Singapore an ‘almost perfect country’, says travel vlogger Nas Daily

SINGAPORE — Weeks after fending off accusations that his video clips are sponsored, popular travel vlogger Nuseir Yassin on Monday (Sept 17) put up a new video proclaiming Singapore as "the almost perfect country".

While drawing positive comments, the video drew criticism from some, who again questioned if his work was sponsored by the Government.

In his latest five-minute-long commercial-free video, Mr Yassin made his case for the label, saying that Singapore has managed to find nearly all the solutions to "the same problems as all of us", including racism, traffic and pollution.

On racism, Mr Yassin pointed to how different races live and work alongside one other in Singapore. "So instead of enemies, they are neighbours. And because of this, Singapore built a racial harmony that many other countries don't have," he said.

The founder of Nas Daily also noted that "very few people are stuck in traffic", pointing at the measures the authorities had put in place to manage traffic issues, including limiting vehicular growth, and encouraging public transport usage.

And on pollution, Mr Yassin highlighted Singapore's waste management efforts, and also NEWater, an alternative source of drinking water obtained by recycling treated used water.

Monday's video also featured a cameo appearance by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is seen walking alongside Mr Yassin at Gardens by the Bay.

"Hi, I'm the Prime Minister. This is what we have been building in Singapore for 53 years and will be building it for many more years to come," Mr Lee said.

Despite his largely positive report on Singapore, Mr Yassin acknowledged that there are some issues that Singapore faces.

"Don't get me wrong, Singapore still has a lot of problems with no solutions that I know of. The people, too, suffer from inequality, high prices, and tight security.

"Many elderly people still can't afford to retire, many imported foreign workers are very lowly paid, and the Government can be too restrictive," he said, adding that "even gum is illegal".

But "unlike many", Singapore is "trying to fix them", he added.

"I love Singapore, because there is a lot we can learn from the country," Mr Yassin said. "If they can solve so many problems in 53 years, then why can't we?"

Last month, Mr Yassin came out on Facebook to defend himself, after online users here questioned his positive reviews of Singapore and accused him of being paid to put up those videos.

"These people are wrong. My videos in Singapore are 100 per cent not sponsored by anyone. I came here by myself, spent my own money to make my own videos about your country. And I need to make sure everyone is aware of that," he said.

"It is disheartening to see people discredit my work because of unfounded allegations. I know most of my videos are positive. But what can I do? You guys actually have some stuff figured out that many countries don't have figured out!" he wrote on Facebook.