Newly wed Ejen Ali director drowns in Kinabatangan river

A MAN's body found by the river in Kampung Batu Putih in Kinabatangan yesterday was confirmed to be Andi Abdul Ghani Kadir, 41, the director of the famous animation film – Ejen Ali.

Andi’s body was found by the river near the location where the victim was believed to have disappeared at 11.25am on Tuesday.

In the incident yesterday, Andi and his 33-year-old wife were believed to be travelling from Tawau to Kota Kinabalu.

However, the vehicle driven by his wife was said to have gone out of control before skidding onto the shoulder of the road and Andi is believed to have got out and was last seen on the Kampung Batu Putih River bridge.

Kinabatangan Fire and Rescue Station Chief, Hairi Otuh said his department received an emergency call at 5.03pm regarding the incident before sending four personnel to the scene.

“The distance from the location to the fire station is 23 kilometres. The search and rescue operation was launched before being suspended at 6.52pm and resumed yesterday morning . The victim was later found by rescue teams by the river near the location where he was believed to have disappeared,” he said.

A check on social media found that Andi and his wife just got married on September 16.

The animated film, Ejen Ali The Movie was first released in 2019 by Primeworks Studios and WAU Animation. It is adapted from the popular animated series Ejen Ali which began airing in 2016 on TV3 and digital platforms.

Its sequel, Ejen Ali the Movie 2 was officially released in Malaysian cinemas on May 22, 2025. This local animated film recorded a huge success with a box office collection of RM59.3 million, making it the highest-grossing local animated film to date. – September 25, 2025