KUANTAN: Hello Kitty costume entertainer Siti Endon Ismail is left heartbroken.
The 57-year-old, who has been dressing up as the much-loved character, including others such as Doraemon, Snow White and a bear at the famous Teluk Cempedak beach here, has suffered a sudden loss of income due to the Covid-19 outbreak and the Movement Control Order (MCO).
The single-mother from Kampung Tengah here said before the MCO, she had wanted to purchase a new Doraemon costume from Kuala Lumpur and made big plans for the recent school holidays.
“Since Teluk Cempedak will be packed with visitors during the school holidays, I had made plans to spend long hours at the beach hoping to earn enough money to buy a new suit to replace the worn-out costume.
“Usually I only come to the beach late in the afternoon but was prepared to come in the morning.
“Sadly, due to the virus attack, the beach is closed and now no one is allowed to leave their homes. It has been a nightmare as the school holidays is a golden opportunity for me to earn some extra money,” she said when contacted.
Last year, Siti Endon was the talk of the town following viral images of her clad in a costume of the popular Japanese robot cat manga character Doraemon, at the beach appearing forlorn.
Many were surprised to learn that the mascot, which is often seen dancing, was an elderly woman who spends hours walking on the beach daily to entertain people so that she can buy food for herself and feed 50 cats which she keeps at home.
Siti Endon said not being able to go to the beach was quite depressing as going out to work allows her to meet a lot of people and individuals with different characters.
“I greet people, especially children, and pose for pictures with them. I never ask for payment and it is up to them to give me any amount that they wish.
“I have been wearing cartoon costumes for about four years and I enjoy the job.
“I used to earn around RM30 a day which is enough to prepare some simple meals for me and take care of the cats,” she said, adding she receives RM300 monthly from the Pahang Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council to pay for the rental of her house.
Siti Endon said she had been keeping her fingers crossed that the Covid-19 pandemic would end soon so that she along with the other costume entertainers at the beach could return to live a normal life.
“I wonder what the other mascots (her friends) are doing without any income these days.
“Will they return to the beach or maybe look for other jobs? I miss those days when I used to walk along the beach and mingle with children. It makes me feel young too.”