Hotel employee returns US$5,000 she found in room

LANGKAWI: Despite earning her living as a housekeeping employee and her husband having to take two jobs to make ends meet, Siti Nuraminira Abd Rahman is not easily blinded by money.

In fact, the 33-year-old housekeeper at the Langkawi Adya Hotel displayed her true honesty and integrity when she handed over US$5,000 (approximately RM20,295) in cash that she found in a hotel room last Wednesday, to the hotel management.

Siti Nuraminira, who is seven months pregnant, said she discovered the money about 2 pm while cleaning up a room which was previously occupied by a Pakistani tourist and his family.

“I found an envelope as I lifted the bed sheets in the baby cot. Upon checking, I found there were foreign currency notes in it,” she told reporters yesterday.

Without hesitant, Siti Nuraminira handed over the money to her supervisor, following the hotel management tracked down the Pakistani guest and managed to contact the man, who had already arrived in his home country to inform him about the finding.

“What has always been in my mind is to work here for as long as possible and to earn an honest living ,” she said when asked whether she hesitated to inform her supervisor about the money.

In fact, she said, it was not the first time she found cash or valuable items in hotel rooms since she started working there about three years ago.

“Prior to this, I found over RM1,000 in cash, mobile phones and so on. I handed them over to the management so that the items can be returned to the owners,” she said.

Meanwhile, PKB Hotel Management and Services (PKHBMS) chairman Nor Saidi Nanyan said the traits displayed by Siti Nuraminira in carrying her duties reflected the Islamic values being practiced in the Adya chain of hotels.

“Previously, one of the hotel staff found RM30,000 in cash in a room. We managed to return the money to its owner, a tourist from China. We only hope for blessings (from Allah) in our work,” he said.