THE YOUNG WOLF RISES

MALAYSIAN ACTOR AND MODEL MEERQEEN SHARES HIS INSPIRATION AND GOALS FOR THE FUTURE.

- IAIN MCNALLY

THROUGHOUT OUR CHAT with this month's cover star, Malaysian actor Meerqeen, the same topics keep cropping up. How important family is to him, how seriously he takes his acting career and how he wants to give back to the community. Not that he is overly self serious or glum, as our time together is punctuated with lots of laughter.

Since Augustman last spoke with Merqeen, whose real name is Muhammad Shameer Shauqeen Shaiful Izam, last September, his star has continued to rise. He played a major role in Afdlin Shauki's star studded football movie Harimau Malaya: The Untold Story. On television, he continues to shine in dramas like Cinta Untuk Sekali Lagi.

Last year, he shared his lack of work-life balance with us. It hasn't changed. "Every year is the same. There is always work, not really balance," he tells us, any hint of melancholy banished with another laugh. Not once in our conversation does the work schedule come across as a burden. After all, this is what he always wanted back when he entered Hero Remaja in 2019.

"In Malaysia when we do dramas, it lasts four to five months, so we don't have our own time," he says. "There are also a lot of films and I need to take part in one film every year so, no, I don't have work-life balance."

Such a workload doesn't mean he's content to rest on his dramatic laurels. Next year, he's starring in his first comedy film. "It's so difficult, you know. It's fun and I love it, but it's hard, too, because I'm not that type of person?" What type of person does Meerqeen see himself as?