This article originally appeared on Vulcan Post Malaysia.
Being bullied over the Internet is beyond disgraceful. Many well known public and political figures have voiced out against cyberbullying and have openly criticized keyboard warriors. But then some people will argue that they are just merely expressing their opinion and they have the right to do so.
So where is the line drawn then? According to Khairy Jamaluddin, bullying is when you are “bashing people relentlessly online”.
Mawar Rashid, one of the finalists of Dewi Remaja, a local beauty contest was heavily critized by netizens because of not knowing what the abbreviation stands for GST (Goods and Services Tax). Other celebrities have also weighed in on the incident such as Sharnaaz Ahmad.
Caprice, a local Malaysian rapper who decided to make an Instagram post on this matter, hoping to send the message that he is against cyberbullying and to encourage people to be more aware of the GST issue. Ariz Ramli, or more famously known as Caprice has also been actively consistent on his his campaign “Bullying Stops Now” with the hashtag #watlekwatpeace.
Caprice gained likes from previous Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamad and his post has received good comments from Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin. According to KJ, Caprice has been going to schools for the last few years for campaigns of against bullying.
In this digital era, cases of cyberbullying are common to avid social media users. The phenomenon can causes fatal consequences, just last week a Taiwanese celebrity Cindy Yang (real name Peng Hsin-yi) was found dead at her home after being subjected to cyberbullying relentlessly.
In Singapore, cyberbullying is considered as breaking the law. February this year, Singaporean blogger Xiaxue filed a protection order against online satirical group SMRT Ltd (Feedback) for attacking her online. Last Monday, we have also reported about the harsh criticisms and cyberbullying faced by newly crowned Miss Universe Malaysia Vanessa Tevi.
Unfortunately there are many more saddening cyberbullying stories in the world. What we can learn from these past stories is that they serve as a reminder that cyberbullying is unforgivable and they are not supposed to be taken lightly. If you’re a victim, inform your parents or school teachers. You can also go to CyberSafe Malaysia to get to know more about cyber safety awareness.
