SEREMBAN - When Siti Aai Shah Rahman Shah shared photos of her growing lowland and hill padi in pots in the garden of her house at Lavender Heights here on social media, little did she know they would attract the attention of Tengku Ampuan of Pahang Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
The 33-year-old housewife told Bernama she was thrilled when she received a 'direct message' on TikTok from Tunku Azizah, inquiring about the materials she used to plant the padi.
Siti Aai Shah said while she was conducting a live demonstration of the technique of planting wet padi in 50 pots and hill padi in nine pots on TikTok, she was overcome with excitement when Tunku Azizah asked her several questions in the comment section.
"Tengku Ampuan also contacted me on TikTok, asking how to purchase a greenhouse, so I recommended the greenhouse I use. We communicated through TikTok messages.
"I was both excited and stunned when Tunku informed me she had bought 60 pots and a greenhouse during my live session. I was also nervous about possibly saying the wrong thing to Tunku. I don't sell pots or greenhouses, but I do provide a link for those who want to purchase them," she said.
The mother-of-five said before becoming a housewife, she ran a café and bakery and owned a boutique selling Muslimah clothing. However, she was forced to shut them down permanently after movement controls were imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said the pots, padi seeds and soil she acquired for her padi planting venture did not cost much, adding the plants require only water, sunlight and sufficient fertiliser to grow well and that it takes about 90 days to harvest the padi.
Last month, Siti Aai Shah shared the progress of her padi harvest on TikTok, receiving various reactions from her followers, most of whom were eager to see her yield. She managed to harvest 4.8 kilogrammes of padi and is now waiting for the delivery of a rice processing machine she ordered online.
"Many of my followers are asking where the rice is. I am still waiting for the machine I ordered... when the machine arrives, I will update the progress of the rice on TikTok,” she said.
As a content creator, she also generates income by promoting products on online platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Shopee.
With tens of thousands of followers on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, Siti Aai Shah ensures all the products she uses are effective before promoting them on social media.
"Initially, I earned only about 20 or 30 sen in commission from the purchases made by users on social media. Over time my earnings increased to RM80 to RM90 a day. Even if users just click on the provided link, I still receive a commission,” she said.
She said netizens first began following her on social media after she shared her strawberry planting activities in January this year.
"After becoming a housewife, I wanted to keep myself busy by first focusing on growing strawberries. I noticed that within three weeks, the plants grew quickly and my number of plants grew from 10 to 100 by February,” she said.
She then received requests from the public to buy the strawberry seedlings, which she sold for RM15 each. She also started selling fertilisers, seeds and organic pesticides. - BERNAMA