[VIDEO] Security guard’s encounter with cheeky dusky leaf monkey goes viral online

LANGKAWI– A security guard working at a resort here has achieved overnight fame thanks to a video of a dusky leaf monkey snatching food out of his hands.

Muhamad Hafiidz Hamzah said that he had no idea that his encounter with the primate, whom he calls Lisa, would go viral.

“I was taken aback when the video blew up. It was even reposted on a number of media websites.

“Even media outlets in Los Angeles and Singapore wanted to get their hands on the footage too!” he told mStar.

According to Hafiidz, it all was recorded on the closed circuit television (CCTV).

@arefiz69 Caught On CCTV, the Thief are steeling security guard food. #caughtoncamera #fypシ #tiktok ♬ original sound – hafiz96

“Although everything appeared to be natural and spontaneous, truth is I’m very used to these kind of incidents,” he explained.

The 25-year-old from Kuala Perlis added that the monkeys have been roaming around the Berjaya Langkawi Resort since he began working there three years ago.

“They’re gentle creatures and their habitat used to be the resort area but they left when the resort was built.

“However, after visitors began feeding them, they slowly returned and stayed on.”

Hafiidz said that he was shocked by the amount of monkeys requesting for food during his first day of work.

@arefiz69 1,2,3 selfie.! rakam rupanya. #fypシ #fyp #tiktokmalaysia ♬ original sound – hafiz96

“But after some interaction, I began feeding them and they soon turned to snatching food away from me as they can identify those who likes feeding them.”

Hafiidz added that he and his colleagues would also give the monkeys food every morning to keep them from pilfering the resort’s stock.

“During my breaks, I would need to look for a suitable place to eat. If there’s a group of monkeys nearby, I’d usually hide at a corner and eat my meal quietly,” he said.

Cover image via @arefiz69

Editor: Sarah Yeoh