SEPTEMBER 14 — I tell people that if they see any videos on my TikTok account to call the police as it (probably) wasn’t me.
While I believe in embracing new technology and celebrating change, you would need to hold me at gunpoint to do a TikTok video, especially one that involves weird/bad dancing.
I know my strengths and none of them involve awkward dancing in TikTok format videos.
To me they are a sad reflection of the modern day non-existent attention span.
It bothers me too that the app has also become a hotbed of misinformation when we already have Facebook for that.
Not that I think people should stop making TikToks. I get it — there is an audience for short, easily swipeable and shareable video content. It just doesn’t include me and I am fine with it.
Politicians however need to stop making cringey videos that were made with the intent to go viral.
One, that is just so passé and second, if I wanted video stars and not politicians, I would vote for video stars.
Our women’s minister just put out a terribly unfunny video that also smacks of sexism and misogyny.
I already need to put up with Syed Saddiq’s ”let me show you my forehead” extreme closeup videos on my Twitter. Why must I also be regaled with more unasked for video content from politicians?
Get a singer, a content creator, a comedian to do what they do best — entertain. Please spare us bad jokes, bad singing, bad dancing, bad slogans... the list just goes on.
Has no one in any of our current politicians’ parties told them frankly that their attempts at being hip with the kids is just terribly cringey?
At this rate we are going to see Lim Guan Eng rapping about why development in Penang must go on and our current youth and sports minister breakdancing.
Let’s just put this on the record: none of them will ever top Khairy Jamaluddin’s “Houston, kita ada masalah (Houston, we have a problem)” taxi driver skit and please, do not even try.
Here’s an idea: hire the youngsters who understand just how the best video content works and maybe hire them instead?
As a very last resort I propose we just ban politicians over the age of 38 from TikTok for the sake of the nation’s sanity.
It’s just the patriotic and compassionate thing to do because at this rate by the time the general election comes around, we will collectively have suffered psychic damage from all the embarrassing video content, just waiting to be made.
Stop doing it, politicians. Do the right thing — save Malaysia from low quality videos and leave the content making to the content creators and that is all I ask for this Malaysia Day.
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
