Iconic Tampines busker said to have died aged 71, he performed a week before passing

Tampines busker Mashruddin Saharuddin performed outside Tampines MRT & at NDP 2018

Mr Mashruddin Saharuddin, one-half of the iconic father-son duo who regularly busked at Tampines MRT station, is said to have died.

The blind 71-year-old was known for regularly performing outside Tampines MRT station with his son, even performing at the National Day Parade (NDP) in 2018.

Just a week before his purported passing, he performed at a concert with his wife.

Tampines busker performed with wife on 3 July

Mr Mashruddin’s death was mentioned in a Facebook post by Extra•Ordinary People, a Singapore-registered charity that supports persons with special needs.

It also paid tribute to him by posting a YouTube video that was recorded on 3 July — one week before his passing, it said.

The clip showed him performing 1980s hit song “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You” with his wife Sumansi that night.

They were performing at a concert called “An Extra•Ordinary Celebration 2024” held at the University Cultural Centre of the National University of Singapore.

The show featured a diverse group of performers, including those from special education schools and mainstream institutions, and was graced by Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli as guest of honour.

He purportedly died on 10 July

Mr Mashruddin’s purported death was first mentioned in a screenshot of an Instagram Story posted in the Heritage SG Memories Facebook group on Thursday (11 July).

It said he had passed away the night before, on Wednesday (10 July).

Hundreds of netizens responded with condolences on the post, which has been shared 1,900 times.

Tampines busker performed at NDP 2018

Mr Mashruddin, who was reportedly blind since birth, was known by easties as the busker who performed outside Tampines MRT station with his son Nizaruddin.

He would play the cajon, a box-shaped percussion instrument, while Mr Nizaruddin sang and strummed the guitar.

The pair even took their act to the Floating Platform in Marina Bay for NDP 2018, crooning a touching rendition of “Home”.

The next day, they attended the National Day reception at the Istana, meeting then President Halimah Yaacob.

He had been busking for more than 40 years

Mr Mashruddin has been busking for more than 40 years and is known as a “trailblazer” in Singapore’s busking scene.

According to a feature on him by The Straits Times (ST), he was born into a family of seven siblings and studied at the Singapore School for the Blind. At the age of 17, he told ST that he wanted to become a musician.

In 1971, he and other blind students passed their Senior Cambridge exams, which started a programme at Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School that integrated blind students with sighted ones.

He took part in music competitions in the 1970s. In 1978, he entered in two competitions — the finals of the fourth Singapore Brass and Woodwind Festival and the RTS 1978 Talentime, according to a file photo from the National Archives of Singapore.

He was still performing into his 60s, as attested by videos of him and Mr Nizaruddin busking in Tampines that circulated around the Internet. One of them drew nearly 70,000 views on YouTube.

MS News has reached out to Mr Nizaruddin for more information about his father.

Also read: Elderly Chinatown Buskers Perform Classic Cantonese Song, Draw Onlookers Who Dance & Clap Along

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Featured image adapted from Mediacorp on Facebook and Extra•Ordinary People on Facebook.