Aloysius, also known as Pacquiao, poses with his friends in Keningau. – Photo credit Kosmo
KENINGAU – Aloysius Taidin, 43, from Kampung Kabatang Baru here, is very much of a celebrity these days.
If only because he looks very much like Filipino boxing sensation, Manny Pacquiao, a world
champion-turned-politician
.
Manny Pacquiao
Aloysius told Kosmo, a national language newspaper, that he only realised the similarity after someone pointed it out about six years ago.
“I don’t know who that stranger was but he kept calling me Manny Pacquiao. After that, he invited me for drinks and we chatted about the boxer,” said Aloysius in that interview.
Aloysius, who is a kickboxing fan, finds it amusing when villagers call him Pacquiao.
“I smile every time I see Pacquiao’s picture,” he was quoted as saying.
But despite his ‘sudden fame’ Aloysius is very much a down-to-earth person, earning about RM40 from tapping rubber.
Aloysius who converted to Islam when he married Siti Faridah Sulaiman, 30, possesses not only the famed boxer’s looks, but also his body frame, mustache and beard as well as that profound smile.
“It was some time in 2010 when I was with a few friends at a restaurant in Keningau watching a boxing bout featuring the Filipino, and after it ended, a giy walked up to me and said I looked exactly like Pacquiao,” said Aloysius.
Pacquiao is one of the top boxers in the world in his weight category and is a world champion. He entered politics recently and was elected Senator. Aloysius hopes to meet up the Filipino one day.
“I actually went to look at the mirror after I got back home that day and yes, I did find some resemblance to the boxer,” he said, adding that since then he took a deeper interest in Pacquiao who has since become a Senator.
The father of three children said he did not mind being photographed with others who wanted their photos taken, but the simple villager was taken aback when he was secretly photographed and put up on Facebook, which he said went viral.
“People say that in this world there are seven people who would look alike, and I happen to be one of them,” he added, saying he now would like to meet the boxer face-to-face one day.
Source: BT
