#SHOWBIZ: Khairul Aming on early struggles: 'I couldn't even give my father RM50'

KUALA LUMPUR: Influencer Khairul Aming, now 34, opened up about his regret of not being able to financially support his late father during his final illness. In a recent TikTok livestream, the entrepreneur choked back tears as he recounted his dire financial situation. "I was nobody," he said, "and my father had no pension. When he asked for fifty ringgit, I couldn't give it to him."

Khairul's financial struggles meant he couldn't hire a caregiver or spend more time with his father in the hospital. He was balancing a salaried job while trying to make ends meet. Only after his father's passing did Khairul launch Sambal Nyet, the product that would eventually launch his commercial empire.

Once sales started to soar, Khairul took a bold risk by investing almost all his savings into setting up his first factory in Kelantan. Instead of buying luxury items or going on holidays, he reinvested his earnings back into the business. With each successful sale, he only kept a paltry RM1,000 in savings.

His father, Kamarulzaman Hussin, passed away on March 29, 2020, just as Khairul had scaled back his social media presence to focus on family care. Today, the creator continues to shatter records, generating over RM4 million in sales during a single TikTok Shop Live session. Despite criticism that he's a self-serving capitalist, Khairul insists his business creates local livelihoods and fulfills its duties through taxes and zakat.