For most content creators, brand collaborations are part of the job. You receive a brief, create the content, post it, submit the work, and wait to be paid.
But for more than 200 local content creators, what was supposed to be paid work allegedly turned into months of chasing after money that never arrived.
A group of Malaysian content creators have come forward to claim that they were not paid after completing promotional jobs through a marketing platform, with the total amount involved currently estimated at over RM543,000.
Over 200 M’sian content creators allegedly unpaid
According to the affected creators, the platform acts as a bridge between brands and content creators, allowing creators to accept advertising and promotional tasks through an app.
After taking up the jobs, creators would then post the required promotional content on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Xiaohongshu to earn their fees.
The platform, which claims to operate across eight countries and regions in Southeast Asia and Asia, had allegedly paid creators without major issues in the past.
However, the affected creators said payment delays began appearing from the end of last year, before the situation allegedly became more serious.
Based on industry practice, content creators would usually receive payment after completing a collaboration, or within one month at the latest.
However, many of those affected claimed that they had been waiting for months, with some saying the platform showed that their money had already been “withdrawn” even though no payment was credited into their bank accounts.
Some allegedly owed tens of thousands of ringgit
Among those who spoke up was 30-year-old content creator Joey, who joined the platform in June 2022.
According to her, payments were previously credited into her bank account within two months after she clicked the “withdraw” option.
However, since December last year, she claimed she has not received any payment.
I tried contacting the company representatives through different ways, but there was no result. In the end, I personally went to the company’s branch in Kuala Lumpur to ask for an explanation,” she said.
Joey alleged that a man who claimed to be the company’s finance manager repeatedly delayed payment by giving reasons such as “it will be credited next month”, “the company is not making much profit”, and “the funds have not arrived yet”.
She claimed that she is currently owed around RM11,000 in unpaid earnings accumulated over the past year.
Joey also said that around 300 affected individuals have now joined a chat group she created, with the number continuing to grow.
Out of them, around 200 people have calculated their losses, which currently stand at RM543,000. However, the remaining amounts have yet to be counted, meaning the actual figure could be higher.
Speaking to WeirdKaya, Joey said that when she visited the platform’s local office in April, she was told that the company was waiting for pending funds before it could pay the influencers.
However, when she visited the office again yesterday, she claimed that the situation appeared to be even more worrying.
I met three people in the office. One was the CFO, one was a staff member who was resigning, and another was a new staff member,” she told WeirdKaya.
According to Joey, the resigning staff member allegedly told her that the office would be moving soon, though it was unclear where the new location would be.
She also claimed that the finance manager had resigned, while the CFO had allegedly been fired.
Joey further claimed that even the staff were not being paid now, and that the Malaysian company’s funds had been coming from the Singapore company.
Basically, Malaysia already has no income now,” she said.
She added that despite repeatedly texting the company for updates, she felt like she was “texting syok sendiri”, as there was little to no proper response from the company.
Five affected creators attend press conference
Five affected individuals who sought help attended a press conference on Tuesday (16 June), accompanied by MCA Federal Territories Legal Bureau chief Victor Teoh and other members of the committee.
The group called on the company involved to provide an explanation as soon as possible and urged the authorities to step in and investigate.
The lawyer, citing the experiences of those who sought help, said the affected creators claimed that the platform had previously maintained a payment record, but began delaying payments from the end of last year.
He said the amounts allegedly owed to affected creators ranged from several thousand ringgit to tens of thousands of ringgit.
One of the lawyers pointed out that some affected creators had contacted the relevant brands, and several brands reportedly said they had already paid the marketing company according to their agreements.
Singapore HQ allegedly stopped operating
A lawyer also said that, based on her understanding, the platform’s headquarters in Singapore has currently ceased operations.
Joey added that the company’s headquarters is believed to be in Singapore, and according to affected individuals who visited the address, the headquarters was allegedly no longer operating.
She said the company not only has a branch in Malaysia, but also operates in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.
She claimed that affected creators in Hong Kong and Taiwan had also exposed the matter online, though the cases have yet to see any progress.
China Press reported that a Hong Kong online media outlet had previously investigated a similar case, reporting that at least dozens of people in Hong Kong were affected.
The unpaid amounts there reportedly ranged from a few hundred to several thousand Hong Kong dollars, with some payments delayed for months to a year.
The reasons allegedly given by the platform included system issues, missing information, customer service still processing the matter, and finance staff not being based in Hong Kong.
Legal action not ruled out
One of MCA’s legal advisers said they will continue contacting more affected individuals to collect information.
After assessing the case, he said they do not rule out advising the affected creators to pursue civil lawsuits to recover the unpaid payments.
He also urged the government to look into protecting the rights of content creators and to establish a more complete mechanism to prevent similar cases from happening again.
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