[Watch] Malaysian With Condition That Makes Him Look Rude Goes Viral For Being The Most Polite Person Online
A 36-year-old Malaysian man with Tourette’s syndrome set a goal to reach one million people through social media awareness — and the comment section suggests the internet got the message before the month ended.
At a pasar malam somewhere in Klang Valley, a man in a black t-shirt held a drink, faced a camera, and called himself an idiot.
He did not mean it; his brain did.
Chew, 36, has Tourette’s syndrome — a neurological condition characterised by involuntary, repetitive movements and vocalisations known as tics.
Recently, he posted a video to Instagram under the account @ticsbychew, announcing a goal: reach one million people with Tourette awareness by the end of August.
The tic landed in the opening three seconds; the point landed shortly after.
Every single time I have a tic in public, people think I am doing it on purpose. I always wanted to let more people know about it.
The post has since recorded 39,800 likes, 828 comments and 3,645 shares — figures that continue to climb.
Among the responses: a 54-year-old who described the video as a first-time education on the condition.
A parent whose teenage daughter has tics and faces ridicule from her own father.
A man who recalled a primary school friend with similar symptoms — bullied daily for three decades before anyone named what he had.
Brand accounts also responded.
TGV Cinemas posted a single word of encouragement, Tiger Beer Malaysia wrote: “You have the courage of a million tigers within you.”
Italian, Indonesian, Maldivian and American accounts posted support in the same thread.
Not the First, Still Necessary
Tourette’s syndrome has appeared in popular media — the 2008 film Front of the Class, the Bollywood production Hichki starring Rani Mukherjee, and the Netflix title I Swear were each cited by commenters as their prior point of reference.
For a number of Malaysian commenters, @ticsbychew was the first.
“I never knew this existed in Malaysia,” one user wrote. The condition does not discriminate by geography. Awareness, however, has.
Chew stated in the video that reaching one million views was not the actual benchmark.
If my content is able to inspire or teach 10 new people about Tourette’s syndrome each day, I feel I have already succeeded.
At current trajectory, the daily quota appears to have been exceeded on day one.
