Malaysian Influencer Clarifies That He Used “Fake Notes” After Drawing Flak For Stepping On “Piles Of Cash” In TikTok Video

A TikTok video of Malaysian influencer Ahmad Iqbal Zulkefli, 27, has been attracting a lot of attention lately. The video, which was posted online by Malaysian musician Ariff Bahran, reportedly received over 2 million views on TikTok.

In the video, the camera slowly pans over the floor, which was littered with dozens of RM50 (S$16) notes. The camera then lands on Ahmad, who steps on the notes, and begins lightly kicking them as the person behind the camera says: “Pick up your cash”.

The video drew flak from netizens, many of whom criticised Ahmad for his “disrespectful behaviour”.

Then, one day after the video was uploaded online, Ahmad apologised on Instagram. In his apology, he shared that he “wasn’t the one who threw the money everywhere”. He also added that “fake notes” were used.

“I did not notice that I was being recorded, but my behavior seems awful, and I don’t blame people for judging me. I would not step on [real] money, even ten cents,” he said.

Ahmad is probably best known for his relationship with his ex-fiancee, Dato’ Seri Vida, 50, who runs her own cosmetics empire.

In September this year, she announced that she was marrying Ahmad, who was her former personal assistant. However, their relationship turned sour soon after, and Ahmad called off their December wedding in October this year.

In other related news, Ahmad also released his first single ‘Hujan’ on Nov 1. The video quickly went viral, and has since garnered 1.5mil views on YouTube. The music video is said to be a thinly veiled reference to his relationship with Dato’ Seri Vida.