Mak Cik Goes Viral For Speaking Hokkien And 9 Other Languages Fluently On TikTok
Many Malaysian Chinese were admittedly embarrassed after hearing Mak Cik Mah's proficiency in Hokkien.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 21 Jun 2023, 06:21 PM
A local mak cik in her 90s has garnered the admiration of millions of Malaysians on TikTok with her impressive fluency in Hokkien, a language that even some Malaysian Chinese may find challenging
The video was uploaded by Azril Baharudin, a former TV producer at Media Prima and Bernama, in August last year, but it went viral again recently.
In the one-minute video, the nonagenarian, known affectionately as Tok Mah or Mak Cik Mah among the locals in Sungai Petani, Kedah, is having a casual conversation with a Chinese woman in Hokkien.
While the context of their conversation is unclear, Mak Cik Mah can be heard saying "lao sai", which means 'diarrhoea' in the language. It is believed that they are talking about a person who is suffering from a kidney problem.
"(They) should try eating 'teh cheng' (transliteration)... People say (they) will make a recovery?" the mak cik says eloquently, as if the language is her mother tongue.
Watch Mak Cik Mah speak Hokkien below:
After the video went viral with over 1.9 million views, Azril filmed another video of her.
This time, he asked the mak cik what other languages she can speak.
"A lot of netizens requested a part two of you speaking (other languages). What languages can you speak other than (Hokkien)?" asks Azril.
"I can speak Hokkien, Mandarin, orang putih boleh la sikit-sikit (a bit of English), Hainanese, Macau (presumably Cantonese, the language used in Macau), Tamil, Ket (a Siberian language)..." the mak cik replies.
Although she only mentions seven languages, she is speaking in Bahasa Melayu (BM) to Azril. She also flaunts her ability to speak Teochew and Thai by constructing various lines used in day-to-day conversations.
She also reveals in the three-minute video that she has forgotten many Tamil words as she seldom converses in it.
Watch her demonstrate her multilingual prowess below:
Speaking to SAYS, Azril said Mak Cik Mah comes from a difficult background
"She used to hang out with a lot of people from all walks of life, which included Chinese, Malays, Indians, and others," he said when contacted today, 21 June.
The TV producer said Mak Cik Mah is around 92 years old.
Here is another video of her speaking Hokkien where she explains the benefits of using a body oil:
