KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 — Malaysians recently were up in arms over a TikTok account of teacher Nur Hidayah Ash’ari, 35, or Dya Romantika Life, who acted out skits with her son acting as her husband.
So, why the anger? According to Malaysians online:
- The mother-son interaction was deemed inappropriate, with some even accusing her of “grooming” the teen
- Some also accused her for substituting her late husband with the son
- This account went viral amid anger of “Abang Bas”, the bus driver who was charged with sexual abuse and surveillance after posting TikTok videos of primary school girls
Speaking to Malay daily Berita Harian (BH), Nur Hidayah said she was forced to lodge police reports after she received backlash over her videos, that went viral on other platforms.
She has since apologised for the videos on TikTok after accusing viewers of not understanding the situation, further telling BH that some videos were paid content for advertisers.
@dyaromantikalife SEMOGA TERJAWAB SEGALA PERSOALAN & KERAGUAN. Kepada semua rakyat Malaysia yang budiman & baik hati, terima kasih kerana prihatin. Terima kasih juga yang support kami dari dulu lagi. Salam Sayang, #dyaromantikalife
Dealova Piano - DNP
“I understand their criticism because they think what I did wasn’t proper. In my opinion, their view is probably because our family dynamics are different,” she told BH.
“My family’s way of interaction might be different. We are close like friends, so it doesn’t feel awkward. I’m also very close with my eldest child, and he has been my confidant ever since my late husband passed away three years ago.”
According to a TikTok post last week, the mother of four said her husband passed away in 2022 due to Covid-19.
@dyaromantikalife BIARKAN KISAH KAMI YANG MENJAWAB.. Jangan palitkan isu sekarang dengan content kami please.. #positivevibes #kisahkematianandikakirana
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In her TikTok videos, Nur Hidayah would usually do so-called “point-of-view” (POV) videos involving a married couple where the son would act as her husband. These included most recently:
- When your husband lets you see your friends, but...
- When your husband likes to wear the same clothes
- When your husband ogles other female teachers at school
- When you didn’t mean to lie to your husband
“But it’s up to the viewers’ judgment because if they see it with a negative perspective, they might think it’s bad, and the opposite if they view it positively.
“What I can say is that my intention in sharing the video on TikTok was to earn a living and at the same time to send a message to couples out there to create memories with their partners while they still can.”
Earlier this month, the man called “Abang Bas” was charged in two separate occasions after videos of him acting inappropriately with his primary school girl passengers.
