Social media is full of people doing everything they can to go viral. However, Azuan Tan wasn’t going around looking for internet fame when it unexpectedly found him instead.
Unless you’ve been living completely off the grid for the past few weeks, you might have seen screenshots of the 41-year-old getting very emotional at this year’s National Day Parade (NDP).
It was the tear-stained face that launched a thousand memes. Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong even dubbed it “one of the iconic images” of the event.
However, being the ‘NDP Crying Man’ isn’t exactly the kind of attention that Mr Tan wants.
He tells MS News that he hopes he can use his newfound platform to shine a light on more worthy causes and inspire other people to contribute to society as well.
Last Saturday (20 Aug), MS News spent a few hours following Mr Tan around as he went about his volunteer work in Pasir Ris.
The Bedok View Secondary School teacher began volunteering in 2017 or 2018, but only started doing it more regularly after the pandemic struck in 2020.
He has been an active part of the Pasir Ris East (PRE) Care Store since it was conceptualised about a year and a half ago. Pasir Ris-Punggol MP Sharael Taha spearheaded the initiative, which provides needy residents in the area with care packages on a monthly basis.
That day, beneficiaries got to enjoy an extra special treat — briyani bento sets, courtesy of Springleaf Prata Place.
Mr Tan told us that the restaurant had gotten in touch with him after his viral NDP moment and offered to donate almost 400 boxes of the dish.
“This is because of what happened at National Day lah, so one good thing that came out of it is that the residents get to have briyani, which is always a treat,” chuckled Mr Tan, who admitted to feeling “embarrassed” by all the attention.
Local tech brand Prism+ also gifted Mr Tan with a television, but he donated it to Muhammadiyah Welfare Home, a shelter for boys. We learned this from Mr Sharael, not Mr Tan, who was too modest to mention his generous act.
In fact, before our interview, Mr Tan requested that we focus more on worthy causes, not on himself.
“I’m hoping that through this entire ‘saga’, there will be a bit more exposure and awareness on how people are able to give because the possibilities are endless,” he said.
There are many who may want to contribute but just don’t know where or how to. Hopefully, this can give them some information on how they reach out and help.
Besides PRE Care Store, Mr Tan is also a volunteer with Zone 2 Residents’ Network and Pasir Ris Central Community Sports Network.
Every third Saturday of the month, Mr Tan and other PRE Care Store volunteers visit a rental block to pack the items to be distributed to residents.
Mr Tan was clearly the centre of the attention when we visited, posing for numerous wefies and laughing shyly at the nth quip about him crying on national TV.
“It’s a little bit embarrassing, but these are people that I volunteer with every month, so we’re very candid with one another and can just have a laugh,” he said. We had asked how he felt whenever someone brought up NDP.
After a few brief moments of joking around and socialising, everyone’s focus quickly shifted back to the work at hand.
Beneficiaries of PRE Care Store get personalised deliveries. Every time volunteers visit to drop off the packages, they will take orders for the following month.
Each household can select whatever they need from a list that’s within a certain amount. Products usually include household items such as toothpaste, toilet paper, canned food, snacks, and cooking essentials.
Mr Tan explained that they do this so that beneficiaries will get exactly what they need.
“This is important because a senior staying alone would have very different needs compared to a family with young kids,” he said.
Once the care packages are ready, volunteers split up to distribute them door-to-door.
This also presents an opportunity to have a conversation with the residents to get to know them better and identify any other possible needs.
Through these interactions, the organisation can learn of demands it wasn’t previously aware of, such as adult diapers.
Mr Tan also recalled the time he visited a family and noticed the children fighting over a mobile phone.
He later learned that they didn’t have enough devices for home-based learning during the ‘Circuit Breaker’. Thanks to Mr Sharael’s efforts, they managed to secure laptops for kids who needed them the most during the unprecedented period.
Even though each visit typically lasts no more than 15 minutes, the volunteers and beneficiaries manage to establish a friendly relationship over time.
Mr Tan said it’s always very memorable whenever a beneficiary recognises him outside and goes up to him to convey a heartfelt thanks.
“You can tell that they feel a very deep sense of appreciation for the work that everybody’s doing,” he smiled.
In case you couldn’t tell from his reaction to singing the National Anthem at NDP, Mr Tan is very proud to be a Singaporean.
“As cliche as it might sound, I think one of the main things that I love about Singapore is the fact that, despite being a young nation, we’ve gone through so many challenges as a society that have allowed us to come out so much stronger together,” he mused.
The pandemic was a good example of this.
“I felt like we came out from Covid-19 as a more gracious and close-knit community, one that’s more giving and more gracious,” he said. “And I really hope that this will be how we move forward in the future, being kind and generous to one another.”
Perhaps this is why Mr Tan has so much appreciation for healthcare and frontline workers — he had told The Straits Times (ST) that his respect for these groups made him feel overwhelmed with emotion at NDP.
While he would like to put the viral moment behind him, he admitted that, like everyone else, he was entertained by all the memes.
His favourites are the ones lamenting about going back to work the next day.
“That’s because I didn’t actually have to go to work the next day!” he guffawed, reminding us that 10 Aug is also a holiday for Ministry of Education (MOE) schools.
After speaking to Mr Tan, it’s easy to tell just how passionate he feels about volunteer work and giving back to society.
If you would like to join Mr Tan and be a volunteer with these organisations, you can register your interest on the following websites:
You can also check in with the Residents’ Network (RN) in your respective neighbourhood, as they are always looking for contributors.
He may have shot to fame as the ‘Crying Man’, but every month, Mr Tan is the one putting smiles on people’s faces.
And that is a lot more worthy than becoming the Internet’s Next Big Thing.
Know more inspiring individuals like Azuan Tan? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image by MS News.
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