Hafizul Rahiman owes the success he enjoys to his late father Abhul Rahiman who single-handedly taught him how to overcome difficulties in life “He was a pillar of strength in my life because he always offered great words of wisdom and taught me values leading my life today.
“He was my best friend and I will always miss him.
There never was a day when any of my siblings slept on an empty stomach although he did on a number of occasions.
He had a heart of gold.” The 56-year-old native of Vuda Point, Lautoka, is the director of renowned eatery Aamira Restaurant which is popular for its numerous mouth-watering delicacies that would satiate anyone’s tastebuds.
The eatery is located at the iconic watering- hole South Seas Club in the Sugar City.
“My father was a canefarmer and he had 20 acres of land. He used to plant vegetables.
I am the sixth sibling in a big family that consisted of six sisters and three brothers. Mom was the boss of the household.
She is the best cook in the world. Life was full of hardships and struggles during my teen years.”
Mr Rahiman finished his Year 12 at the Lautoka Muslim College in 1983 and went on to cut cane for three years before he decided to look for a permanent employment because he found cane cutting a laborious endeavour.
“I joined the workforce because harvesting cane was an arduous task. I desired something permanent. I promised myself that I would never harvest sugar cane again.
After working in a couple of corporate organisations, I found employment at Trident Garments in Lautoka where I worked for 11 years as a quality checker.
I was the supervisor responsible for checking the quality, packing and exports of garments to Australia and New Zealand.
Unfortunately, the factory closed because of the political upheavals of 2000.”
Most interestingly, Mr Rahiman has led an active political life and had been a former secretary of the Fiji Labour Party’s Vuda Constituency for a number of years.
He is also one of the founding members of the annual Farmers Carnival held in Lautoka and held the position of acting secretary for the National Farmers Union’s Lautoka district.
He was also the treasurer of the Lautoka Football Association from 2003 to 2006.
Mr Rahiman was offered an opportunity to contest in the 1999 General Elections for FLP but declined and to this day he still regrets that decision.
It was by chance that Mr Rahiman ended up at the South Seas Club where he has been operating the Aamira Restaurant for nearly two decades.
“The FLP Lautoka office was situated opposite the South Seas Club, but I didn’t have an iota of an idea of how a restaurant worked.
My late uncle Usman Ali enticed me to venture in the restaurant business and told me about this place.
It was vacant at that time. I had no prior knowledge about running a restaurant business although I had a fair idea about cooking being taught by my mother.
“I took that opportunity because I wanted to do something after losing my employment hence South Seas restaurant or Aamira was established in December 2001.
“I started with only $700 cash. The place was in a mess and it was quite small compared to its present structure.
I vividly recall purchasing most of the equipment from Courts during a promotional sale.
I took the risk and challenged myself to either make it or break it within the first six months. Two of my brothers assisted me financially for three months and I thank them.
I started work at 7am for seven days a week for the past seven years cooking dishes on buka (firewood). My beautiful wife, Zinat Nisha, who was beside me during the eight years of operations, was the reason that I’m tasting success.
“Credit is also due to my son Aarish Rahiman and daughter Aaliyath Rahiman, who had been assisting since Year 3.
“And, I can proudly proclaim that it had been more than 16 years of a prosperous and a wonderful journey.
I have never looked back and I intend to continue serving all my customers with an immaculate service delivery, unabatedly.”
Mr Rahiman paid tribute to the past and present executives and trustees of South Seas Club for their unwavering support.
He also thanked his hardworking staff members and bonafide customers and even though business had dropped because of COVID-19, he offered a positive tone.
“My business has suffered immensely because of the pandemic.
However, everyone is affected around the globe and I’m content with whatever the Almighty has blessed me with. I have no complaints.
“Do your best and leave the rest to God because he rewards those who persevere,” he said.
