GEORGE TOWN: After toiling for decades at their hawker stalls, these old-timers have finally been given a sense of recognition.

       The trio are featured in a mural near the entrance of the Pulau Tikus market, one of the oldest markets here.

       Images of satay sellers Hamzah Ali and Foo Chee Keong along with “lok-lok” seller Hung Heng Seong now grace the wall of the building.

       The mural, painted by artist Nasrul Hisham Jamaludin, depicts the hawkers, their cooking and fresh produce at the market.

       Hamzah, 71, said he could not be prouder to see himself in the mural after grilling satay at the market’s hawkers’ centre for 50 years.

       “This is a big recognition of our role in the community. Most of the time, our struggles are not looked into, so we are really grateful and humbled to be featured in the mural and to be remembered in such a way,” he said recently.

       Hamzah said he and several hawkers were old-timers who had operated at Gottlieb Road before moving to the Pulau Tikus market in the 1990s.

       Hung, 70, and Foo, 67, who have been evening hawkers there for over three decades, expressed pride at having their role recognised.

       “It is a joyous depiction of our lives here and we are thankful to the artist for helping us capture it,” Hung said.

       The market, he said, played a big role in their lives.

       “As a community, we are tightly connected with the locals. We are familiar with the faces buying food daily,” he said.

       Pulau Tikus market is nicknamed the “rich man’s market” because it sells pricey upmarket produce, from organic food to huge deep sea tiger prawns, salmon and even cod.

       In the evenings, the market comes alive as a hawker centre.

       Nasrul Hisham from Balik Pulau, who painted the mural after being commissioned by the Penang Island City Council, said he completed the mural in a week.

       “I wanted to depict the daily lives of the community. So, selecting an accurate image was important as it helps viewers to understand the dynamics of the place,” he added.

       Nasrul Hisham explained that he incorporated elements of street art and graffiti into the mural.

       And he combined elements of the market building, so it became an outdoor art installation, he added.

       City councillor Connie Tan said the mural was commissioned to mark Hawkers and Petty Traders Day, which falls on Nov 18.

       “Every year, the council celebrates the day and this year at Pulau Tikus, we commissioned the mural.

       “This is to recognise and appreciate hawkers’ efforts in shaping Penang into a food paradise,” she said.