From brand boycotts in support of Palestine and mysterious doughnut-licking employees to the nefarious goings-on at a milk tea chain and a sinkhole horror in Kuala Lumpur – scandal, anger and tragedy marked Malaysia’s social media landscape this year.
In a nation glued to its phones – Malaysians spend nearly three hours daily online on average, an hour more than users in Hong Kong – platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and X are shaping public sentiment like never before and proving to be a bane for both big name brands and politicians.
But the internet has also created more space for bad actors seeking to whip up division and spread scurrilous rumours online, causing real damage to the country’s social fabric – something Malaysian authorities are determined to get a grip on in 2025.
Here are the high and lows that defined Malaysian social media this year.
Boycott bites
McDonald’s, KFC and Starbucks franchises in Malaysia faced a painful consumer backlash this year due to the war in Gaza, with Malaysia’s majority Muslim population linking the US-based chains with support for Israel’s attacks on the enclave.