How a trailblazing 'rope access professional' scales new heights

MALAYSIANSKINI | In her childhood days, an overcast sky held a promise for Normalia Sidek - that during the ensuing downpour, playing catch with her neighbours would become slippery and thrilling, allowing her to invoke an entirely different set of skills.

These days, the sombre shadow cast by heavy clouds serves as nature’s subtle alarm bell, telling her to reel in her ropes and retreat from the exterior wall of the high rise she is suspended from.

She surprised Malaysians when she was captured in drone footage working at the mast of one of the Petronas Twin Towers last October.

“My dream was to work at the pinnacle of the Twin Towers,” she said with a broad smile and a gleam in her eye.

The sporty hijab-wearing lass has sparked fresh female interest in the traditionally male-dominated field of rope access technicians and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) technicians.

Rope access may not feature in the top 10 list of extreme jobs in the world, but in certain circumstances when it involves...