Saifuddin: Govt has no jurisdiction to bar Sanusi’s TikTok account

PETALING JAYA: As the controversial Kedah Mentri Besar cried foul over the banning of his TikTok account, the Home Minister says the government has no jurisdiction to bar it.

Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said if TikTok receives a lot of complaints and reports from the public about a particular post, the video hosting service will ban the account.

“It means that it was the public who triggered the ban, not the government. The public filed reports and TikTok took it down,” he said in a series of tweets yesterday.

The minister noted that like other social media platforms, users on TikTok too need to adhere to its guidelines.

“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!

“I disagreed because the government did not ban it (Sanusi’s TikTok account), we have other things to do,” he tweeted.

He was responding to a video of Muhammad Sanusi posted by PAS’ official organ Harakah on Twitter blaming the government for banning his TikTok account and likening it to that of North Korea, where media freedom is restricted.At a press conference subsequently, Muhammad Sanusi confirmed the matter and said the rakyat will reject the unity government consisting of Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional for their “draconian move” to ban social media accounts.

He alleged that the government influenced TikTok to take action by banning 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 opened TikTok, my face would pop out, allowing me to deliver my information to the public instantly.

“So in this ‘war mode’ (looming 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 broadcast 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“This is the modern era, what you are doing is outdated!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 national election director clapped back.

As of press time, there was no official statement from ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, on the matter.

Meanwhile, in a statement later yesterday, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission confirmed that it did not receive any instruction to ban Muhammad Sanusi’s account.

“Social media platforms have their own community guidelines which stipulate the actions that can be taken against any users either automatically when there’s a breach of the rules or based on public complaints,” it said.

Muhammad Sanusi courted controversy recently over a speech he made on July 11, where he allegedly “belittled” the Sultan of Selangor for having appointed Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari as the Mentri Besar.

On Friday, the caretaker Kedah Mentri Besar openly apologised to the Selangor Ruler, adding that his speech had been twisted to defame him.

The apology followed various police reports, including by the Selangor Royal Council, lodged against him.

Law Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said even after the apology, Muhammad Sanusi might still have to face the law, noting that anyone who did not respect the royal institution had committed a wrongdoing.