The main cast of local military comedy Army Daze (1996) reunited recently at Hai Ge Ji, rapper Sheikh Haikel’s Bussorah Street restaurant, after his cancer disclosure.
The former actors were the latest group of local personalities to express support for Sheikh after the musician and food entrepreneur revealed that he has Stage 4 colon cancer in a Instagram video on Sept 4.
Edward Yong, the lead actor of Army Daze, shared on Instagram on Sept 20 two photos of the visit, with his fellow co-stars Kevin Verghese, Adrian Lim and Ahamed Azad also seen in the two pictures.
“It’s been 29 years. Feels like a lifetime ago, but seeing the lot of you again, it almost feels like no time has passed,” Yong wrote. “We haven’t been able to get together as frequently as we would have liked, but I am always grateful when we manage it.”
Yong said he is happy to catch up with his former co-stars, some who have started their own families while others have gone into other ventures.
“Here’s wishing everyone all the best and every blessing, and especially to @sheikhhaikel as he battles a monster,” Yong wrote. “Stay strong and fighting as you always have. A shoutout to his wife @belleamafia for the hospitality and for her unfailing support of Haikel - you shall be rewarded for your perseverance.”
Sheikh, 50, is married to former actress-host Anna Belle Francis, 48, and they have three children aged 12, 22 and 23.
The rapper also shared a photo of the gathering on Instagram on the same day, with the caption: “Army Daze … forever & a day.”
Army Daze, about five recruits undergoing basic military training, starred Sheikh as Johari Salleh, with Yong as Malcolm Png, Azad as Krishnamoorthy, Lim as Teo Ah Beng and Verghese as Kenny Pereira.
Playwright and screenwriter Michael Chiang, who penned Army Daze, also expressed his joy at the gathering.
“So wonderful to see this reunion of the five amazing guys who brought Malcolm, Kenny, Johari, Krishna & Ah Beng to life on the big screen,” Chiang wrote. “Thank you, Edward, Kevin, Haikel, Azad & Adrian for immortalising my five Army Daze characters. Always & forever.”
He added: "Wishing Haikel light, love & strength as you continue on this journey battling the evil C. Know that you really are such an inspiration.”
In a Sept 5 interview with The Straits Times, Haikel said he had gone through chemotherapy and four major abdominal operations that cleared the primary tumour in the colon.
The cancer had already progressed aggressively to Stage 4 and spread to his liver by the time he started his treatments, and he would be undergoing more chemotherapy.
Other celebrities who have publicly expressed solidarity with Haikel include local actors Aaron Aziz, Benjamin Heng and Alaric Tay, actor-hosts Suhaimi Yusof and Gurmit Singh as well as radio veteran Bernard Lim. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
