- 22 minutes ago
Malaysia’s digital economy is reshaping how businesses grow and how Malaysians earn. Platforms are now central to that shift — with TikTok Malaysia’s recent socioeconomic report estimating RM20 billion in economic contribution and over 147,000 jobs supported in 2025, alongside 100,000+ MSMEs participating in a single ecosystem.
But scale raises bigger questions. Who actually captures this value? How sustainable are these income streams?
And what does resilience look like for businesses built on platforms?
Tehmina Kaoosji speaks with Firdaus Fadzil, Malaysia Head of Public Policy, TikTok, to examine what’s really driving Malaysia’s platform economy — and what comes next.
But scale raises bigger questions. Who actually captures this value? How sustainable are these income streams?
And what does resilience look like for businesses built on platforms?
Tehmina Kaoosji speaks with Firdaus Fadzil, Malaysia Head of Public Policy, TikTok, to examine what’s really driving Malaysia’s platform economy — and what comes next.
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NewsTranscript
00:07Hello and welcome to Nyaga Spotlight with me, Tamina Kausjee.
00:11Nyaga Spotlight takes us through the week in economic analysis and future affairs.
00:15So today on Analysis, our spotlight falls on Malaysia's platform economy.
00:20The digital economy is scaling very quickly.
00:24Platforms, payments and e-commerce are now central to how businesses reach customers
00:28and how Malaysians earn a living.
00:31TikTok's latest report points to an estimated 20 billion ringgit in economic contribution in 2025 to Malaysia
00:39and more than 147,000 jobs supported, a sign of how dynamically this space is moving.
00:46Digital ecosystems and platforms are clearly reshaping work, enterprise and also market access across the country
00:53for an increasing number of Malaysians.
00:55Today, we look at what's driving that shift and what it means for Malaysia's next phase of growth.
01:02Joining me live in the studios, we have the absolute pleasure of hosting Firdaus Fazil,
01:06Malaysia Head of Public Policy with TikTok.
01:09A very good morning, Firdaus. How are you doing?
01:11Very good. Very good.
01:12Fantastic.
01:13So, Firdaus, let's start off by, of course, you telling us a little bit more about the thinking behind releasing
01:19a Malaysia socio-economic report.
01:21Now, my understanding is that is not something which TikTok does for every market, right?
01:27Yes. This is quite unique for Malaysia and this is the first time we are doing this.
01:31So, we are really excited to share some of the key insights with you and the audience today
01:35on how we are actually making a living, how we are making an impact to fellow Malaysians
01:39as we push forward towards inclusive growth for the Malaysian digital economy.
01:44Exactly. So, the numbers are quite engaging. You start off with saying that there has been
01:50an estimated roughly RM20 billion in economic contribution. So, that entails almost close
01:57to 1% of the overall national GDP. Let's unpack those numbers a little bit.
02:04So, to answer your question, right, allow me to provide some backgrounds of the report
02:07so that we can actually contextualise the data. In a recent socio-economic impact report
02:12in Malaysia conducted by Kearney. And this is basically an independent study conducted
02:16by Kearney, which was endorsed by the Minister of Economy as well as the CEO of MDAC.
02:22So, we have sought to understand the scale of TikTok as well as TikTok shop impact in terms
02:28of translating a digital participation of fellow Malaysians into a real economic value in Malaysia.
02:34Now, the report revealed that TikTok's comprehensive ecosystem has generated over RM20 billion
02:40in the form of gross value added, or GVA, the Malaysian economy, and on top of that,
02:46created over 147,000 jobs nationwide in 2025. The key word here at the time now is actually
02:52gross value added. Now, the study examined whether TikTok simply reallocates sales from other
02:59platforms, or are we actually creating a new economic value, a genuine value for the Malaysian economy?
03:06Yeah. So, A.T. Kearney has basically conducted a survey as well as deep structured interviews,
03:14and they have spent over 50 hours of deep structured interviews with our business respondents
03:19as well as the content creators to try to understand and extract those insights. And Kearney has found
03:25a strong evidence linking to a value creation reflected in the RM20 billion gross value added contribution.
03:33The contribution is not simply an inflated sales figures.
03:38But it's not just an overall empty valuation.
03:41Yes. Okay.
03:41So, it stems from the incremental sales growth, that's number one. And also, secondly, the income
03:46that's generated amongst the content creators through TikTok ecosystem.
03:51Right.
03:51So, it's not just a redistribution of the existing demands from one platform to another.
03:57Yeah. So, in essence, it reflects entrepreneurship and the creators who launch the business on TikTok
04:04and earn their living.
04:06Exactly. Because it's also about calculating whether productivity is there and whether the
04:11higher margins are available.
04:12That's right.
04:13Yeah. So, moving into looking at understanding the type of job quality which is available,
04:19an interesting figure that stuck out to me when I had a look at the report, Firdaus, was that about
04:2335% of the content creators spoken to are full-time content creators.
04:30So, moving from there, this points to pretty strong growth on the platform for creators as well as sellers.
04:39So, how should we think about the quality as well as the sustainability of the income streams
04:45from the information that has been gathered?
04:48Correct. So, I think before that, let's look at the size of the ecosystem, right?
04:51Okay.
04:52Beyond just, beyond the 147,000 jobs that has been created, TikTok has a wider ecosystem.
04:58There's a lot of Malaysians who are actually dependent on their livelihood on TikTok ecosystem.
05:02So, we have over 1.8 million micro SME sellers on TikTok, TikTok shops selling their products.
05:09We also have 3.8 million content creators who are positioning themselves as affiliate creators
05:15for our sellers in the TikTok shop.
05:17Right. So, those are what you see as quotes that turn up on other platforms but would lead to the
05:22TikTok shop.
05:23That's right. Got it.
05:23And, last but not least, it's about 4.5 million content creators who are capitalizing on TikTok live.
05:30And these are basically a content creator leveraging on becoming a live streamer.
05:34Yes. Yes, correct.
05:36So, beyond these top line figures, the report highlights how TikTok has actually evolved into a dynamic economic powerhouse,
05:44fueling inclusive and sustainable digital participation at scale.
05:48So, from micro SME, expanding through TikTok shop and creators building sustainable careers via TikTok live,
05:57our discovery platform is reshaping how Malaysians are unlocking new income opportunity
06:03as well as paving a pathway for entrepreneurship.
06:07So, the numbers that we shared just now, RM20 billion, is not just an abstract number
06:13but it's actually a reflection of Malaysian livelihood.
06:16So, there are two parts of the question just now.
06:19First, it's on the quality of the job and second, it's basically on the sustainability.
06:23Yes.
06:23On the quality itself, the 147,000 job creation are considered more productive, right,
06:31from the perspective of gross value added per person, per individual,
06:35that is about 15 to 20% higher than the national average.
06:38So, that's number one.
06:39Number two is, as you pointed out just now, based on the survey, 45% of the creators that were
06:45surveyed
06:46reported a revenue above the Malaysian minimum wage of RM1,700 a month.
06:53And that's very interesting.
06:55In fact, 35% of the respondents in the survey have indicated that they are doing this full time.
07:00They are professionalising a content creation and turn it into a profession.
07:06Which would also mean that they have gradually come to this position.
07:10A question out of curiosity, how does TikTok keep platform charges reasonable and stable
07:17so that it ultimately is actually worth it for creators to maybe transition from being part-time
07:24to actually consider full-time?
07:26Right.
07:27It's not about the commission structure per se, right, because I think what's more important
07:31for the content creators is for them to be genuine, for them to be authentic,
07:36and basically creating a loyal community.
07:39I think that's the first one, right?
07:40Once you have the community, once you have established the engagement with the audience,
07:44it's very easy for you to actually scale out, right?
07:47We have offered a lot of opportunities for content creators.
07:50They can actually do a business matchmaking with the sellers, and this is enabled via
07:57a TikTok shop creator marketplace.
08:01Right.
08:01We also have, if you are a content creator on TikTok, and obviously you also can actually
08:06participate in a TikTok creator marketplace.
08:09And this is where a brand partnership, for example, can actually be established, not just
08:14with the brands, but also with the agencies.
08:16Mm-hmm, understood.
08:18Another thing that I'd love to dig into is that looking at MSME growth and long-term
08:23resilience as well, there is a need to ensure that, in particular, the MSMEs, they are able
08:29to thrive well in digital platforms across scale.
08:34So how does TikTok also help them to build that sort of business resilience so that they can
08:40cater to the digital ecosystem?
08:43Mm, okay.
08:43I think there are two parts of this, right?
08:46First, let's look at what we have done so far in terms of upskilling all these micro-SMEs
08:51in Malaysia.
08:52So as part of the year, we do have a strong commitment in terms of pushing through a Jome
08:58Local initiative.
08:59Now, the Jome Local initiative was a campaign that we launched since 2023.
09:04And we have funded millions of ringgit worth of additional platform exposures, discount
09:10vouchers, as well as marketing resources to support all of our homegrown micro-SMEs.
09:15As of 2024, we have upskilled over 100,000 homegrown micro-SMEs.
09:22Right.
09:22And basically, in order to foster inclusive digital economic growth.
09:26But we are not doing this alone, Tamina.
09:29Mm-hmm.
09:29We are partnering with the government at the federal level, as well as at the estate level,
09:34together with other government agencies.
09:36And this includes the likes of MDAC, Matred, Pharma, Mintret, Sarawak, Sidec, and many more.
09:43Yes.
09:44The Malaysian per capita spend is also apparently one of the highest in the region.
09:49Yes.
09:50When it comes to us as Malaysians buying and supporting local.
09:53Correct.
09:53But that is also fostered by this entire system.
09:55Yeah, correct.
09:56So, since 2023, since 2025, we have also invested into the operation of TikTok Shop Lifehub.
10:04Understood.
10:05This is very interesting because we are spending RM3 million already last year.
10:09And this is basically an investment that goes into equipping a studio, equipping the sellers
10:15with the studio-grade production tools.
10:17And the reason is very simple, Tamina.
10:19Try to lower down the barrier of entry for the sellers so that they can actually produce
10:23a high-quality content, which makes them more discoverable in our TikTok and TikTok Shop platforms.
10:30Because that's, of course, the key to the exponential growth.
10:33Exactly.
10:33Exactly.
10:34So, as far as this live streaming hub is concerned, we have already established this in a couple
10:39of locations.
10:40And that includes Sabah, Johor, KL, as well as Clentine.
10:45Right.
10:45So, not just that, in 2025, a TikTok Shop, we have also further injected RM20 million.
10:52And this is basically in the form of Jome Local Booster Stimulus Package to basically
10:57increase the exposure of our home-grown micro-SMEs and their products.
11:02Right.
11:03And as a result of this continuous effort, we have basically tracked the performance and
11:08we've discovered that all of our Jome Local micro-SME sellers have achieved 130% year-on-year
11:15sales growth, both in 2025 as well as in 2026.
11:19Wonderful.
11:19Really interesting discussion so far.
11:21Thank you, Firdaus.
11:22Don't go anywhere.
11:23We'll take a quick break and we'll be right back with the rest of the interview.
11:26Stay tuned.
11:44Welcome back to Niagara Spotlight.
11:46Still with me, Tamina Kausji.
11:47And today's discussion on the platform economy is live in the studios with Firdaus Faso,
11:52Head of Public Policy for Malaysia with TikTok.
11:55Now, Firdaus, jumping straight back into the very engaging discussion, let's look at distribution
12:00of income across creators.
12:03Now, of course, there's a wide variety amongst the type of creators and their classifications
12:09according to income.
12:10How about a little bit more of a focus on those who are amongst the middle tier of creators,
12:17those who are bringing in above the average Malaysian national income, but they're not
12:21necessarily among, let's say, the top 20% of earners.
12:25Well, first of all, before that, across TikTok ecosystem, there are three primary channels
12:30for the creators to basically generate income.
12:32Right.
12:33And this is done via, first of all, TikTok, where the creators can actually collaborate
12:37with businesses and the agencies to produce a brand partnership content.
12:41Right.
12:42Secondly, it's on TikTok Live.
12:43And this is where people actually becoming a live streamer and they are basically earning
12:48their income via virtual gifts as well as the subscription-based content.
12:53And last but not least, it's basically on TikTok shop, where the Malaysians can actually earn
12:58through sales commission by selling the products of the sellers, right, in exchange of a commission.
13:02Understood.
13:03And on top of that, they can also maximize their potential earnings by allowing the brands
13:10to use their shoppable videos, right?
13:13And we are enabling this via a TikTok shop creator center.
13:17To answer your question, let's look at the report once again, right?
13:21So, 45% of the creators surveyed reported revenue above the minimum wage of RM1,700 a month.
13:2935% of them are already converting their profession into a full-time profession as a content creator.
13:34Now, that's very interesting.
13:36The top 2% of the creators surveyed earning more than RM10,000 a month, right?
13:42So, beyond these numbers, there are so many real-life Malaysian experience who have shown
13:48that they are able to basically capitalize on digital content, right, and translate this
13:53into a sustainable livelihood, right?
13:56For example, we have Sandra Hanayu, a content creator, who was previously a flight operator
14:05in the aviation industry.
14:07So, what Sandra Hanayu did was she created a brand partnership with a global and also local
14:14brands, the likes of the Nestle, Dove of the world, right?
14:18And based on this kind of brand partnership, she was actually able to earn triple the income
14:23compared to her career in the aviation sector.
14:26We also have the likes of Tiffany Lee, right?
14:29Tiffany Lee is basically a TikTok shop affiliate creator, who started off as a single affiliate
14:36creator, but over time has basically expanded the businesses by hiring more people.
14:41So, she now has over 12 full-time employees to basically assist him, assisted her in the business.
14:49And these are all women.
14:50Yeah.
14:51So, that's also another huge sector because we're also focusing on the fact that it helps
14:57usually overlook populations, but at the same time, it helps them to scale in a way that
15:03allows them to not only sell products, but there's also a huge diversity amongst creators.
15:08There are entertainment creators, for example, even those who share about paranormal experiences,
15:14et cetera.
15:15So, there are income pathways, clearly.
15:18Yes.
15:18Tell me about some broader perspectives, not necessarily TikTok-focused, Ferdas, but perhaps
15:24some ideas around how, you know, when it comes to the hidden costs and transparencies,
15:31transparencies, which, of course, can impact SMEs and MSMEs very deeply, particularly in
15:37a time of global geo-economic tribulation, such as we're going through now.
15:42How can platforms help to build that trustworthy relationship so that when creators come on
15:49to, when they're onboarded, they are able to allocate enough budget without affecting their
15:56profits too much?
15:57Okay.
15:57So, basically, let's look at the report, right?
16:00Coming back to the creator economy, the size of the creator economy.
16:03Yes.
16:03And this is only 2025.
16:05Okay.
16:05The size of the creator economy, according to the report, is RM1.9 billion, right?
16:11And that's basically 10% of the gross value added that has been recorded, right?
16:16So, the potential is huge, right?
16:18And I believe that we are still at the early stage of growing the content creator economy.
16:24And based on the announcement that was made by the government recently, in terms of establishing
16:30the Orange Economy Council, I think it's really timely because all these policies that is going
16:36to be introduced by the government will basically help to flourish the orange economy, the content
16:41creator economy.
16:42Now, coming back to your question on transparency.
16:45This is very interesting because in TikTok, we have what we call For You Feed.
16:51Yes, correct.
16:52FYF.
16:53Yes.
16:53Now, a lot of people out there are described it as a FYP.
16:56They do.
16:57Yeah, they do.
16:57Colloquially, everybody knows what the FYP is.
16:59So, basically, the For You Feed is basically for you, right?
17:04It is highly customized for you.
17:05So, of course, when you're first opening a TikTok account, what the recommendation system
17:10will push your content to you is those content that is age-appropriate, but at the same time
17:15trending and popular.
17:17Right.
17:17But over time, based on your interaction, whether it's you like it, you skip it, you fast-forward
17:24or you comment, those are all the signals that the recommendation system will pick up
17:29and that helps to basically recommend to you the personalized content that fits into
17:35your interests.
17:39So, this recommendation system is highly transparent, right?
17:44We allow the user to basically also interact with the recommendation system via a few other
17:49options.
17:49For example, the users can actually indicate to the recommendation system that you're not
17:55interested for a particular video.
17:57So, you can also refresh your FYF, right?
18:01And on top of that, you basically can do a video filtering and also you can also manage
18:06topics, right?
18:07Is there on the SME business side of things, Fairdance, a way to manage dashboards or data?
18:14Oh, definitely.
18:14Definitely.
18:15So, if you go to the TikTok shop creator support, TikTok shop support, TikTok shop academy, that
18:21profile, right?
18:22The micro-SMEs and the SMEs, the businesses, will be given a dashboard for them to manage
18:28the effectiveness of their advertising campaign, for example, right?
18:33There's also a support that was given by the system to show what sort of products that
18:39is being sold the most popular.
18:41Ah, so it's like a seller education that's available to behind the scenes.
18:44Well, not just that.
18:45It's basically support to basically how to design the advertising campaign, right?
18:50How to link to a particular content creator to support your products under a yellow-back
18:57scheme, right?
18:59So, all of these supports have been given to the micro-SMEs, to the businesses, as well
19:04as to the content creators to maximize their exposure on the platform.
19:10Yeah, understood.
19:10So, because you'd also landed upon the fact and given us examples, those happen to be women
19:16entrepreneurs on the TikTok platform, let's talk gender inclusion together with online
19:21safety as well.
19:23Sure.
19:23So, it's most encouraging that there happen to be so many women, as well as also those
19:28from the disabled community who are increasingly growing their platforms and their shops.
19:33How is TikTok approaching the idea of gender-disaggregated insights as well as online safety considerations?
19:41Okay.
19:41Because this is something which, in a sense, plagues the entire online ecosystem where there
19:47are safety considerations and also backlash that is quite uniquely faced by women in the
19:54space.
19:55So, in general, we are committed to cultivate a positive and inclusive ecosystem that level
20:01the playing field for anyone, not just for small businesses, but also to the women entrepreneurs
20:06and even rural communities, right?
20:08I understand.
20:09So, to participate in our digital or thriving digital economy.
20:12So, I've shared earlier in the Social Economy Impact Report and also in our day-to-day operations,
20:18we have seen countless women building a successful career as well as businesses on TikTok as well
20:25as TikTok shop.
20:25The likes of Dayang Suziana, the founder of Sonic Bakery, the likes of Nick Norazwan, the
20:32founder of Katali, Sandra Hanayu, I mentioned just now, Tiffany Lee and many more, right?
20:37At the foundation of this, Tamina, it's a commitment to keep TikTok safe and trusted among all the
20:44users.
20:45So, safety is always our top priority.
20:47And globally, we have already invested over $2 billion in 2025 alone across various aspects
20:54of our trust and safety operations.
20:57Now, behind the scenes, Tamina, there are thousands of safety professionals who are working tirelessly
21:03with our automated advanced system to basically enforce our community guidelines, right?
21:10So, basically not leaving it to automation, but also involving the human element of it.
21:14Yes, we have a human moderator as well.
21:15That's really important because when it comes to the language nuances on platforms,
21:20usually AI models may not be able to have, pick up local slang, for example.
21:24That's right, that's right.
21:26So, but having said that, the context is not evolving and therefore you need the human
21:29moderators to basically enforce the community guidelines, right?
21:32Absolutely.
21:33So, moving into closing out by talking a little bit more about the fact that TikTok is increasingly
21:40positioned at the intersection of content, commerce and advertising as well.
21:46So, how does the platform see its role evolving within Malaysia's broader digital economy?
21:51Let's look at the time frame from 2026 to 2030 itself.
21:55Yeah.
21:56So, we are committed to continue collaborating with Malaysian government.
22:00You know, there's a lot of programs that we are doing in collaborations with the government.
22:04And basically, the idea is very simple.
22:07On the business side, we'll try to empower, we endeavor to empower local micro-SMEs and creators
22:13to participate in our thriving digital economy.
22:16And this is broadly aligned with RMK 13 or Malaysian 13 plan, right?
22:21And the idea is very simple, to drive a sustainable growth and on top of that, to create a meaningful
22:28jobs for all these industry participants or digital participants.
22:32On the content side, we hope to inspire you Malaysians to continue connecting with our global
22:37communities.
22:38And our global community consists of 1 billion users, Damina.
22:42That's right.
22:42Southeast Asia alone, we have over 460 million users, right, across 150 countries.
22:48Now, Malaysians, as a TikTok user, they can actually connect with our global community.
22:53And from this advantage, disadvantage of connecting to all this global community,
22:59they can actually learn new skills, discover new ideas, celebrate diverse cultures, build
23:05livelihood, and at the same time, share authentic moments.
23:08And that's our core mission here, Damina.
23:09To basically inspire your creativity and bring joy.
23:14Absolutely.
23:15So it does seem that, you know, we are well into the trenches of achieving a lot of the
23:20goals that have been set out.
23:22All we can hope for is that the SMEs that are able to successfully digitalize, they not
23:26only are able to grow, but also find new avenues and have that stability of income as well.
23:33Yes.
23:33Thank you so much for your insights today.
23:35It's been an excellent and very insightful day.
23:38Well, the real measure of the platform economy will, of course, be whether these SMEs can
23:42go online, stay profitable and competitive too, once they digitalize their businesses.
23:48That's all we have time for today.
23:49Here's to a productive week ahead.
23:51I'm Damina Kaus-ji, signing off for now.
23:535 expectant distance.
23:57Thank you very much for joining us.
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