CORONAVIRUS | Higher Education Minister Noraini Ahmad caused a stir after promoting a TikTok competition yesterday, which appeared to be an effort to get youths out of a funk during the movement control order period.
TikTok is a social media application used to send short videos, typically between 15 to 60 seconds. It is especially popular with youths.
In a promotional video for the contest, Noraini urged youths to stay at home and use their creativity to win prizes.
The promotional video featured two social media personalities, Norreen Iman and Iskandar Rahman, dancing to a remixed track that used portions of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's stay at home speech.
The contest was to be held from yesterday until April 14 and is open to youths aged 18 to 26.
However, there was a strong backlash against the competition, following which social media posts promoting it were removed today.
Lawyer Firdaus Husni tweeted that Noraini could have used social media to address concerns held by students throughout the MCO such as what will happen to the rest of the academic year, paying student fees, e-learning and exams.
"But no, you have to do a TikTok (competition)," she tweeted.
PKR Youth chief Akmal Nasir said Noraini was insensitive to the hardships faced by students, and she should focus more on their welfare.
"I urge the minister to take this opportunity to launch campaigns which add value, self-improvement, discussions and such which will contribute to the development of youths," he said.
Meanwhile, PAS Youth deputy chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said the wing understood that social media and TikTok can help youths relieve boredom and anxiety.
However, Ahmad Fadhli said in line with the principle of blocking harmful means, considerations must be made to ensure that technology benefits youths.
But it's not all been negative for Noraini and the Higher Education Ministry today.
Former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman in a series of tweets today praised the Higher Education Ministry for holding online classes through the Cikgootube platform.
He also highlighted a proposal by Muhammad Nazmi, an educator who teaches in the interiors of the country, for the ministry to collaborate with local radio stations and hold classes through the airwaves.
Such a suggestion, he said, could also be taken up by television stations.
"The government's duty is not to force youths at home to study, but it is their responsibility to ensure that if they do want to learn, the platform is ready for them," he said.
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