Ministry Under Fire For Launching TikTok Contest Instead Of Addressing Other MCO Issues

On Wednesday, 8 April, the Minister of Higher Education Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad shared posters of the competition.

She wrote, "Let's join the TikTok contest. Share videos based on your own creativity with me. Exciting prizes await you!"

In the short clip, Noraini posed as a mother to social media influencers Norreen and Iskandar Rahman. She asked them where they were going, to which they said that they were going out to record TikTok videos.

Noraini then reminded them that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had warned people not to go out.

The influencers then broke into a dance and the minister ended the video by saying, "Don't go wandering. Stay at home. Let's do TikTok videos. I have an interesting prize for the most creative one."

The video, along with the posters, has since been deleted.

Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad wrote, "You wanted to get power and now you're a minister. It would be better if you thought about the fate of students who are worried about their semester, students  who live abroad with inconsistent meals. Focus on that instead of TikTok." 

"If only PN ministers can take the MCO a bit more seriously," wrote Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh.

"We need some serious work to be done in Putrajaya during this time - from warm water to Teletubbies to Doraemon and now TikTok. At some point, this cannot be funny anymore."

Another user listed out other issues the ministry should address.

They said, "You could have done a live [video on] FB to address student concerns. What will happen to [the] rest of the academic year? Paid study fees? Students on scholarships? Students studying abroad? Quality and accessibility of e-learning? Exams?"

"But no, you [had] to do a TikTok."