Jaslene, an Indian teacher teaching at an education centre in Klang, speaks fluent Mandarin and used to share her teaching visual on TikTok showing off her fluent Mandarin.

Better known as teacher Jas, her actual name is Kanageswary Muniandy.

Jaslene candidly admits that mastering Chinese language has changed her life. Not only does it provide her with more opportunity , the Chinese community treats her as one of them.

Being fluent in Mandarin does not only benefit her career but also brings her love—she marries a Chinese husband, and they have a pair of adorable children.

In an interview with Sin Chew Daily, she shared that she learned Mandarin from young because her father made an unconventional decision – enrol her in a Chinese-language kindergarten, followed by a Chinese primary school.

“My father did not send me to a Tamil primary school or a national school,” she said.

Jaslene admitted that her father was truly remarkable, as he learned Mandarin and Hokkien by himself. This made her admire him even more.

“My father can speak some Mandarin, and all five of my siblings attended Chinese primary school, so I always had an environment conducive to learning the language,” she said.

“I still remember my teacher, Ms. Hou. She was very patient in teaching me. By the time I reached year four, my overall academic performance improved significantly, and I even represented my school in a storytelling competition,” she said.

Today, Jaslene is fluent in four languages: Mandarin, English, Malay, and Tamil.

People are always surprised when they hear her fluent Mandarin, which makes communication much smoother for her.

Sometimes when people gossip about her—especially saying bad things – and she suddenly responds in Mandarin, their shocked and embarrassed expressions leave her both amused and speechless.

Currently, she teaches at an educational centre in Klang, focusing on English and Malay, with most of her students are Chinese.

She mentioned that because she is fluent in Mandarin, she can translate words into Mandarin during lessons, making it easier for students to understand.

“I have no problem communicating with parents.

“The parents and students are very friendly. They treat me as one of their own,” she said.

Moreover, through Mandarin, she met her Chinese husband. After getting married, they had a pair of mixed-race children, allowing her to achieve success in both her career and love life.