Munching on ‘cat whiskers’ for health

NST: PASIR PUTIH: Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mahmood loves having "cat whiskers" with his rice while his wife usually puts them in her fried popia.
No, this is not an episode of the Fear Factor reality television series and neither is the couple consuming tactile hairs on a feline’s face.
Instead, the "cat whiskers" which Nik Abdul Aziz and his wife are munching on are actually a type of medicinal herb which is native to Southeast Asia and tropical Australia.
Better known as "misai kucing" in Malay, it is believed to have anti-allergic, anti-hypertensive and diuretic properties.
It is also known as java tea and kidney tea. It has been used by traditional medicine practitioners for many centuries to treat kidney ailments, bladder stones, urinary tract infection, liver and bladder problems, diabetes, rheumatism and gout.
It is also used to treat high cholesterol and blood pressure.
"Misai kucing" may not be as well known as ginseng or "tongkat ali", but there is a growing demand for the plant. Its flowers have long, pinkish-white filaments that resemble a cat’s whiskers, hence the name.
Nik Abdul Aziz, a retired headmaster, is one of those who swears by the purported health benefits of "misai kucing".
The 56-year-old, who eats it regularly as "ulam" with his rice, is the sole private harvester of "misai kucing" in Kelantan.
He operates a one-hectare farm near his house in Kampung Bukit Tanah, here, and has a contract to supply the herb to a factory in Shah Alam that processes the plant into tea.
Initially, the pensioner had not planned to go into large-scale farming after his retirement from SK Pak Badul in Bachok last year.
"A friend told me about the contract but he did not have enough capital to start the business, so I took up the offer," he said at his farm here.
After securing the contract, he contacted the Mardi station in Telong, Bachok, and it trained him for three days in the techniques of cultivating the herb on a large scale.
Beginning in April with a start-up capital of RM100,000, Nik Abdul Aziz planted 10,000 seedlings that he bought in Cherating, Pahang.
The plant grows to about one metre and it is cut about 20cm from the ground every two months.
"I can produce about 300kg of ‘misai kucing’ each harvest and I hope to get about one metric tonne once all my plants have grown," he said.
Nik Abdul Aziz plans to expand his farm by renting plots of land nearby and installing a machine that processes dried plants into powder.
"The Shah Alam factory needs about four metric tonnes of powdered ‘misai kucing’ from each harvest.
"So there is plenty of room for me to expand.
"At the same time, I can provide jobs to villagers," he said.
At present, he employs six villagers to help him.