Showbiz: Slammed for saying 'forex', Puteri Balqis shuts IG account
NST
Norashikin and Balqis
By Dennis Chua - January 20, 2020 @ 5:25pm
KUALA LUMPUR: Teenage actress Puteri Balqis Azizi is off Instagram now, no thanks to brickbats thrown at her by certain Netizens following a recent interview.
The recent interview conducted by cosmetics entrepreneur and Badang actor Datuk Seri Aliff Syukri Kamarzaman saw Balqis, 13, mention the word "forex" (foreign exchange) to the shock of Netizens.
In the interview on Aliff's YouTube channel TV Terlajak Laris, Aliff asked: "Balqis, if you receive RM100,000 from well-wishers what would you do with the money?"
Balqis, who was accompanied by her mother Norashikin Mohamad Aziz, replied: "I would save part of it, donate part of it to needy people, and invest part of it in forex because we love the graph."
By loving "the graph", she implied that Norashikin enjoyed trading in foreign exchange.
Balqis' reply resulted in several Netizens criticising her for not being serious about her education and health.
They felt that it was unwise for Balqis to invest in foreign exchange, instead of health and education, and that the public ought to avoid giving cash handouts to the actress and her mother.
Some Netizens suggested that the public should donate to a special fund for Balqis' education and medical treatment, and this fund could be set up by the Malaysian Film Development Corporation (Finas).
Shortly after the video went viral, Balqis who has more than 500,000 followers deactivated her Instagram account.
Since her financial hardship was highlighted on TV3 documentary Bersamamu on Jan 12, Balqis has received a lot of support and sympathy from well-wishers.
Besides anonymous well-wishers who chipped in to assist her financially, Finas also extended a helping hand.
Finas chairman Datuk Hans Isaac said that the corporation was planning to help Balqis and her mother improve their lives with several projects in the pipeline.
In Bersamamu, Balqis revealed that she and Norashikin had been in dire financial straits for a year.
She thanked fans for their support, and said that 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.
Her best known films include Upin & Ipin: Jeng Jeng Jeng!, Makrifat Cinta and KL Special Force. She has won two local entertainment awards, the Pantene Promising Artiste Award in Anugerah Skrin 2012 and Best Drama Actress in Anugerah Skrin 2014.
