KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — A security guard at the Raja Tun Uda Library in Shah Alam has been wowing Malaysian social media for his passionate tinkling of the ivories.
It’s the second time for Aiman Al-Shakieb going viral on TikTok for his piano-playing, this time of him Golden Hour by singer JVKE.
Two videos of of the teenager, who declined to reveal his age uploaded have garnered over 500,000 views each with social media users impressed with his impromptu performances.
Speaking to Malay Mail, Aiman said that he was surprised by the reception online, and while he was happy that people enjoyed it, he admitted that he easily gets nervous whenever people approach him and asked him to play.
“It’s a different story if they record me quietly when I am already playing… I guess that I’m already in the mood at that time,” he said.
Aiman who previously worked as a dishwasher at a mamak in Shah Alam, has been a security guard at the library for a year, normally plays the piano available for public use usually after prayer hours and when there are not too many people around.
Although knows only a few songs that he found on TikTok, Aiman also has a soft spot in playing soundtracks from famous anime such as Merry-Go-Round from Howl’s Moving Castle and the Demon Slayer’s Kamado Tanjiro no Uta song.
He said that he would learnt the songs by himself through watching Youtube videos and would practise almost every day after working hours at the library.
“I started playing since last year because I was hooked on some of the songs I found on TikTok and Golden Hour is amongst my favourites because it reminds me of a calm sunset I saw during one of my days off.
“I would find some time to practise after working hours from 7pm to 9pm almost every night and I would play the songs until I remember them.
“It’s undeniable that it feels great whenever I get to play the piano.”
Aiman added that he briefly took piano lessons for seven months when he was nine years old but had to stop due to his family’s financial situation.
He shared that it took him a couple of weeks to learn Golden Hour while other songs would take him around three to four days to learn the basics.
On going viral online, Aiman is grateful for the positive response and support though he admitted he was slightly taken aback by comments on his profession.
“I saw some comments of people asking about my nationality because I’m working as a security guard and I have to admit I was a bit taken aback by it.
“I just commented that I’m a Malaysian and leave it at that, I don’t want to prolong it,” he said.