Abdul Raoof Malik was born on 1st September 1973 in Bristol; he attended Whitehall Primary School and then completed his secondary education at Whitfield Fishponds Secondary School. He left school after completing (unsuccessfully) his GCSE’s and at the age of 17, he went to Pakistan and got married as per the wish of his parents. He later returned to his education and gained 5 GCSE's and completed his further education whilst running his businesses.
After returning from his marriage in Pakistan Abdul had the urge to start his own business and to be able to include his family within this business, looking at the locality (Easton) where Abdul lived he realised the need for traditional butchers that could cater for the Muslim community as well as the other diverse communities within this unique locality so he started PAK Butchers, Pak means, Clean and Pure.
Through Abdul's ideas the business was advertised in the locality and the facts about Halal meat were distributed within Easton, St. Pauls and other surrounding areas soon people started to flood the shop, the meat tasted better because of the very little blood content and lasted about 7 days longer in peoples fridges due to it having less bacterial/toxin content in it, the local media soon picked up.
Abdul gained the respect from all communities and he reinvested his time and money within the locality, working with BEST (Bristol East Side Traders) to regenerate the local area with new shop fronts and traffic calming systems, he was very active in meetings and earned more respect, he joined the local Mosque who needed administration help and also set up a Muslim Funeral Committee to help repatriate deceased Muslims to their desired countries of burial, in 2002 he won the BEST best business award and was nominated for the Inner City 100 Financial times awards.
In 2003 he opened another branch of Pak Butchers in Cardiff which has attracted the same fame. He went on to win the Bristol East Side Traders Award again in 2005. He also won Business of the Month in February 2005 from Bristol Evening Post and the Jury’s Hotel; he later won 2nd Runner up prize for Business of the year and was shortlisted for ‘Muslim 100 Jewel awards’ by Lloyds TSB Bank.
Abdul also helped Bristol City Council make a dedicated kitchen for Halal School meals and in doing so gained much support from local communities, he has now been approached by Cardiff City Council to help with the same project there.
Abduls achievements have benefited all communities he is a mentor for young people who want to start their own business and holds surgeries in a local office to help people gain the vital services from appropriate sources; he has worked with Lloyds TSB in the local area to help them understand local demands for their branch and provides mentor support and lectures for a ‘Common Purpose’ project South West.
He was asked to join Bristol Muslim Cultural Society BMCS as a director and was responsible for the largest ever Muslim Cultural event which was held at Eastville Park and attracted a wide range of cultures and created a positive image for the local area.
Abdul was approached by all the major political parties to stand for Council Election in Easton due to his respect and contacts with the local community. He is now a successful Councillor in Easton on behalf of the Liberal Democrats.
Abdul has worked with the Inspector of the region for policing strategies in the local area and hold regular police ‘beat surgeries’ within Easton Bristol.
As well as all this there is loads more to this ‘Superman’ he is a father of 3 children and he is able to balance everything within his circle, he is a perfect example to follow and an amazing Human being, in this time he also gained his academic qualifications and he attended a coarse to help his local community with immigration problems he gained a qualification from the Office of Immigration Service Commission (OISC), at present he is organising a ‘Community Legal Advice Clinic’ for free legal advice to be given by local Law Students for the Local community.
He also helps his local businesses and new catering establishments with their health and hygiene policy requirements and has a recognised qualification from Her Majesties Royal Institute for Public Health and Hygiene.
His business expansion continues and Pak Butchers have two outlets in Cardiff and three in Bristol and the 6th branch is due to open in Gloucester soon. The business believes in reinvesting in the community and recently sponsored an off-road motorbike to the Police that can help them patrol parks and the Bristol to Bath cycle track. He has also opened a community office sponsored by his businesses called the Community Point, where people can talk to him as a councillor and other agencies including the Police have regular surgeries to help the local community.
Pak Butchers is a business that benefits its local community and in Bristol and Cardiff, where we are helping to regenerate Grange town along with other small businesses and the council, it has brought change wherever it has gone it employs people from the local community and involves local people.
Abdul also sits on the following committees nationally and locally:
Our business supports local/ national events and our chairperson Abdul Malik is part of the Community Cohesion Committee MCB (Muslim Council of Britain), Executive of LDMF (Lib. Dem. Muslim Forum),
Chairperson of (AKFC) Azad Kashmir Funeral Committee, Member BMCS (Bristol Muslim Cultural Society),
Member of Bristol North Development Control Committee,
Member of Public Safety and Protection Committee Bristol,
Founder member of Pakistani Forum Bristol,
Chairperson of Azad Kashmir Forum,
Founder member of Earthquake Appeal Bristol,
Member of Bristol Islamic School Trust (BIST),
Secretary of Muslim Conference Bristol,
As well as being the only Muslim Councillor for Bristol City Council
