Don’t let TikTok play judge and jury

 

From Boniface Mojuntin

In Malaysia, it seems easy to kill someone’s reputation.

Just whip out a dodgy video clip, slap on the “whistleblower” badge, and let TikTok do the dirty work.

Take the case of Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has exonerated him of all wrongdoing in the Sabah mining scandal.

That should have been the end of the story. Yet, it has become a circus online, with hashtags still trending and opinions flying faster than facts.

‘Armchair whistleblower’

Wait. What is a genuine whistleblower, really?

A true whistleblower fights for the public – not for likes, shares or political points. They deliver hard evidence such as bank statements, contracts or witness testimonies – often at great personal expense, such as the threat of job loss or worse.

They go through the proper channels like MACC, internal audit, or Parliament, thus ensuring transparency and accountability.

They do not move in the shadows, leaking doctored, grainy footages on social media while hiding their identity behind pseudonyms or deleted accounts.

Welcome to the age of armchair activism where anyone with a mobile phone and a grudge can spark a digital wildfire.

The fallout? Swift, savage and often irreparable, especially when the timing screams political sabotage.

In recent years, Malaysia has seen similar stunts: videos of alleged misconduct in state projects or federal agencies, only for investigations to fizzle out when the evidence doesn’t add up.

The Sabah saga fits this script far too neatly. Just as the state gains traction on development and investment such as new infrastructure projects, tourism boosts and foreign partnerships, out pop videos with accusations of assemblymen being involved in dodgy mining deals.

These clips – often filmed in dimly lit rooms or during private meetings – suggest backroom deals and bribes but lack context or corroboration.

Never mind that MACC’s forensics team flagged the first batch as “tampered with edits, splices and missing timestamps”. Or that a second, supposedly “unedited” set, conveniently surfacing to fan the flames.

Valuable time wasted

Yet, no charges. No smoking gun. No link to Hajiji who is also the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman. Just whispers, wild theories and algorithm-fuelled fury amplified by influencers and opposition voices eager for a scalp.

Let’s be blunt: corruption is a cancer that must be removed. No one disputes that. But political smear campaigns masquerading as heroism?

That’s equally toxic. Blur the line between the two and we don’t just wound individuals. We erode faith in the institutions meant to shield us, like MACC and our courts.

This isn’t just a Sabah problem, it’s a national one, with public trust in governance already shaky after years of scandals like 1MDB.

So, who’s cashing in on this chaos?

Not Sabahans who crave steady leadership and straight answers. Not MACC that is forced to play whack-a-mole with viral nonsense instead of cracking real cases, thus diverting resources from serious probes into money laundering or procurement fraud.

And certainly not leaders like Hajiji, who is left to debunk rumours that should have been dismissed from the start and had to spend precious time on damage control rather than development.

This isn’t a plea to politicians. It’s a rallying cry for fairness and due process – the very principles we ditch every time we let trending topics overtake truth.

With their wide following and clickbait culture, social media platforms are turning us into a nation of knee-jerk reactors, not critical thinkers.

Malaysia needs robust shields for real whistleblowers. But we also need barricades against the fakes. It’s high time we stop letting anonymous online leaks hijack our national dialogue, replacing reasoned debate with digital mob rule.

If we keep letting TikTok play judge and jury, we won’t just lose trust. We’ll lose the truth itself and that’s a verdict none of us can afford.

The stakes are higher than ever. Without a return to evidence-based justice, Malaysia risks becoming a nation where perception overtakes reality – and the loudest voice wins. - FMT

Boniface Mojuntin is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.