Ex-wife: Ridzuan kept heart condition secret

THE late actor and model Ridzuan Hashim (pic), who passed away suddenly, had asked his family and close friends not to publicise his heart condition for fear of not getting job offers, reported Utusan Malaysia.

His former wife Didie Alias said her ex-husband knew about his condition three years ago but chose to only keep this within his close circle.

“He was a jovial man. People know that he loved to tease others at the filming sites.

“He asked that no one else except for a few know about his condition as he feared that he might not get job offers. This is what he told me and the children.

“We decided to look after him and we managed to care for him for the past three years,” said Didie, who is also an actress.

Ridzuan, who received the Best Male Actor award at the Ninth Malaysian Film Festival for his role in the film Hati Bukan Kristal, passed away on Thursday night.

He also acted with Shah Rukh Khan in the film Don 2 and in a German production Love and Death on Java.

> Berita Harian reported that the issue of royalty claims by a group of 32 artistes against the licensing body of Performers’ Rights and Interest Society of Malaysia Bhd (PRISM) would be heard at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on May 8.

Popular 1980s singer Datuk Malek Ridzuan said the case would look into their claim for royalties due to the artistes.

“As an 80s singer, many of my songs are being played on the radio, karaoke joints and other platforms. I used to get thousands of ringgit, but now I get nothing,” he said.

“Those with albums are hopeful for the royalties as life is difficult for us now. Almost 85% of artistes are in dire situations – with no fixed salaries, insurance and other benefits.

“Worse, the television stations hire few older artistes. Our sole income is the royalties,” added Malek.

● The above article is 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 this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.