Cut vlogger some slack

The "almost perfect country" video made by Mr Nuseir Yassin, better known as the creator of Nas Daily , about some facets of Singapore drew criticism from some people, who say he is painting a picture too beautiful to be true.

Some people even asked him to get Singapore citizenship, live in an HDB flat, take the frequently breaking down MRT and eat at overpriced hawker centres to have a taste of the real life in Singapore.

I think we should give him a break.

He is just saying what he knows best about the country and I think he has done a good job so far, putting together so many facts in such a short time and creating such a wonderful video that put us on the world map yet again in a positive manner.

In fact, what he has mentioned is not untrue - we do have clean drinking water from the tap, an island made out of trash, a powerful passport that allows us to travel to many countries visa-free, about 80 per cent of us live in public housing and most of us do have a roof over our heads. Almost 100 per cent of the population is educated and the people here are not denied basic healthcare.

No country in this world is perfect. We should manage our expectations and appreciate what we already have.

We can make this almost-perfect country perfect if we put in effort together, but to attack and insult a visitor will only make us go backwards.

I would like to apologise to Mr Yassin on behalf of the critics. The majority of us appreciate what you have done and you are welcome to visit Singapore again.

Please continue to make more great videos and show us the world.

Lim Soo Huat

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 24, 2018, with the headline Cut vlogger some slack. Subscribe