Poh keeps an old trade turning in Sandakan

At age 70, Poh Kim Tong still spends his days surrounded by keys, metal filings, and the familiar hum of machines that have been part of his working life for more than four decades.

He moved from Sungai Petani, Kedah to Sandakan in 1979 and eventually built the locksmith business with his wife, Lim Chun Hiong. The small shop helped support the family and pay for their children’s education until they went on to establish careers in Kota Kinabalu.

Over the years, Poh has watched the trade change considerably. “In the past, brass was stronger and purer, whereas today there are more alloys, and people also use electronic locks more often,” he told Bernama.

Even so, there is still demand for conventional keys. Poh continues to cut them for homes, cars and motorcycles, with prices ranging from RM3 to RM10.

Technology has made the work faster: a key that once took about half an hour to produce manually can now be cut in around five minutes using modern equipment. Still, Poh points out that one of his machines was made in Japan 38 years ago.

For him, changes are simply part of staying in business. What worries him more is whether anyone younger will want to learn the trade.

“Young people nowadays are not interested in learning how to make keys because they think the work is difficult as it involves polishing metal and it gets their hands dirty,” he said.

Electronic locks have also reduced demand for traditional locksmithing, while the growth of satellite towns has shifted customers away from older commercial areas.

Still, Poh has something technology cannot easily replace: people who know him. Some customers have been coming to the shop for decades, bringing one generation after another through the door.

Among them is Selvia Ben, 46, who first visited as a schoolgirl with her mother.

“Since I was little, my mum would always bring me here to have keys made. I have never gone anywhere else,” she said.

Poh has cut her gate keys, house keys and car keys over the years, turning what began as a simple service into the kind of familiarity that only develops with time.

For Poh, this brand of loyalty is one reason he keeps going. The business may be smaller than it once was, but as long as people still walk in needing a key cut, he is happy to keep the machines turning.

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