Nas Daily vlogger proud of Singapore clips

Travel video blogger Nuseir Yassin at the farewell meet-up with more than 750 fans at Mediacorp’s MES Theatre yesterday. He will stay in Singapore for another three or four days. PHOTO: ZHANG XUAN VIA THE STRAITS TIMES

SINGAPORE — Popular video blogger Nuseir Yassin, better known as the creator of Nas Daily, said goodbye to fans in Singapore a few days early yesterday afternoon.

More than 750 people turned up for a farewell meet-up at Mediacorp’s MES Theater for the 26-year-old, who is famous for the one-minute travel videos he produces on his Facebook channel.

Speaking to The Straits Times after the two-hour event, Mr Yassin said the word he would use to describe Singapore is “fun”, and that the country made him feel he could stay here and belong.

“I was a dumb tourist, only knew it was a finance hub and didn’t know anything about the locals. But Singapore completely changed my mind,” he said.

He added that he had “zero regrets” and was proud of the work he had done here. “To capture what matters to Singaporeans… reflecting the local reality to people who don’t live here, that’s hard. This is why I like what we do.”

Since arriving, Mr Yassin has produced several videos on the country, including those featuring its waste management system and the lives of ordinary Singaporeans.

His videos about the city-state have racked up more than 40 million views in total since thefirst was posted on Facebook on Aug 23, and have been shared widely by locals and international followers alike.

Audience member Amin Mas, 34, who hails from Sri Lanka, said he was also at the first meet-up. The Aug 22 event drew over 700 people on a day’s notice.

Singaporean fan Olivia Ong, 26, said that she has watched Nas Daily videos for over two years and respects the dedication and effort.

“I felt the Singapore videos were pretty accurate, although ‘Crazy Poor Asians’ probably overcompensated and made the average Singaporean seem a bit poorer than we actually are,” said the business analyst.

Mr Yassin revealed that his next video would be about Newater, Singapore’s brand of recycled water, and joked on stage that he should be getting paid for it.

ST reported on Friday that some netizens had suggested his videos were sponsored by the authorities here due to the largely positive content. Mr Yassin told ST yesterday that not many expect someone to be positive without being paid.

“If you don’t think something is worth celebrating just because of your political orientation, then it reflects badly on you, because you can’t see beyond politics,” he added.

Although yesterday’s event was meant to be a farewell, Mr Yassin shared that he would in fact be staying in Singapore for another three or four days. His visa application to Indonesia, the next planned destination, had been rejected.

He said that he hopes his Singaporean fans will continue to watch the videos even if these are not about their country.

“I hope that they will still watch even if it’s about a place that’s 10,000 miles away. Because as good as Singapore is, it can be even better, and that’s what Nas Daily is about – finding the best in the world,” he said.