Nas Daily says contentious post on Vietnam hire could have been ‘clearer to avoid misunderstanding’: hiring watchdog

Profile photo of Nas Daily from his Vietnam Facebook page.  (Photo: Nas Daily Tiếng Việt/fb)
Profile photo of Nas Daily from his Vietnam Facebook page. (Photo: Nas Daily Tiếng Việt/fb)

Israeli vlogger Nuseir Yassin — better known as Nas Daily or Nas — recently came under fire for a Facebook post on Aug 12, in which he said he was looking to hire someone from Vietnam to join his Singapore team. Needless to say, the patriots in the country swept him up in a tornado of backlash, leading to his eventual clarification on the matter. Apparently, the hire was meant for operations in Vietnam and it was actually the training that would take place in Singapore.

In a statement to Coconuts Singapore today, the nation’s employment watchdog, Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), said Nas has since “acknowledged that he may have given the wrong impression of excluding Singaporeans from being considered for a position in his Singapore company, and that he could have been clearer to avoid misunderstanding.”

His initial post had pissed off netizens, especially those who thought that Nas was opening up a job position specifically for foreign talents. The subject is a particularly touchy issue in Singapore, and unsurprisingly, commenters were disgruntled when he said: “Dear Vietnam, Job opportunity!! I want to hire a Vietnamese person to join my team in Singapore.”

In response to the fallout, TAFEP was prompted to look into the matter and reach out to the vlogger. Under local employment guidelines set out by the group, it is a requirement for companies in Singapore to give locals due consideration for job positions before they can seek out foreign talents.

Last Sunday, the 27-year-old vlogger finally came to his defense on Facebook and explained his intentions about hiring an employee from Vietnam. Nas, who has produced video content catered to audiences around the world including the Arab region, Spain and France, even took a jab at media outlets who “wrote about (the backlash) left and right as if it’s a big deal.”

In its statement, TAFEP said that it has reminded Nas to abide by local employment rules, adding that those found with “discriminatory hiring practices will have their workpass privileges curtailed.”

The watchdog also noted that Nas has already recruited several Singaporeans for his Singapore company — although it did not specify how many — and has put up job ads on LinkedIn and on the Nas Daily Singapore Facebook page seeking local hires.

Related stories:

Nas Daily arrives in Singapore (again), this time to stay for a while



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