KUALA LUMPUR: Cosmetics entrepreneur Datuk Seri Aliff Syukri Kamarzaman has chosen to ignore rocker Datuk Hattan's "advice" that he stay away from teenage actress Puteri Balqis Azizi.
Aliff said that he was not bothered by Hattan's call to "stop taking advantage" of Balqis and her mother Norashikin Mohamad Aziz, whom he had interviewed on his YouTube channel TV Terlajak Laris recently.
Aliff said that he was sincere in helping them after hearing of their plight on TV3 documentary Bersamamu on Jan 12.
“When I help her, they say I'm taking advantage of her. And when I don't help her, they say ask me to do so!" he said.
“I'm not bothered by what others say. I just want to help those in need,” he said in a news report today.
Aliff revealed that Balqis had sent him personal messages twice via Instagram two years ago, but he did not know that she needed help back then.
“I only realised the seriousness of her problems when I watched Bersamamu. After that I decided to lend a hand and do my best to alleviate her financial problems."
Aliff declined to reveal how much money he had given Balqis and her mother, but added that he planned to help boost her income via joint venture business projects.
“Balqis' plight has moved me and made me realise that not everyone who is successful and talented lives comfortably.”
Aliff added that helping Balqis was part of his corporate social responsibility to assist needy Malaysians.
“For the last few years I've helped Malaysians facing all kinds of hardship under my Terlajak Kasih programme, in cooperation with Pusat Zakat Selangor.
“I've channeled some RM2 million a year to various individuals, in the form of foodstuffs, cash and products."
One of his beneficiaries, whom he helped late last year was a single mother with five handicapped children.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Hattan lamented that Aliff “sought cheap publicity" by featuring Balqis, 13, and her mother on his YouTube channel.
Hattan said that Aliff ought to leave Balqis and her mother alone, and defended their right to spend cash contributions from well-wishers as they deemed fit.
Hattan also urged Aliff and fellow YouTubers to use the online video service to promote positive and beneficial news instead.
Since her financial hardship was highlighted on TV3 documentary Bersamamu, Balqis has received a lot of support and sympathy from well-wishers.
In Bersamamu, Balqis revealed that she and Norashikin had been in dire financial straits for a year.
She came up with a book of 38 self-penned poems during Hari Raya last year.
Balqis' book 38 Poems Of Puteri Balqis is sold in bookstores and stalls in the Klang Valley, and she and her mother have also sold it in the streets.
The actress' poems speak about her life experiences, including her battle with illness and her courage in facing financial hardship.
In 2018, Balqis was diagnosed with a heart ailment.