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A man was seen on live broadcast shedding tears openly while singing the national anthem during the tail-end of the 2022 National Day Parade.
Images, gifs, and videos of him crying were widely circulated online as his emotional display elicited strong responses, which ranged from those who said they felt the same, to those who joked the man was thinking about having to go back to work the next day.
Man identified
The Straits Times has since revealed the man's identity as Azuan Tan, 41, a teacher at Bedok View Secondary School.
He attended the live parade for the first time with his wife and three children.
He told ST he was overcome by his emotions.
"I felt that the entire NDP was very well put together. It told a narrative that was extremely touching and it really hit home," Tan told the broadsheet.
This year's NDP theme, "Stronger Together, Majulah", is part of the revival of the large-scale parade format, which was scaled back in the previous two years due to the pandemic restrictions.
Tan also told ST that he was overwhelmed as he had "a lot of respect" for the contributions of nurses, doctors, front-line workers and educators.
"The outpouring of emotion was my 'thank you' and sincere appreciation to everybody," he added.
Wife and children didn't know he was crying at first
Tan said the online reaction to his emotional display was a surprise: "I really didn't think I should be getting the attention for it. I'm shocked and surprised. In comparison, the people working hard to put the parade together deserve the attention more than I do."
"I express my emotion and gratitude every National Day, but none were quite as public as this one," he said.
Speaking to Mediacorp 98.7 deejay Natasha Faisal on Aug. 10 morning, Tan added that he tends to get a bit more emotional on National Day.
He told ST his wife and children did not know he was crying until they saw images of him online.
Community volunteer
Sharael Taha, a MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, said Tan has been volunteering in the community for five years.
"Since the pandemic, he has been very actively distributing meals to needy families. In addition, he has been distributing masks and care packs to families who contracted Covid-19," he said.
"He's a passionate volunteer, the epitome of community coming together."
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in a Facebook post that Tan's public display of emotion has become one of the iconic images of this year's NDP.
He also reiterated that the crew behind the parade should get more attention than him.
Tan previously acted in an episode of season one of "Incredible Tales" as a police officer (at the 3-minute 45-second mark).
via Mewatch
Top photo via NDP