BY SURAIYA JAMIL
KUALA LUMPUR: Mandarin songs such as ‘Till We Meet Again’, ‘Red Scarf’, ‘Your Name Engraved Herein’ and ‘It Might Break Your Pinky Heart’ can be heard playing in the background each time 12-year-old Nik Izz Nur Arissa Nik Mohd Izafudin Shah goes ‘live’ on TikTok to promote and sell her bundled soft toys.
Affectionately called Iris by her family and friends, the schoolgirl has succeeded in stealing the hearts of social media users with her endearing style and eloquence as well as her ability to confidently respond to any question posed by potential buyers.
Not only that, she is also winning over Chinese customers with her fluency in Mandarin.
Iris, a Year Six pupil at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Yuk Tze in Tumpat, Kelantan, has accumulated more than 13,000 followers of all ages and from various backgrounds since becoming active on TikTok in February this year. Meanwhile, her live videos, delivered in Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin, have been garnering over 100,000 ‘likes’ each.
The spirited youngster told Bernama she is using social media not only as a platform to help out with her family’s soft toy bundling business but also to hone her business talent and communication skills.
Father main motivator
Almost every day after school, Iris would go live on TikTok, usually accompanied by her father Nik Mohd Izafudin Shah Nik Mat, 42, at their home in Kampung Geting, Pengkalan Kubor in Tumpat.
Their bundled soft toys are sold under the brand name Iriz Collection and the ones that are most sought-after are the key chains featuring cartoon characters such as Garfield and Care Bears, and those from the animated series ‘PAW Patrol’. Also in demand are the soft toy variations of Japanese anime characters such as Sotoru Gojo, Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto.
Iris, the eldest of four children, attributed her courage to go live on social media to her father who she said was her biggest motivator.
“Initially my father made me go live with him as he felt my communication skills were weak. But over time I became more confident and couldn’t wait to start (live) broadcasting on my own.
“Of course, at first I was nervous thinking about the public’s first impressions of me. But my father provided me with the inspiration, guidance and opportunities to constantly improve myself when I broadcast live (on TikTok),” she told Bernama when contacted recently.
She added that although she encountered people who were “not too supportive” of her good command of Mandarin, their disapproval only spurred her to excel in all her endeavours and gain more contacts from other ethnic communities.
“It’s fun each time I go live (on social media) as all my friends from my (Chinese-medium) school also come to support me. Sometimes they would buy almost all the soft toy bundles I’m selling,” she said, adding that she completes her homework first before starting her live streaming sessions.
Language a unity tool
Iris said whenever she does her sales pitch in Mandarin during her live broadcasts, her non-Chinese customers are also eager to know what she has been talking about as they don’t want to miss out on her products.
She said initially she was worried about conducting her live streaming sessions in Mandarin.
“I wasn’t sure how I would be received. But my anxiety disappeared after I started getting positive feedback. It makes me so happy to get comments like ‘you are great and thank you for learning our language, we will support you’,” she said, adding that since language is a tool that can unite people, one should learn and master other languages as well.
Nik Mohd Izafudin Shah, meanwhile, said he is proud his daughter is fluent in Mandarin, adding that she has been learning the language since she was in pre-school at the age of four.
“I hope Iris will also learn about their (Chinese community’s) work culture and use their positive elements to guide her in life. If possible, I would like her to learn as many languages as she can… not for my sake but it will be a bonus for her later in life,” he added,
On his business which he started only early this year, Nik Mohd Izafudin Shah said he gets his stocks of soft toys from a factory and gives them a thorough cleansing first before they are bundled and offered for sale at reasonable prices. (Bundling is a marketing strategy where businesses sell several products or services together as a single combined unit.)
“The bundling business previously applied to (the sale of) used or second-hand goods but now the perception has changed,” he said, adding that he intends to open a warehouse and supply bundled soft toys to small entrepreneurs. – BERNAMA
