Nas Daily Reminds Malaysians That It's Not Always About You And Hidden Agendas
A humbling reminder on Malaysia Day.
By Sadho Ram — 17 Sep 2018, 03:40 PM
On Malaysia Day, Nuseir Yassin, who is more popularly known by his Facebook page 'Nas Daily', wrote a lengthy post on the page to counter the recent online claims that he is an Israeli with an agenda
In the post on Nas Daily, Nuseir writes he doesn't hate Malaysia and has no hidden agenda, that he is "just a guy travelling the world who really wants to show everything that's good in it. No hidden agenda. No sponsorships. Just people to people."
In the Facebook post, which at the time of writing this story has gone viral in Malaysia with over 6.2k shares and more than 20k reactions, the travel video blogger begins with addressing the recent spread of fake news about Nas Daily.
"Lately, there has been a lot of fake news about Nas Daily that I want to address here and I want you to help me spread the word.
"Some photoshopped picture suggested that I have a hidden Israeli agenda. This is categorically false and stupid. Like many of you, I am Muslim of Palestinian origin. I was born in Israel because of... my parents!! Nobody chooses where they are born.
"I'm not any of what people say I am. I'm just a guy travelling the world who really wants to show everything that's GOOD in it. No hidden agenda. No sponsorships. Just people to people. The picture is photoshopped, fake and quite frankly, written with bad grammar. Whoever did it should understand that is very very un-Islamic," reads the Facebook post that was uploaded on Sunday, 16 September.
Below is the photoshopped picture, which purports to show Nuseir's Facebook page Nas Daily replying to someone asking when will he come to Malaysia by saying that he will "send a message to Malaysians to stop the anti-Semitic attitude on Israel."
He then addresses the three videos - The Forbidden Land, The Airport Prisoner, and How Singapore Drives - he made while he was in Singapore which he said has left Malaysians feeling dissatisfied
According to Nuseir, the purpose of "The Forbidden Land" video is to show Malaysians that he would love to come to your country and just make videos.
"Until then, I have a great appreciation for your culture and people. In fact, many of them I met in Singapore and are really good friends now," he wrote.
That video was criticised by Malaysians for equating Malaysia with North Korea.
He then addresses the video he made on 36-year-old Hassan al-Kontar who is trapped in the transit section of Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 since 7 March.
Nuseir claims that the purpose of "The Airport Prisoner" video is nothing beyond reflecting on the reality of the situation at hand faced by Hassan al-Kontar.
"I don't have anything against Malaysia and its government. If the guy was based in Copenhagen, I'd do the video about him in Copenhagen.
"It's really not about Malaysia at all," he wrote adding that it made him sad that people in the country thought he had any ill-will towards Malaysia.
While addressing the "How Singapore Drives" video which was uploaded on Nas Daily on 8 September, Nuseir acknowledges that it is the biggest one of the three.
"I did NOT mean to make fun of Malaysians or the way they drive. It was a generic line in the script. It was PURE coincidence that the license plate was of a Malaysian.
"I thought I covered the whole thing, but I guess it wasn't enough. I have nothing against your drivers. Frankly, I don't even care about how Malaysia drives. I was just amazed at the PARKING or cars in Singapore. That's all!" the travel video blogger adds.
He claims in the video that 95% of Singaporeans park in reverse to save space and that drivers who don't do it are "usually from another country", at which point the video cuts to a shot of a poorly parked car with a license plate registered in Johor.
To which, Malaysians responded with photos to show Nuseir how Singaporean drivers would respect road etiquette in their home country, but not in Malaysia.
Nuseir then stresses the point that "No, I do not hate Malaysia" in his post on Nas Daily, adding that he has no hidden agenda
"You and I have more in common than in difference and I would HATE for you to believe the fake news about Nas Daily.
"I'm just a guy fed up with Israel, Palestine, and all that's bad in the world. So I went on a mission to show you and everyone what's GOOD in the world, 1 minute at a time, every day.
"We didn't get a chance to meet in person for you to believe me. But I hope we do so you can see how genuine I feel about this. But until then... we will have to keep it on Facebook," he ends his post before adding his usual signoff message.
Many Malaysians have since responded to the post, with one of the top comments explaining what the term "Mak cik bawang" means
