
Work life balance is the starting point for a young family
By Foong Pek Yee
After five years studying in Kuala Lumpur and in UK, he is hesitant about returning to the laid back lifestyle in his hometown.
It takes Ooi Choo Teck about three years of contemplation before he returned to Jering New Village in Manjung, Perak for good.
That was in 2008.
Today , Choo Teck is a tiger prawn farmer and has set his sights on the China market.

Making progress: Choo Teck’s prawn farm in Segari, Manjung.

Scalability: The quest for food security worldwide sees growing potential for farming.
A typical day for the 41-year-old farmer sees him juggling between his house and farms in Segari, Manjung, about 35 minutes drive apart.
He is already in the business for eight years .
Prior to that he was helping his father Datuk Ooi Jing Ting in the family business.
He says a relative taught him prawn farming.
“It involves much work and attention to detail ,and the need to be hands on,” he says.
While Choo Teck has workers to handle the job, he goes to the farms daily to stay on top of things.
Unlike living in a big city like Kuala Lumpur where traffic congestion can be time consuming and stressful, Choo Teck says work-life balance is better away from the hustle and bustle.
Nowadays he has time to play badminton and goes jogging with his wife Yap Oi Leng.
The couple who are both 41 are blessed with three children.

Cultivating a future: Rising economic opportunities outside the city.
On what it takes to stay on in a village while many young people are leaving for the cities, Choo Teck says he makes new friends, focus on his business and bringing up his family.
With food security a rising world concern, he says food production has good business potential.
He has plans to expand his prawn business and export to China in five years’ time.
To date, his prawns go to Pantai Remis in Perak.
“We must have a certain volume of production in order to qualify to venture into the overseas export market,” says Choo Teck who has a degree in marketing.
Prawn and fish farming is a big business in Manjung.