The world that we live in today has evolved. Everything is done virtually; shopping, commerce, government services or even court processes are all done virtually. Technology has, in a subtle way, brought the world closer; a borderless world famously coined.

 

As much as the borderless world brought goodness out of people, it is irrefutable that it has also brought out the bad.

 

Cyberbullying

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Cyberbullying is an act of bullying a person via online platforms regardless of the parameters involved such as physical attributes, ideologies or belief system.

 

The impact of such heinous act is enormous; an agonising emotional distress akin to that of physical abuse.

 

The Malaysia Cyber Consumer Association (MCCA) president, Siraj Jalil, is of the opinion that many netizens are unaware of the criminalisation of such act under Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

 

It is, therefore, not shocking to see that Malaysia ranks in the world’s top 10 countries for cyberbullying in the year 2018.

 

Laws against Cyberbullying

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The law against cyberbullying is found under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (“CMA”) which stipulates that any person who initiates the transmission of any comment, request, suggestion or other communication which is offensive in nature and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person commits an offence under this section.

 

And any person found guilty of an offence under this section be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both and shall also be liable to a further fine of one thousand ringgit for every day during which the offence is continued after conviction.

 

Despite the law being in force, it is worrying that such acts are often not being reported in Malaysia. The probable reason could be due to lack of awareness of the avenues available to lodge a complaint since the act is done virtually.

 

Are the Laws in Place Sufficient?

 

We believe that apart from Section 233 CMA or the Penal Code, Parliament should enact a piece of legislature wholly dedicated to anti-cyberbullying in order to curb such offences.

 

An example could be drawn from other jurisdiction and we find no better reference than that of California Anti-Cyberbullying Law 2019.

 

For such enactment to be passed, it is pertinent for the Multimedia and Communication Commission to study and implement steps to identify the behaviour of social network accounts as some may hide behind fake accounts.

 

It is also equally important to create awareness amongst the social media users, which mostly comprises the adolescent age group, on the effects of cyberbullying and to come forward to report such activities to the Police with the help of their parents or caretakers.

 

Parents are ought to be vigilant as well in making sure their kids do not fall victim to such despicable act by checking up on them and being sensitive to their emotional wellbeing.

 

This article is written in wake of the unfortunate demise of Thivyaanayagi Rajendran, who fell victim to cyberbullying by committing suicide on 20.05.2020 having succumbed to emotional distress. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.

 

Authors:

Purshotaman Puvanendran [LLB (Hons.) MMU]

Daniel Annamalai a/l N.Subramaniam [LLB (Hons.) MMU]

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