The Democratic Action Party (DAP) Malaysia recently shared an interview on their TikTok with Malaysian politician, Nicole Tan, where she was seen in her element discussing the identities of Negeri Sembilan that she promotes every day.
As a Member of the Negeri Sembilan State Executive Council, Nicole wowed many Malaysians including the interviewer with her deep dive into Negeri Sembilan’s culture.
Pepatih traditional custom
The video kicked off with Nicole noting that August 24th will mark her 1st anniversary as a member of the tourism executive council.
After this, she discusses how Negeri Sembilan is the only state that still observes the Pepatih traditional custom, which honours women.
She then explained that this is why she would always begin her speeches with “puan-puan dan tuan-tuan sekalian” (ladies and gentlemen), acknowledging the women first.
Gulai Masak Lemak Cili Api and pepper flower
Nicole then went on to share some fascinating facts about gulai masak lemak cili api. She pointed out that the flavourful dish is surprisingly simple to make, requiring just 3 basic ingredients: turmeric, coconut milk, and bird’s eye chilli.
She also mentioned that the Negeri Sembilan flower is known as bunga lado or bunga lada, which translates to “pepper flower.”
“200 plates would break during rehearsal”
Nicole also included the game known as Tiger Dam in the list as it is one of Negeri Sembilan’s traditional games.
She then talks about the traditional dance called piring lambung, explaining that during rehearsals, roughly 200 plates might break.
“Piring lambung originally comes from Minang, but in Negeri Sembilan, we often call it piring lambung to give it a more modern touch,” she said.
Negeri Sembilan’s traditional architecture
Nicole then noted that bumbung panjang is a key feature of Negeri Sembilan’s traditional architecture. She explained that visitors to the Negeri Sembilan Museum would have noticed its distinctive long roof.
She then revealed that the Negeri Sembilan identity song includes several tracks, one of which is “Lambaian Negeri” performed by Dato’ Aishah.
She explained that another famous song by Dato’ Aishah, “Moh Dogheh,” means “let’s hurry,” which reflects the local dialect in Negeri Sembilan.
She promotes the identities by embracing them!
Nicole also highlights Negeri Sembilan’s traditional outfit, often called baju setengah tiang, which is a type of kebaya.
The interviewer was so impressed by Nicole’s deep knowledge of Negeri Sembilan’s identity that he remarked it was his 1st time hearing about these details, considering he’s from Kuala Lumpur.
“I always promote the identities by embracing them myself, like wearing a pepper flower broach and the traditional baju setengah tiang kebaya,” Nicole explained.
Netizens began flooding the comment section with praise, equally impressed by Nicole’s knowledge of Negeri Sembilan!
“She’s so good at what she does, especially as an exco. She actually studied her job scope properly and does not interfere with other exco’s work.”
“Most hardworking YB (Member of Parliament) in Negeri Sembilan!”
“Thank you for introducing Negeri Sembilan’s cultural background.”
“This is how it should be done. Promoting the authentic culture of Negeri Sembilan.”
“You’re the best YB for consistently promoting the arts, culture, traditional clothing, and architecture of Negeri Sembilan.”
You can watch the full video down below:
@dap_tikthetok Moh dogheh! Sdri Nicole Tan Lee Koon berkongsi 9 identiti Negeri Sembilan yang sentiasa beliau promosikan setiap hari. RoketSembangSantai DAPMalaysia
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This post first appeared on WORLD OF BUZZ.