Malaysian woman who went viral for being atop Petronas Twin Towers talks about fears, work challenges (VIDEO)

KUALA LUMPUR, November 17 — Normalia Sidek has been at the top of the 451.9-metre Petronas Twin Towers a few times to carry out maintenance work.

But it was only recently that she gained the admiration of social media users when a TikTok video clip of her went viral.

The one minute and seven seconds clip was initially shared by TikTok user Siva Kumar78142 in late October, and has garnered over two million views on TikTok.

Normalia told Malay Mail that she and a small team of technicians had gone on top of the twin towers in the morning of October 31 to do some maintenance work.

As they were just going to start working, a drone flew around the area and had taken the ‘money shot’.

Normalia is a level 1 rope access technician and a level 2 Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) technician who said that she has been working on top of KLCC more than a few times now.

“We’ve worked on top of KLCC many times before. It’s just that it never went viral previously.

“I’m a part of the regular technician team at H&Z Marketing whenever I work in KLCC,” she said.

Although she’s only been an NDT technician for around two years, Normalia has been a rope access technician close to five years now since 2018.

She has done over 30 site jobs which includes cleaning and maintaining industrial equipment such as boilers and pipes.

Normalia added that working on tall buildings was much more challenging and involved a lot more technicality in comparison to working on ships or oil and gas platforms.

“One of the risks are the winds; as it’s hard to estimate how windy it is going to be up there. But we’ve been trained to face these risks which made us more cautious when working.

“Unlike working on ships or oil and gas platforms, space is not so confined and we can see the blue skies. If it gets dark, we would know and would immediately stop our operations,” she said.

She added that she would usually prepare herself both mentally and physically in advance before going to work such as getting a good night’s rest and going hiking with her husband to keep up their physical endurance.

On challenges during her work, she said it was those that involved a confined space as it was a huge risk; recalling her experience working in a Tenaga Nasional Berhad boiler.

“My job was to inspect the boiler using magnetic testing and penetrant testing methods. I also did the cleaning in the boiler as well.

“It is scary as it is dangerous. It was so dark inside and the boiler was 70 metres deep,” she said.

She also shared that she once worked inside a glue tank where although she was wearing a respirator mask, she still could smell the glue.

“Suddenly I found myself just staring at the walls of the tank until one of my teammates snapped me out of it. He told me I was there for too long.

“It sounded funny at first but I would have fainted in that tank if I stayed longer. Any work involving a confined space is risky.

“If we faint, we need to be taken straight to the hospital because there’s limited air inside the tank. The same as boilers, it’s hard to work when there’s limited air,” Normalia said.

Aside from that, as rope access technician and NDT technician are men-dominated fields, Normalia admits that it has its effect on her.

“Gaining the trust of my clients has proved to be a constant challenge for me as I’m still considered new in the field.

“However, I have no problem getting the job done as I am certified to do this kind of work.

“Nothing is impossible, even five-star hotels, which is also a male dominated field, would also hire women with skills and expertise as chefs,” she said.

She added that she had also taken the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA) licence in order for her to work at high-rise buildings and structures.

The IRATA is an international association which was formed in the UK in the late 1980’s to solve maintenance challenges in the offshore oil and gas industry.

“With the knowledge that I’ve learned, I’ve gained better understanding on the do’s and dont’s in my work field and it simultaneously has also toned down my fear of heights.

“However, as humans, fear can be a useful tool as we will tend to work more cautiously and efficiently when there’s fear,” Normalia said, adding that another key ingredient for her to overcome the challenges of being a female technician is passion.

When talking about the future, Normalia hopes to learn as many skills as possible and she’s also aiming to explore the oil and gas industry next.

Normalia is also active in sharing her work progress and snippets on her social media including Instagram and TikTok.