This Is Kak Ning – The Cleaner Who Can Speak More Than 3 Languages
She can speak Malay, English, Japanese, Arabic, and German.
By Suraya Athira — 24 Aug 2022, 11:39 AM
Recently, Nirmaningsih Mawi, 59, went viral for teaching Japanese tourists how to speak Bahasa Melayu
In the video, Nirmaningsih, who prefers to be called Kak Ning, was seen teaching the delegates from Japan while effortlessly switching between Japanese, English, and Bahasa Melayu.
The video caught the attention of netizens and had them wondering what her occupation was.
One of the speculations made by netizens was correct: Kak Ning was indeed a tour guide
In an interview with Harian Metro, the woman, who was born in Minangkabau, Sumatra, Indonesia, said that she is just a regular person who used to work as a tourist guide for 30 years and is not a lecturer, as theorised by some netizens.
COVID-19 had changed the trajectory of her career, according to Kak Ning
"The last time that I brought tourists into this country was on 13 March 2020 [before] the Movement Control Order (MCO) changed my life," said Kak Ning.
She was unemployed for four months before accepting the offer to work as a cleaner at a company.
"I worked there for six months before moving to a sanitation company, and now, I am here (in Masjid Negara), with my husband who also works as a cleaner," she explained.
Kak Ning is diligent in seeking knowledge, which makes her who she is today
When reminiscing her memories of working as a tourist guide, she shared with Berita Harian that she started her career in 1990 at a company for four years before she started freelancing.
Throughout her career journey, she had taken courses in four different languages, which are English (1990), Japanese (1991-1992), Arabic (2010), and German (2011).
This means that Kak Ning can speak more than the three languages seen in the viral video!
"I can speak five languages, but I mostly deal with Japanese tourists," she told Berita Harian.
She broadened her knowledge and experience by working while training at a tourism company in Tokyo, Japan, where she got to speak the language and learn their work ethics.
"If I had not gone there, I wouldn't be able to speak Japanese as I do today, but that was at the cost of being separated from my first-born child," said Kak Ning.
Being a cleaner does not stop Kak Ning from being involved with the tourism industry because the tourist guide job is her first love
In the interview with Harian Metro, Kak Ning said, "I chose to work at Masjid Negara for a simple, practical reason: I get to meet tourists every day."
As much as she misses being a tourist guide, she does not want to stop working as a cleaner since it lets her be close to her husband. So, she decided to take the job as a tourist guide only every Sunday night, when she is not working as a cleaner.
