KUALA LUMPUR: With more than 782,000 followers on TikTok, social media sensation Zhiddin Aziz expressed his disappointment of allegedly being denied victory in the recent National Youth Awards (APBN) 2023.
Sharing his frustrations online, he conveyed to followers the stresses of having to invest a considerable amount of funds in buying a special attire.
However, he was met with a disappointing call about the award being revoked with no explanation less than 24 hours before the scheduled event.
Many who watched Zhiddin's viral video, which has gained more than 1.2 million views to date, felt sympathetic towards the influencer and raised questions towards the Youth and Sports Ministry about why his victory was denied.
The National Youth and Sports Department (JBSN) then issued a clarification on Facebook after being under fire after the allegations surfaced, noting that winners were only announced during the event, and no official notifications were given beforehand.
The APBN secretariat in a statement said: "The ABPN Winner Verification Committee unanimously decided not to award winners in two categories, the Youth Icon Influencer (Social Media) and the Youth Icon Appreciation, as no candidate met the specified criteria.
"Winners for each category under APBN are selected and evaluated by expert panels in their respective fields before being approved by the Winner Verification Committee."