Pelakon dan pelawak veteran Zainal Ariffin Abdul Hamid atau lebih dikenali dengan nama Zaibo telah menghembuskan nafas terakhirnya pada 1.30 petang, Rabu di Rengit, Johor.

Berita pemergiannya itu telah disahkan oleh anaknya sendiri, Hafiz melalui laman Facebooknya.

Tahap kesihatan Zaibo, 62 tahun, selama ini terjejas selepas didiangnos menghidap kanser esofagus tahap empat sejak September lalu.

Setiausaha Agung Seniman, Hafiz Nafiah, dalam satu kenyataan berkata, pihaknya menerima khabar dukacita itu menerusi isteri Zaibo, Siti Hawa Sawal.

"Beliau telah banyak berlakon dalam drama dan filem tempatan dengan pelbagai watak yang mencuit hati penonton serta meninggalkan kesan kepada penonton.

"Arwah Zaibo akan dimandikan dan disolatkan di rumah beliau dan akan dikebumikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Rengit selepas solat Isyak," ujar kenyataan tersebut.

Hafiz mewakili keluarganya memberitahu kepada umum ayahnya telah meninggal dunia di Facebook.

Pelakon yang dikenali menerusi penampilannya dalam sitkom Spanar Jaya itu telah berhenti daripada mengambil sebarang kerja berlakon sejak dua tahun lalu.

Sepanjang Allahyarham bertarung dengan kansernya, khabar Zaibo hanya diketahui umum apabila ada rakan-rakan artis atau wartawan yang berkongsi tentangnya menerusi media sosial.

Baru-baru ini, puteri Sultan Johor, Tunku Tun Aminah Sultan Ibrahim juga sempat menziarahi pelakon itu di kediamannya di Rengit. Berdasarkan kapsyen gambar Tunku Aminah yang dimuat naik di akaun Instagram @TheRoyalJohor itu, beliau menziarahi Zaibo kerana selama ini mengikuti lakonan dan perkembangan kariernya.

PRINCESS AMINAH VISITS SICK BELOVED ACTOR AND COMEDIAN HH Tunku Tun Aminah Binti Sultan Ibrahim today (12 November) paid a visit to veteran actor and comedian Zainal Ariffin Abd Hamid, popularly known as Zaibo, at his residence in Rengit, Batu Pahat, where he is battling cancer. The Princess who was moved after reading about his plight in the news, decided to personally visit and encourage him in his struggle against the dreaded disease. Zaibo is diagnosed with stage four oesophageal cancer. Tunku Tun Aminah’s late brother, Almarhum Tunku Jalil Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, was also a cancer victim, who lost his battle with the disease on 5th of December 2015. Zaibo, 62, starred in the Malaysian sitcom “Spanar Jaya” (1999 to 2005) as well as films such as 2010 fantasy musical “Magika”, and “Awan Dania The Movie” in 2013. He also played a small role in the 1999 Hollywood movie “Anna and the King”. But he was best known for portraying mee rebus seller Yusof in the 1990s Singapore sitcom “Under One Roof”, which first aired in 1995. He stopped acting two years ago. “I used to watch ‘Under One Roof’ growing up. I told my husband how funny you were and showed him videos of you,” said the teary-eyed Tunku Tun Aminah when visiting him. The royal visit brought cheer to the actor, as she shared words of comfort and cracked jokes with him. She also presented him with a fruit basket and a goody bag. Also present were her husband, Dennis Muhammad Abdullah as well as representatives from The Tunku Laksamana Johor Cancer Foundation who offered their moral support. #theroyaljohor #royalpressoffice #johor

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Allahyarham Zaibo juga pernah memainkan watak yang diingati dalam sitkom Singapura, Under One Roof, selain berlakon dalam filem Awan Dania: The Movie, Manisnya Cinta Di Cappadocia, serta menggalas peranan kecil pada tahun 1999 menerusi filem Hollywood, Anna and the King.

- Al-Fatihah -