From paychecks to paranormal: Sabah man quits RM20,000 job to chase ghosts
Hanizamal, through Solo Ambush, is Malaysia's first mystery solver to livestream his activities from locations of his choice.
A former engineering manager in Vietnam gave up his RM20,000 monthly salary to follow his passion for the paranormal.
Hanizamal Abu Hanifah, 46, said his decision six years ago was worth it, as the activities he once pursued part-time now provided him with a steady income.
The holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Physics from Universiti Sains Malaysia admitted that leaving a stable job, which had been his main source of livelihood, was a tough decision.
"At first, my family did not agree with my decision to quit my job. So, I decided to give it a try first.
"Alhamdulillah, fans of the paranormal accepted me, which has allowed me to continue until now," he told Sinar.
It is understood that Hanizamal, through Solo Ambush, was Malaysia's first mystery solver to livestream his activities from locations of his choice.
To date, Solo Ambush has garnered over a million followers on TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
"Many have tried to imitate what I do, but what sets Solo Ambush apart is its focus on uncovering mysteries that are the talk of local communities.
"The difference is that I go to these locations alone to seek the truth, not to fabricate ghost stories," he said.
Hanizamal who was the third child out of five siblings shared that he has explored over 1,000 locations both locally and abroad to meet the requests of his fans.
"I enjoy mountain climbing and every time I hike, I did live broadcasts on social media.
"One day, while I was hiking, I passed by an abandoned bungalow. Due to popular demand, I decided to enter the bungalow and to my surprise, the response was very encouraging.
"That’s where Solo Ambush began," he said.
The Sabah-born man said he once volunteered to assist security forces in the search for two missing shellfish gatherers at Pantai Remis, Manjung, on June 18.
He added that he owned a paramotor and had a license to operate it.
"I carried out an aerial survey to search for the missing individuals, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find them and their disappearance remains a mystery to this day," he said.
