National anthem of Kazakhstan in Malaysia: airport employee surprises tourists

Image created from video frames

Tengrinews.kz - An employee of a store in a Malaysian airport unexpectedly sang the national anthem of Kazakhstan for the cameras of surprised tourists.

A Kazakh woman, Asel, was flying home from the Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia. She went into a duty free store and, having shown her passport, unexpectedly heard the employee sing the national anthem of Kazakhstan, performed in a fairly pure Kazakh language.

"I gave him my passport, and he suddenly started singing. Then I asked him to sing it for the camera, and three more passengers came to listen. I asked him how he knew our anthem, and he said that he learned it from YouTube. It turns out that he has such a hobby. He learns the national anthems of different countries. He said that he knows 45 anthems. Despite the fact that it was only 8 am, he was very friendly and sang quite cheerfully, which made us happy," the Kazakh woman said.

Later, after questioning the man, the tourist found out that he was 34 years old and his name was Azizi Zamhari. He is a citizen of Malaysia and has never been to Kazakhstan.

"He also said that he knows Kazakh cuisine and has tried it. He especially liked beshbarmak and plov. He said that he would like to visit Kazakhstan if such an opportunity arises," the girl added.

According to Asel, she was very happy to hear the national anthem from a foreigner.

"It is pleasing when citizens of other countries, who have never even been to our country, are fascinated by our culture, thus showing respect for our state symbols. I hope that such a positive airport employee will visit our country and see the hospitality of Kazakhstanis, the dynamics of our country's development and receive the same positive emotions that he gives to our compatriots at the airport," the traveler added.

We managed to contact Azizi, and he told us why he learned the anthem of Kazakhstan and what other words he knows in Kazakh. He has been working as a sales consultant in a duty-free shop for three years, selling sweets and toys, sometimes perfumes and cosmetics.

"My passion since I was 15 is to learn foreign national anthems. This is my way of understanding cultures around the world. Sometimes I sing them to customers, it helps me make a good impression and provide good service to my customers, in addition to strengthening good relations between countries. I can also make new friends and regular customers. Apart from the national anthem, I only know some basic phrases in Kazakh, such as ‘rahmet,’ ‘salem’ and ‘men seni jaqsı koremin.’ I usually use Google Translate to find some phrases and learn to pronounce them word for word," Azizi said in a written correspondence with our correspondent, so we have provided the words in Kazakh as he wrote them to us.

The employee also said that he read a lot about Kazakhstan, about the history, politics and cuisine of our country.

"I also listened to Dimash Kudaibergen when he performed with our main diva Siti Nurhaliza. And I like your food! I love to eat and I love to discover new cultures through food. My favorite Kazakh food is beshbarmak with horse meat. Plov is my second favorite food. I always tell my clients that I love beshbarmak," Zamkhari added.

The Malaysian noted that he met a lot of Kazakhstanis at work. Some of them just watch him sing, others take videos and selfies. Many ask how he managed to learn the anthem in an unfamiliar language.

"I will definitely visit Kazakhstan one day. Firstly, I want to try and enjoy Kazakh food (especially horse meat dishes). Secondly, I want to get to know Kazakh culture (especially Kazakh markets) and architecture. I also want to see the beautiful mountains there. We have direct flights to Almaty, and I would like to fly there one day," Azizi added.