Malaysia marriage proposal video sets hearts aflutter
with millions of views worldwide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaAhxg4Lz0A
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — After watching an emotional video of
Malaysian Timothy Tiah propose to his girlfriend, “American Idol”
host Ryan Seacrest hailed it as a heartwarming coda to 2011. Singer
Christina Perri confessed that it made her cry.
Celebrity endorsements have helped the creatively crafted clip
rack up nearly 4 million views online within a week, turning Tiah
and his now-fiancee, Audrey Ooi, into unexpected role models for
numerous young romantics worldwide.
It’s a surreal twist for Tiah, a 27-year-old Internet
entrepreneur who says he has long been allergic to the idea of
getting hitched, partly because some of his older friends suffered
failed marriages.
“But I realized there’s no other girl who gets me like (Ooi)
does. There’s no other girl I’ve ever considered marrying,” Tiah
told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The video, set to Perri’s wistful U.S. hit ballad “A Thousand
Years” and shot by a Malaysian wedding footage company, shows Tiah
surprising Ooi while she was having dinner with friends at an
Italian restaurant in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 30.
At first, Tiah nervously walks to the restaurant’s glass
entrance and waves from outside to get Ooi’s attention.
Ooi, 26, appears bewildered as a grinning Tiah holds up a series
of posters imprinted with Internet memes — catchphrases and artwork
that became popular online — that narrate how he wants to spend the
rest of his life with Ooi despite being terrified of marriage.
“If you like it, y u no put a ring on it,” one poster proclaims,
before Tiah shows Ooi a picture of the animated character Puss in
Boots with pleading eyes under the words “Will you marry me?”
The nearly five-minute clip ends with Tiah on bended knee,
offering Ooi a ring and a bouquet while she tearfully accepts his
proposal.
Tiah, who has been dating Ooi for three years after meeting her
at his birthday party, initially planned to show the video mainly
to family and friends, but the crew that filmed it convinced him to
let them put it online in mid-December.
Bloggers began sharing the clip, which went viral after Seacrest
mentioned it on Facebook and Twitter on Dec. 23.
Perri tweeted that she was “honored” that her song was used in
the clip.
“Ahhh I just cried my eyes out (and) couldn’t stop smiling all
at the same time!” Perri wrote.
Others had similar reactions on video-sharing websites YouTube
and Vimeo, where the clip has accumulated nearly 4 million combined
views over the past week. “I wanna be proposed to like this!!”
YouTube user XGothify wrote.
Strangers have approached Tiah in elevators and cafes, saying
they recognize him from the video. But Tiah believes the attention
will fade soon, insisting that the proposal was little more than a
“goofy and geeky” gesture.
“We feel a bit shy about it, but it feels nice at the same
time,” he said.
Ooi said that midway through Tiah’s proposal, she feared he was
trying to break up with her.
The couple is now busy planning their nuptials.
“It’ll be a fairly simple” traditional Chinese wedding ceremony
and dinner next year, Tiah said. “I don’t think people will be
interested in seeing a video of it.”
