Kuala Lumpur: “For God's sake, I have never asked for money from anyone except Yayasan Kebajikan Artis Tanahair (YKAT) and my closest friends whom I know well, but even then I use another bank account.”
This is the statement of actor, Aman Graseka, who finally came forward after being accused of often asking for financial help from artist friends, recently.
Clarifying the truth, Aman or his full name, Aman Shah Baharom Shah said, he is not like the individual many are claiming and it is a big slander for him and his wife, Reena Arina.
"Before all this went viral, some people said that I had been asking for help for two years, but I had never contacted Sharifah Shahirah (Shiera) and never had her phone number, so how can she accuse me of calling her, when I don't even have her number to begin with?
"Coincidentally, actor Aedy Ashraf contacted me, asking if I needed help. I declined because it's okay to live in Kedah. From there, Aedy informed me that someone was using my name, phone number and bank account. Fortunately, Aedy was smart enough to contact me and ask why other friends didn't contact me," he told BH Online.
The father of two children from his marriage to Reena in 2018 said he went straight to the bank to get an explanation about what happened.
"I told Aedy that this was all a lie and after the issue went viral, I went straight to the bank. When I went to the bank, the money was withdrawn, but the money was not there. I asked the bank to print a list of aid providers and they informed me that the money was received 'floating'. I don't even understand whose fault it is because I set aside this bank account for aid like BRIM," he said.
Therefore, Aman claims, that it is likely to be a 'scammer' activity, but the one who gets the benefit is himself and his wife. He said, until now, many looked askance at him and his wife just because of a misunderstanding.
"We were 'scammed', but people don't believe it, that's fine. I have also made a police report. The police officer wondered where this money went. Some also questioned why I did not come forward to explain at that time. But if we release the story, it will be prolonged and in that case, the victim will be us.
"Don't you think, if I ask for help in two years, I might get hundreds of thousands, so why am I asking for more? I'm not stupid! But the problem is now I didn't get a single cent and my name is bad. Everywhere I go, there will be people looking at me and my family badly.
"I swear, I didn't accept money channelled in the account unless I asked for it myself from my closest friends and that too through another account," he said.
Aman said, he is doing business, so why is it necessary to collect money from other people.
"Since the Movement Control Order (MCO) phase, I have been doing business and sometimes I deliver to as far as Kuala Lumpur, but after this happened, many customers stopped supporting me. There are also fellow celebrity friends that I am close with who decided to block my phone numbers after this issue went viral.
"I feel sorry for my wife, Reena because sometimes she is scolded in front of us. It's like we have lost our dignity, but they don't know the real situation. Worse, the family also threw us out. If asked, I'm not ashamed to say because life is like a wheel, sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down," he said.
Earlier, Aman and Reena went viral following allegations that they often asked their artist friends for financial help after the Suria FM radio presenter, Shiera once uploaded on the social media site Instagram about Aman who needs financial help. Shiera herself received Aman's message asking for financial help from him.
Therefore, Shiera asked Malaysians for help so that the senior actor no longer had to ask for money from celebrity friends.
However, many Celebrities, friends and followers voiced concern over the legitimacy of Aman's life difficulties.
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