Late Benjy was always in touch with his family

Compiled by RAHIMY RAHIM, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN

ACTOR Benjy (pic), who died due to chronic asthma at a hospital in Medan, Indonesia on Sunday, was in touch with his siblings in Malaysia, reported BH Hip, the entertainment pullout of Berita Harian.

His sister Inessa Irdayanty said Benjy, whose real name is Khaeryll Benjamin Ibrahim, had contacted her last week to wish her on her 31st birthday.

She said Benjy had also always been in touch with their sister Elza Irdalynna for money for him to purchase medicine and food every month.

“Every month, Elza would send over some money to him. We are also thankful to Seniman and his peers who had channelled some assistance to him.

“Normally, he would send the receipt back after buying all his necessities as evidence,” said Inessa.

Deep down, Inessa added, they were heartbroken as family members did not have the opportunity to visit him in prison in the last four years.

Benjy was sentenced to 11 years’ jail for attempting to smuggle syabu into Indonesia in 2017.

At the peak of his career, Benjy, who was the son of the late actress Azean Irdawaty, won the best male actor award at Anugerah Skrin TV3 2002.

Meanwhile, actress and director Ellie Suriaty Omar revealed that she had promised Benjy that if he was released, she would personally go to Medan to bring him back to Malaysia.

“However, Allah loves him more. Benjy is just like my brother. As much as I loved his mother, that is how much I loved him,” she said.

“His mother helped me develop my character when filming.

“I wanted Benjy to start a new life. I also wanted Benjy to make a comeback in the film industry, but my dream did not come true.

“When a lot of people distanced themselves from Benjy, I remained supportive of him. He was a loyal friend,” added Ellie Suriyaty.

> A banking student has come forward to donate one of his kidneys to Saidatul Hazirah Parlan, who is suffering from kidney problems after taking too much Vitamin C, reported Sinar Harian.

Khairul Ikhawan Syafiq, who prefers to be known as Syafiq, said he was touched after reading about Saidatul Hazirah’s situation.

“I immediately tried to get more information about her and the authenticity of her story.

“It just happened like that and I am sincere in wanting to help her,” said the 22-year-old man from Georgetown.

Recalling his previous experience when he was involved in a hit and run accident at the age of 13, Khairul Ikhawan said a man had come forward to help him and that served as a lesson for him.

His family members initially objected to his intention but changed their minds after he talked to them.

Khairul Ikhawan hopes his story will inspire more people to help.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.