M’sian Influencer Apologises After Shaming Homeless Man for “Being Lazy” in Viral Video

By Karissa Lund  •  in News
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(source: mStar)

Entrepreneur and influencer Carl Samsudin has apologised after he was filmed talking down to someone while giving a motivational talk titled ‘Ubah Hidup’ (Change Your Life) at a homeless shelter.

Through a Twitter thread, Carl wrote, “I’m sorry Malaysia… I realised I shouldn’t have spoken in that manner and raised my voice at people not of my age. I’m sorry and this is a huge lesson to me. I’m so, so, sorry Malaysia. Sincerely, Carl Samsudin”.

The 34-year-old also apologised to his team, acknowledging that he had “disappointed” them.

In the viral video, Carl questioned a 64-year-old homeless shelter resident whether he regretted not working hard enough when he was younger. He was filmed saying, “Do you regret not doing anything when you were younger? Do you regret playing around too much, doing things half-heartedly when you were younger? Do you regret it?”

The clip immediately gained heat from netizens with many calling Carl disrespectful and rude. It also prompted celebrities, namely Aaron Aziz and Harith Iskander, to publicly call him out.

“Greetings, brother. If you want to help people, there’s no need to dig into anyone’s past. I don’t know who you are, but please watch your manners. It doesn’t matter if they are homeless, drug addicts or even beggars, if you want to do charity work, this is not the way,” Harith wrote on his IG.

Meanwhile, KL Gangster‘s Aaron Aziz posted this up on his official Facebook page:

(source: Aaron Aziz’s IG)

Besides that, Carl was also fined RM1,500 today (29 July) by police as he was not wearing a face mask at the event.

An aide to federal territories minister Annuar Musa reacted to the viral incident yesterday, advising homeless centres to conduct proper checks before inviting any guests. Carl was not appointed by any government agency to speak, the aide added.

“He was part of an NGO who came to conduct an entrepreneurship programme. We advise those managing the homeless centres not to invite just any outsider, and if there are speakers who come, they must follow SOPs and not overstep their boundaries with the residents,” the aide said.

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