It can be easy to judge someone based on their looks and their job. For instance, some may assume that cleaners do what they do due to their lack of education.
Well, one cleaning lady from Malaysia has shattered this unflattering stereotype thanks to a video of her teaching Japanese delegates how to speak Malay.
And yes, she speaks fluent Japanese herself.
In the now-viral clip, she can be heard switching effortlessly between Malay, English, and Japanese, wowing the internet with her talent.
The video was originally posted by Facebook user Hanafi Damanhuri, who was taking delegates on a tour of the National Mosque of Malaysia.
A community page for Bandar Baru Bangi, a township in Selangor, later reposted the footage.
In his caption, Mr Hanafi complimented the cleaning lady on her enthusiasm for teaching the Japanese how to speak Malay using their mother tongue.
The clip shows her clutching her mop while striking up a lively conversation with the three delegates.
Source: Facebook
She tells them that Malay is easy and demonstrates her point with the word “sudah” (already), which can be added before any verb to make it a past tense.
Throughout all this, she weaves in and out of three languages — English, Malay, and Japanese.
In the comments under the post, Mr Hanafi revealed it was the cleaning lady who approached the delegates first.
Upon overhearing them, she went up to Mr Hanafi and his group to strike up a conversation with them.
According to him, she greeted them in Japanese and proceeded to chat with the confidence of a native speaker.
Source: Facebook
By the end of the clip, she and her new Japanese friends bowed their heads at each other as a gesture of mutual respect.
The video earned the cleaning lady scores of admirers online, who are awed by her multilingualism.
Many called it an example of how one should never judge a book by its cover, regardless of what they do for a living.
Source: World of Buzz on Instagram
Source: World of Buzz on Instagram
Some likened her to the sweeping monk, a character from Chinese author Jin Yong’s wuxia novel ‘Demi-Gods & Semi-Devils’.
For context, the book introduces the monk as an insignificant character whose only job is to sweep the Shaolin Temple’s floors.
However, as the story unfolds, he turns out to be a formidable martial arts expert later on.
Naturally, many wondered what could have led the cleaning lady to have such a good grasp of multiple languages.
Some claimed she is a former university lecturer, while another alleged that she used to be the vice director of a Malaysian public university.
The most popular claim so far is that she is a former tour guide.
In response to a tweet sharing the video, a Twitter user said that the cleaning lady was a multilingual tour guide who unfortunately lost her job during the pandemic.
A comment by another Facebook user seems to back up this claim, saying that the woman is also fluent in French.
She now works as a cleaning supervisor in the commenter’s office.
Source: mStar Online on Facebook
The netizen went on to share that the woman also works at the mosque part-time and conducts language classes for kids as well.
From her language skills to her confidence and perseverance, this woman is impressive in more ways than one.
At the end of the day, we’re all trying our best to make our own way in this world, and this woman is no exception.
We hope this paves the way for more understanding and compassion for people from all walks of life.
We also hope that this talented cleaning lady will be able to get her old job as a tour guide back so that her superb language skills don’t go to waste.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
"Everything was ripped, ruined or had mildew on it," he said.
It dissipated when it came into contact with the wall of a swimming pool.
"Living here will put you in a better mood every day," she said.
Power rails have been replaced, SMRT said.
The Speaker said the purpose of the initiative was to foster a healthier society.
The elderly Singaporean had previously golf teed off on the mountain in 2019.