TikTok Watch Out For Instigating Video Content In Malaysia, In The Aftermath Of The Results Of The Election

TikTok Malaysia has a lot of inciting content. (photo: twitter @tiktok Malaysia)

JAKARTA - The short video platform TikTok on Wednesday, November 23, stated that it is now wary of content violating platform guidelines in Malaysia after authorities warned of an increase in ethnic tensions on social media following inconclusive elections.

The election on Saturday, November 19 ended with an unprecedented hanging parliament with none of the two rival alliances capable of securing enough seats in parliament to form a government.

"We continue to be vigilant and will aggressively remove infringing content," TikTok, which is owned by China-based company ByteDance, said in a statement.

TikTok said it had contacted Malaysian authorities regarding gross and repeated violations of its community guidelines since before the election.

One of the alliances hoping to form a government is a conservative Muslim group, most of whose members are ethnic Malays, led by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

This includes the PAS Islamic party, which advocates for a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Its electoral gain has raised concerns in countries with significant ethnic Chinese and Indian ethnic minorities, most of which adhere to other religions.

Veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who leads other alliances and competes for power, is filled with a group of more multiethnic and progressive parties that include the Democratic Action Party, a Chinese-ethnic-dominated party that is traditionally unpopular with voters from the majority of the Malay community.

Social media users have reported a lot of TikTok posts since elections that mention riots in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on May 13, 1969, which killed about 200 people, days after opposition parties backed by ethnic Chinese voters made a breakthrough in elections..

TikTok said it had removed videos with content related to its May 13 actions that violated its community guidelines, saying there was "no tolerance" for hate speech and violent extremism.

TikTok declined to disclose the number of deleted posts or the number of complaints received from accounts in Malaysia.

They told Reuters it would delete all accounts operated by users under the age of 13 after some parents complained that their children had been exposed to offensive content.

Reuters itself reviewed about 100 videos on TikTok, some of which featured people showing off guns such as knives and machetes. Some spoke to "young Malay fighters" and said Anwar's supporters should "remember the May 13 incident".

In response, a video flood that explains the history of May 13 violence emerged with many ethnic Malay users calling for unity and criticizing those who incite violence.

Police told social media users to refrain from posting "provocative" content, saying they had detected posts that touched race and religion, and insulted monarchy.

The king has called fellow sultan's family to meet on Thursday 24 November to discuss who should become prime ministers.

PAS issued a statement asking all parties to respect the constitution, maintain public order and avoid provocations that could threaten the harmony of the country.

Anwar said efforts to form a responsible and stable government should not end in turmoil.

"I am concerned about the racist sentiments and rhetoric that some people continue to adopt and have personal interests," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Police said they were setting up 24-hour checkpoints on roads across the country to ensure public peace and security.

Police also said they arrested a man in the state of Selangor near Kuala Lumpur for threatening the king in an Instagram post that identified an unknown ethnic group as a "corruptor". Instagram itself did not immediately respond to requests for comment via email.