Muhammad Noor Tijany Nezam (far right on pic left) said he wanted to provide the migrant workers with a unique experience of Singapore. SCREENGRAB: DONJANY/TIKTOK
SINGAPORE: To show his appreciation to migrant workers and to celebrate them – as well as Singapore’s birthday – this Singaporean man arranged for these workers to get free haircuts.
In a Tiktok video posted on Aug 9, content creator and entrepreneur Muhammad Noor Tijany Nezam, 25, better known as Donjany, showed how he had approached 59 migrant workers – the number was chosen to represent Singapore’s 59th birthday – in Woodlands.
On Aug 4, he took them to Thuglife Studio, a barber shop in the area where they had their hair cut and styled for free.
In the video, he can be seen engaging in conversation and bantering with the workers. He chats with them about how long they have worked in Singapore and whether they have any messages for their families back home.
As at about 3pm on Aug 12, the video has amassed more than 101,700 views, and over 13,000 likes.
Tijany told The Straits Times that he and his business partner Hamzah Salim – the pair co-founded Al-Fajr, a company that helps carry out acts of charity on behalf of Muslims – wanted to provide the migrant workers with a unique experience that they could fondly look back on.
“Giving them a free haircut is something different,” said Tijany, 25, who added that the barber shop absorbed the costs of the haircuts.
“We want them to have a specific memory so that when these migrant workers return to their families in their home countries, they will (remember this) about Singapore.”
Tijany, a frequent customer of Thuglife Studio, and Hamzah had approached the barber shop about providing the free haircuts. Its director, Noor Izwan, 36, told ST that he jumped at the opportunity, which he saw as a way to “do good and be kind” to migrant workers.
“Any single deed of kindness can create impact on an entire community,” he said, adding that the haircuts were done by just five staff, including him.
In another TikTok video, posted on Aug 2, Tijany is seen distributing drinks by beverage brand Pokka to 59 migrant workers near his office in Ubi TechPark. He told ST that Pokka provided the bottles to be distributed for free.
In 2023, Tijany had marked Singapore’s 58th National Day by distributing S$58 worth of free food and drinks to migrant workers.
He said he chose to show his gratitude to migrant workers after noticing groups of them near his office – they would head off to work on lorries early in the morning and return late at night.
“Every year during National Day, we celebrate the Malay, Chinese and Indian races, but I think we tend to overlook the presence of migrant workers,” said Tijany, adding that they “played a part in building Singapore”.
“Migrant workers give a lot to Singapore, and I think National Day is the best time for us to show them that we appreciate it.”
In comments on Tijany’s videos, Singaporeans also shared their gratitude towards migrant workers, and that they felt moved by Tijany’s actions.
“Kindness begets kindness. Thank you to all the migrant workers for building, and toiling in, (Singapore),” said one user.
“So heart-warming to see a fellow young Singaporean doing this,” said another.
Tijany said he, too, was touched by the reactions of some of the migrant workers when he handed out to them small Singapore flags.
“When I gave out the flags, one of them tied it to the side mirror of his lorry,” he said.
“When I saw that, I thought: ‘He’s not Singaporean but he has (so much) pride working in Singapore (that) he put the flag on his lorry’.
“And at the barber shop, the migrant workers were waving the flags and taking pictures outside the shop... It was a beautiful atmosphere.” - The Straits Times/ANN
