IN the midst of the current global upheaval caused by trade wars and internal fighting, I decided to switch off temporarily from the upsetting news around us. I decided to take a break and join many diplomats last Sunday for the usual networking during a rather noisy buka puasa with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Foreign Ministry in Putrajaya.
Calling herself “kakcikyah” on the platform, Nariah is no overnight sensation, though. As the former kuih seller and factory worker told mStar in an interview this week, she has been a content creator for the last three years. Uploading her cooking videos began as a hobby, and she not only does the recording but also uploading of the videos herself.
“I will do the set up for recording myself. Nobody helps me. I will just put the phone on the table, cook, and post it on TikTok,” she shared.
But what makes her videos appealing is her natural way of presenting whatever she is doing, whether giving step by step instructions in how to cook a dish, promoting some banking products when going to the bank, or telling her followers to buy food at nearby stalls.
Zarinah Daud, who has been following kakcikyah’s TikTok account since the first time the videos appeared in her “for you page” (FYP), says Nariah reminds her of her grandaunts.
“These ladies would tell us stories in their own natural way, not be condescending or fake like some of the videos that we watch.
“Generally people are tired of politics and the rising prices of goods, and you have this grand dame who is like our security blanket, from when grandmothers were always there protecting us and sharing anecdotes,” said Zarinah.
Kakcikyah’s raw footage will definitely make you laugh although it’s clear they are really not meant to be funny. In a fast-paced world with bite sized content, her videos are considerably longer but you end up watching them in full anyway because of her sincere and earnest delivery.
Her cooking videos for one are hilarious: there is one of her giving step by step cooking instructions, but all you can hear is the noise from the onions being sautéed in the wok, and another where all you see is smoke billowing from her small kitchen in her house in Kampung Melayu, Penang. Her tickled followers would then rib her for sharing her “secret recipe” as they could hardly see what was in her wok, or for using a new camera filter that made her “invisible”.
Quite often she would start her video with “mola-mola” (the northern accent for mula-mula) which means to begin with. Mola-mola quickly went viral and became her tagline. When I started following her last Sunday, she barely had 60,000 followers. Within days after her TikTok adventure was picked up by many media outlets and other social media users, her followers jumped to more than 300,000, with many calling themselves kakcikyah’s online grandchildren.
She even caught the attention of Pinn Yang, a social media entrepreneur with 5.2 million followers on TikTok, who commented in one of her videos and asked if she could cook for him. (Pinn Yang – @pinn_yang – is the cofounder and CEO of Good Foodie Media.)
In one of her interviews, Kak-cikyah expresses her wish to meet one big name in Malaysia’s social media sphere, Khairul Amin Kamarulzaman (@khairulaming) who has 5.8 million TikTok followers. Both Pinn Yang and Khairul Amin teamed up last year to support the “Jom Lokal” campaign on TikTok Shop, featuring 10 selected local products that were promoted and sold through their live broadcast.
Khairul Amin received New Zealand Prime Minister Christo-pher Luxon when he made his official visit to Kuala Lumpur last year after the influencer uploaded videos of his trip to New Zealand. Just recently, Khairul Amin, who is famous for his sambal nyet berapi, went to Oman for an eight-day trip at the invitation of Oman Tourism.
The presence of many social influencers is creating a booming entrepreneur culture in Malaysia; but while we have many good ones, there are also those who are faking events to generate attention and monetise their content.
A Malaysian content creator had to issue an apology recently after he admitted staging the disappearance of another in the jungle in Indonesia. Malaysians social media users expressed outrage, calling for these influencers to be punished.
According to Mediha Mahmood, chief executive officer of Com-munication and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia, faking events for views is basically the influencers playing the algorithm like a game.
“It’s a game where trust is the currency, and once that runs out, so does their credibility.
“Instead of looking for one hundred ways to preach to or punish these guys, maybe the biggest question is: Why do they feel the need to fake it?
“The pressure to constantly go viral, the chase for engagement, monetisation, and the ‘do whatever it takes’ mentality seem to push creators to blur ethical lines.
“So rather than preaching good values or threatening them with fines and jail time, we need to reshape the incentives.
“Celebrate authenticity, reward storytelling, and put the spotlight on creators who gain traction without resorting to deception. Most importantly, stop rewarding fake, sensational, or controversial influencers with our attention,” says Mediha.
Content Forum was established as the industry forum to oversee and promote self-regulation of content over the electronic networked medium. Its members include media companies, advertisers, broadcasters, content creators, and civic groups. TikTok became a member last year.
Mediha admits that it is an uphill task to instil good values without making it sound like these influencers are cocky or Goody Two-Shoes.
“But what we can do is help shift the focus from just what they create to why they create it. If the only goal is views, ethical boundaries will definitely get blurry because somehow our netizens prefer bad news over good news and sensational content over factual content.
“But if we can encourage creators to see themselves as part of a bigger ecosystem, one where trust, integrity, and community matter, then they are more likely to self-regulate.
“Let’s be real – audiences are getting smarter. They can sniff out fake drama and staged stunts. The creators who stand the test of time are the ones who don’t need to fake it,” she said.
Social media is paving the way for many Malaysians to become social media entrepreneurs and it is important for the government to expose our people to responsible and ethical usage of digital platforms. And ultimately, not to embarrass Malaysia and Malay-sians.
In the meantime, for this Hari Raya, mola-mola I will try kakcikyah’s masak hitam kambing a la utara. Thank you for the recipe and laughter, and I wish you well, kakcikyah!
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