Another TikTok video by MalaysiaNow on Azam-gate taken down

A six-minute video showing opposition parties Muda and Pejuang announcing a campaign calling for the arrest of embattled Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki is no longer available on MalaysiaNow's TikTok channel, in the latest sign of Putrajaya's continued censorship of platforms that have agreed to comply with a controversial licensing law that came into effect this year.

The clip, published on Monday, featured a joint press conference by Muda leaders Ainie Haziqah and Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz, and Pejuang's Mukhriz Mahathir and Rafique Rashid.

They announced a campaign to highlight Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's failure to implement reforms, especially following two damning reports by Bloomberg last month on Azam and MACC.

The two parties also warned against any attempts to allow Azam to remain as MACC chief.

It is the second MalaysiaNow video on Azam to be removed by TikTok without any explanation.

On Feb 13, a four-and-a-half-minute Malay-language video titled "Bloomberg bongkar Azam Baki dan mafia korporat" (Bloomberg exposes Azam Baki and corporate mafia), was removed by TikTok.

The video summarised Bloomberg's investigative report on Azam and MACC published a day earlier, with footage from the financial news outlet's own 24-minute documentary interviewing witnesses and victims of rogue businessmen allegedly working with MACC officers to forcibly take over ownership of public-listed companies.

Both videos are still available on YouTube and other platforms. 

The disappearance of the videos from TikTok pages in Malaysia confirms critics' fears that Putrajaya's move to license social media platforms is more about suppressing content critical of the government than safeguarding children from online harm.

TikTok is one of only three social media platforms – the others being WeChat and Telegram – that have agreed to the new licensing regime by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the internet regulator chaired by corporate figure Mohamad Salim Fateh Din.

Salim, who is also chairman of the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board, an oversight committee under MACC, has openly defended Azam over Bloomberg's revelation that he held millions of shares worth about RM800,000 in a listed company, in violation of a government circular prohibiting public servants from such holdings.

Salim stated that Azam had "complied with the prevailing public service governance framework", adding that MACC's integrity should be assessed based on facts and "not unfounded allegations or misleading narratives".

Yesterday, the government said an investigation into Azam by a three-member committee led by Attorney-General Mohd Dusuki Mokthar had been completed, but stopped short of announcing its findings.