used to import about 400 heads of Bali cow but the programme was stopped and he planned to re-introduce the cow to farmers and breeders in the country.

In a row: Hundreds of Boer goats.

Saipolbahari, who believed in the motto - nothing is impossible, said he worked hard for almost seven years to become a successful businessman in the village.

“We don’t need to live in big towns or cities to be successful businessmen as we can become one even in the village.

“Besides cattle, I also rear catfish, patin, tilapia and haruan in 60 ponds and a three-kilometer canal which I dug in my plots,” he said.

Saipolbahari said the fishes brought good money at every harvest too.