Australian TikToker’s take on Yishun as ‘real Singapore’ sparks debate - Singapore News

SINGAPORE: A non-local TikToker’s assumptions about how Singaporeans live have drawn some raised eyebrows. 

An Australian content creator named Connor (@cozzau) recently took a walk around Yishun, which is one of the most colourful parts of Singapore, if not THE actual OG heartland, and confidently wrote, “This Is How Singapore Really Is.”

In his May 4 video, Connor took a little tour around Yishun and started by saying, “This is how I assume most of the country I’m assuming lives. Not that Crazy Rich Asians type.”

With a chuckle, he then pointed to the condenser unit of an air-conditioner, on which several pieces of laundry were laid.

Erroneously, he said, “Why do you need a clothesline when you have a heater. Chuck it all on that. Let’s go.”

He went on to wonder if the clothing belongs to someone who lives in the area, or if it’s somewhere where a homeless person keeps their clothes.

As Connor walked on, he observed that the surroundings were beginning to look, if not downright sketchy, but “a bit filthy here, people are not picking up after stuff.”

He also said that he could tell from the way people looked at him that he was the first Westerner to come through the area in a while. 

“Especially with a camera, my god,” he added.

When he called out hello, one woman answered him with “bye,” which made him laugh. Others, however, were more friendly.

While commenters could have rightly called him out for how he was making generalisations about how Singapore “really” is based on one neighbourhood, many simply pointed out the fact that Yishun is a singular place.

“Of all places, you go to Yishun,” one remarked.

And when Connor asked, “What’s wrong with Yishun?” not just one commenter replied that it’s Singapore’s version of Florida.

“It’s the weirdest part of Singapore,” wrote a TikTok user, while another added, “It’s the armpit of SG.”

“Bro woke up and chose Yishun whyyyyyyyyy?” another asked.

One corrected his misidentification of a heater, writing, “That is an aircon, bro. We do not need a heater cos it’s always hot in Singapore, but sometimes it rains. I wonder how much research you do before you decide on the Yishun housing estate? And why only Yishun?”

Another seemed to feel Connor was being disingenuous, writing, “You do know you were walking through and filming the back alley of shops and eateries at the start of the video, right?”

A commenter added, “lol bro thinks he stumbled upon some big secret.”

“Just went to one side and you commented as if the whole of Singapore is like this… and oh… You are not the only ang mo in Yishun or the whole of Singapore,” wrote another. /TISG

Read also: Singapore’s unspoken class system, revealed by a real estate agent — Yishun gets its own category

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