At the beginning Malaysian college graduate Nur Fatihah Binti Zakaria had no idea about what steel production was all about, nor did she have any knowledge about speaking Chinese.
"My name is Nur Fatihah Binti Zakaria. You can call me Fatihah. I am from Kota Baru, Kelantan. I have bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. So, and I'm from Kok Kim Factory specifically in coal preparation department. My position is coal preparation central control operator."
But after almost two years working at the Alliance Steel at the Malaysia, China Kuantan Industrial Park, she now can perform her job skillfully, even making fun of her colleagues from China that not all of them "speak standard Mandarin."
With a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, the ambitious young graduate from Malaysia's northern Kelantan state admitted that she knew little about the Chinese company except that it was making steel.
"At the beginning I have zero knowledge on how to speak Mandarin, how to speak Chinese. I have no idea at all as well as I have no idea what steel production is all about. I don't know about the process, not even a single process. I have no idea. But I know that China is one of the world's largest production (producer) of steel."
Being a good student in school, Fatihah did some research and came to know Alliance Steel, the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park and the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
When she found out BRI calls for greater people-to-people bond, she felt she would not need to be worried about working in a Chinese steel mill. "we can help each other in working," she said.
Fatihah decided to start her first job after graduation with the Alliance Steel. "I think this is a good start for me to start my career because I can mix with other culture and mix with other people. I can take any challenges," she said.
Her first challenge came when she was sent to southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in December 2017 to receive trainings.
"I still remember very freshly how the first time I went to China. It was during the winter. At first I had a hard time to adapt to the winter, because it's very cold, very freezing there, but I managed to adapt myself very well after a few days."
Her transition to the job as a coal preparation central control operator at the Alliance Steel coking plant was made easier by her helpful Chinese colleagues. "At first, I was a bit like afraid how to operate all these kinds of thing," Fatihah said, adding that she was lucky that her superior from China was always available to take her questions, helping her to understand more.
The Malaysian young woman, who is now 28, regards learning Chinese as a "bonus" apart from gaining in the professional skills.
The language and communication barriers did exist in the first place, she said, but as she kept on practicing, she slowly became able to communicate with her Chinese colleagues in Chinese.
"Even if I speak with my Malay colleagues, I try to speak Mandarin as well," she said.
Now, Fatihah can write the work diary in Chinese, and she can even tell the dialects and slangs used by her colleagues from different parts of China.
"They came from different provinces, so they have different dialects but I can understand the way they speak," she said, adding that her mother was proud of her being able to speak Chinese.
Wang Yangang, head of Fatihah's workshop, said that most Malaysian staff are now capable of completing their jobs independently, and most of the positions of team leader are now being transferred to local staff.
With an annual output capacity of 3.5 million ton of steel products, the Alliance Steel was the first project materialized under the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park.
Steve Hu, deputy general manager of the Alliance Steel, said the company now employs more than 4,000 staff at the production line. With more technology transfer and training, the proportion of local staff will increase further from the current level of about 70 percent.
The company has attached great importance to the communication among the Malaysian and Chinese staff, Hu said. Apart from offering Chinese and Malay language classes, the company holds celebration at major Malaysian and Chinese festivals, so that the staff can understand each other better.
Fuziah Salleh, Kuantan Member of Parliament and a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said beyond the positive impact like job creation and stimulating the local economy, Malaysia-China Kuantan industrial Park has the potential to play an important role for cultural exchange, as locals and their Chinese counterparts live and work together, which will hopefully give both sides a better idea on what the other is like.
That is already happening in Alliance Steel. Fatihah said she had been impressed by the hard-working, diligence and the way of work of her Chinese colleagues.
"It is safe for me to say that this job has changed me in a good way. Why I say that is because first instead of I gain some professional skill but I also learn something new which is a new language. So apart from the professional skills and the new language I observe that Chinese people especially Chinese from China, they are very hard working. Very diligent... almost two years working here I could say ASSB has shaped me to be a very tough and hard working kind of person."
She said she still faces challenge every day in work, but she's ready for more, as local staff will gradually take over more responsibility from her Chinese colleagues.
