Compiled by JUNAID IBRAHIM and C. ARUNO

       BORN into a mixed-race family, Nur Ariysha Chong Amir Chong, 26, has an advantage as she can speak five languages including Malay, English, Mandarin, Tamil and Arabic.

       Nur Ariysha, who is from Johor Baru, said that her father Amir Chong is of Chinese descent while her mother Nazirah Marakar is a Malay woman of mixed Indian blood, Utusan Malaysia reported.

       Her multilingual family has inspired her to become a language teacher, especially in Mandarin.

       She had been exposed by her parents to the language as early as three years old, and she then received her early education in the Chinese stream.

       While waiting for the results of the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) exam when she was 15 years old, she worked part-time as an assistant teacher at a tuition centre where the majority of students were of Chinese descent.

       “The situation indirectly caused me to be involved in the world of education as early as 15 years old.

       “I like to teach and share knowledge. Each time I received an allowance, I would spend what I needed and the rest would be saved for future use,” Nur Ariysha said.

       After completing her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), she then worked at a famous language learning centre to teach Malay children the Mandarin language.

       “This subject (Mandarin language) has great potential in the future as other races have also started to accept the language by learning and practising it in their daily lives,” she said.

       Nur Arisyha also declined a job offer in China as she wanted to focus on her passion as an educator teaching locals Mandarin instead.

       > Singer Aina Abdul apologised to the public for wearing a dress that resembled a Christian nun’s outfit during a press conference recently.

       In a post on Instagram, Aina said she did not expect the fashion direction her team had chosen would be interpreted in different ways, reported Berita Harian.

       Aina: ‘I admit to the mistake as it has led to misunderstandings.’

       “I humbly apologise to my fans who were offended with how I dressed during the ‘A Night With Aina Abdul 2.0 Concert’ press conference, recently.

       “Honestly, this inspiration came from me and the team. We took inspiration from the Mason Margiela 2022/Spring Summer fashion collection.

       “However, I admit to the mistake as it has led to misunderstandings,” she wrote.

       The 28-year old also told the Malay daily that her fashion direction is her branding, which mainly contains elements of surprise.

       Aina has also been previously criticised for her fashion sense, which some would refer to as weird or out of place.

       The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.