Malaysia is known for its rich cultural and ethnic diversity. And it’s no secret that many Malaysians are bilingual, and some are even multilingual!
In a recent viral video on TikTok, @julianapija shared a glimpse of her Raya celebration at her mother’s house in Selangor.
Her mother has been speaking Tamil since she was young
In the video, Juliana’s mother can be heard chatting with her neighbours who have come to celebrate raya at her house. What’s particularly interesting is that her mother can be heard speaking Tamil with the neighbours.
Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, Juliana shared that her mother, Hasimah, who is 61 years old, is originally from Taiping, Perak.
“My mother picked up Tamil from her school friends at Estet TRP in Trong Taiping when she was a child,” she added.
Her mother and the neighbour’s father are close friends!
Juliana shared that since Hasimah moved to Selangor, most of her neighbours have been Indian. This gave her mother a chance to keep practicing Tamil to stay fluent.
She mentioned that the man who visited Hasimah’s house with his family for Raya is a long-time friend of Hasimah and her late husband.
“My dad used to have a stall and would always invite the Katia family to join us for a meal whenever he cooked, as we often shared food with each other. When Deepavali came around, we would visit their home to celebrate together.”
This video has garnered 1.4MIL views and 71.1K likes as at time of writing!
Netizens were impressed by Hasimah’s fluent Tamil skills, leading them to fill the comment section with their thoughts!
“Where did your mom learn to speak Tamil? I want to learn too.”
“The auntie looks so adorable speaking Tamil.”
“Your Tamil is the best, auntie.”
“May relationships like these between different races in Malaysia last forever.”
You can watch the full video down below:
@julianapija Mak happy bila anak jiran India datang raya.Terus mak cakap Tamil☺️ #fyp #foryourpage #selamathariraya
Can you speak Tamil or other languages too? Let us know in the comments down below!
Also read: “It’s challenging” – 27yo M’sian Teacher Impressively Speaks 6 Languages, Says He’s Still Learning
