KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Wangsa Maju’s Seksyen 2, a busy commercial area adjacent to the LRT station, is a vibrant mix of kopitiams, restaurants, provisional stores and service outlets that’s well patronised by students and the working crowd. Pan mee is a popular food offering here, with no less than three restaurants specialising in variants of the noodle dish, and there are at least five mid-range hair salons.

When the hawkers and their foreign workers in the area need a haircut, however, it is not those well-dressed salons that they head to. Instead, they make a beeline for Arigato U, a hair cutting station that’s unusually housed in a truck, parked by the side of a small roundabout.

Chin Siew Wah, the proprietor of a fried chicken rice stall at nearby Mang Chuan Restaurant, has been a regular customer ever since the truck first appeared on the scene about a year and a half ago. “It’s so convenient for me, and I am always satisfied with the service. More importantly, it’s the same sifu who cuts my hair each time so he knows how I like it,” says Chin. “All my workers come here to get their haircuts too.”

Arigato U is parked at Wangsa Maju every night while during the day, Ken does house calls and charity work.

As hairdresser Ken Chaw is a ‘one-leg kick’, although his wife Bong Sze Yen sometimes comes by to keep his company, and the space inside his truck is limited, Arigato U only offers haircuts but caters to all — men, women (including curtain-covered service for Muslim women), children and older folks. Ken keeps his price list just as straightforward: RM12 or RM16, but it’s not one’s hair length that is the deciding factor. On one of three small wall-mounted fans is a mark that says ‘138cm’. Anyone who stands shorter than the mark is charged the lower fee, and those who are taller than that pay the higher fee. “Rather than ask for people’s ages, which can be sensitive to some, I decided on this method,” Ken explains as he works on a client inside the truck that was specially outfitted for his needs. One thing you can’t help noticing is the variety of lights, which he put in himself. “He loves tinkering with things,” wife Sze Yen reveals. “He often comes by the office where I work and makes himself handy. My boss calls him MacGyver.”

Ken fashioned a vacuum cleaner hose into a practical way to clean hair off customers’ clothes after each cut.

There is just enough space for a chair in front of a mirror and some cabinets, while the tools of his trade hangs on the walls. Among them is a hose attached to PVC pipes which he fashioned from a vacuum cleaner, and is used to clean off the hair ends that have may have fallen on customers’ clothes after a cut. It’s not conventional, but is certainly practical!

Many would think that Ken’s decision to run a mobile hair truck as opposed to a shop was just as pragmatic an approach, to counter high overheads. But he had another objective in mind when he first thought of this set up: That he could take his truck around doing charity work, offering his services to old folks’ home and orphanages.

The former strikes a particular chord in him, especially after his late mother passed away from cancer. Ken had been looking after her till her last day. He remembers taking her for a haircut but the results were unsatisfactory. He didn’t have his salon at the time, although hairdressing is something he had picked up from a young age as all three of his sisters are hair stylists.

Arigato U caters to Muslim women as well.

“I came to understand that when a person is sick, hospitalised or incapacitated in any way, a simple thing such as a good hair cut can make them feel much better. It’s like taking a load off, or having a fresh start. When I thought of doing this, I wanted to make sure I could do something to make other mothers happy.”

Ken’s philanthropic streak is something his mother had instilled in him. “My mum always believed in doing charity, she had an affable personality and was always ready to help someone out,” he recalls with fondness. “People took to her easily. Everyone knew her at the market and would want to give her treats. At the nasi campur stalls, we always got huge discounts — RM3 for two big pieces of fish that would usually cost at least twice the amount.”

As Ken can only handle one customer at a time, some waiting time is necessary on a busy night.

Ken’s vision, however, was thwarted by the rising cost of fuel as well as the fact that for some older folks, having to climb up the two-step stairs to get into his truck can be a problem. He has had to modify his modus operandi, keeping his truck for his nightly operations at Wangsa Maju and the occasional events that he’s invited to participate in.

During the day, he makes house calls on his motorcycle, bringing his services to old folks who are unable to leave the house or who are in the hospital. He also makes house calls for parents who want to have their newborns’ heads shaved at their babies’ full moon celebration, a Chinese tradition that has a three-prong purpose: For hygiene reasons, to allow the parents to check that the child’s scalp for any problems, and to encourage hair to grow thicker. Ken lets on that in the olden days, the shaved hair would be made into a Chinese calligraphy brush that the child can use to write with when they’re older.   

Ken with yet another satisfied customer.

Ken charges RM18 per house call, but there have been cases whereby the customer was unable to pay the full fees or even not at all, and he is fine with it. “Mine is a half-profit, half-charity venture. As long as I can make enough to cover my costs and expenses, I am happy to give back whenever I can.”

He has distributed his flyers to various old folks’ home and orphanages, and even knocked on their doors to offer his services but it has mostly been a frustrating exercise. “They’ll usually tell me to write in and the request has to go through several levels of approvals.” He has so far managed to visit two orphanages to give the children free haircuts, and someone has sponsored his services for an old folks’ home.

“Each time after I have done charity work, it gives me a fantastic feeling,” Ken says, breaking off into a big grin. “When I see their joyous looks, it’s as if I’m seeing the happiness on my mother’s face.”

Arigato U operates from 8.30pm till late every night at Seksyen 2, Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur. Ken can be contacted at 0111-629 9993.