Govt did not ban Sanusi's TikTok account, we have other things to do, says Saifuddin

PETALING JAYA: The government has many other things to do instead of taking down a TikTok account, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

He said that the government has no jurisdiction over the decision to take down any TikTok account.

"If TikTok receives a lot of complaints and reports from the public, they will ban the account.

"It means that it was the public who triggered the ban, not the government. Public filed the reports and TikTok took it down," he said in a series of tweets on Sunday (July 16).

Saifuddin also said that just like other social media platforms, users need to adhere to TikTok guidelines when using the platform.

"Now, the Kedah Mentri Besar (Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor) said his TikTok content has been erased and Malaysia has become like North Korea!

"The government did not ban it, we have other things to do," he added.

Earlier, PAS official media Harakah posted a video on Twitter of Sanusi saying that his TikTok account had been banned.

In the video, he claims that his TikTok account had been banned by the government.

He also likens the government to North Korea's, where media freedom is restricted.

Sanusi, in a press conference on Sunday (July 16) confirmed the matter and said that the rakyat will turn their back to the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional government for their "draconian" move to ban social media accounts.

He claimed that the government influenced TikTok to take action and ban his account to stop him from reaching out to the public through social media.

"My account was banned, I'm unsure why. Maybe because each time the people open Tiktok, my face will pop out a lot. This would allow me to deliver my information to the public immediately.

"So, in this 'war mode' (state elections), they (the government) are misusing their power to influence the TikTok company to ban my account," he told reporters after an event in Kedah.

The press conference was broadcasted live on the official Facebook page of the state's information committee.

"I'm confident that with this draconian action, the Pakatan-Barisan government will be despised by the public.

"This is the modern era, what you are doing is outdated! If you block me, I will find other ways," the Perikatan Nasional election director added.

On Saturday (July 15), Sanusi had also posted screenshots of his banned TikTok account on his Facebook page on Saturday (July 15).

There has yet been any official statement from ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, over the matter.