SHAH ALAM - Malaysia needs to urgently draft an anti-cyberbullying act that encompasses all related offences to provide justice to victims, impose appropriate punishment, and serve as a deterrent to offenders.
Senior lawyer Wan Azliana Wan Adnan said that although the country has the Penal Code and related acts, there was still no specific anti-bullying law, even though cases of death due to cyberbullying have occurred before.
She noted that countries that have already implemented anti-bullying acts include the Philippines, Singapore, the United States, Australia and Canada.
"I suggest that an anti-bullying act be drafted immediately, encompassing physical, mental, and cyberbullying. That would be simpler. The problem today is that we seem to lack seriousness in addressing this bullying issue.
"To date, there is still no specific provision that can provide a complete definition and interpretation of bullying acts, even though, since 2020, former Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said the act was almost at its final draft stage.
"This law has been studied for a long time by the United States since the early 1990s, and now all 50 states have an anti-bullying act. The Philippines has also taken the same step," she told Sinar on Thursday.
Previously, the owner of a welfare home linked to the death of social media influencer A Rajeswary, also known as Esha, 29, was fined RM100 by the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court for uttering abusive words.
P Shalini, 35, was fined after pleading guilty to behaving offensively with the intent to provoke anger and disturb peace through her TikTok account, ‘alphaquinnsha’, at 4am on July 1.
The woman was charged under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 (Act 336), which carries a maximum fine of RM100.
However, the RM100 fine has caused disappointment and dissatisfaction among various parties as the case involved the loss of life.
The case was initially investigated under Section 506 of the Penal Code (criminal intimidation), Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (disseminating offensive statements), and Section 14 (indecent behaviour) of Act 336.
According to Wan Azliana, the accused may have been charged only under Section 14 of Act 336 based on the evidence obtained, which allowed the prosecutor to win the case.
"If charged with the offence of criminal intimidation, the individual might escape punishment due to insufficient evidence.
"If the offender has mental issues and writes offensive comments without the intent to kill, it also complicates the investigation process in gathering evidence," she said.
She added that although cyberbullying cases are complex if the accused repeatedly encourages the victim to commit suicide, it can become a criminal offence.
"This case is very complex because it is difficult to link cyberbullying and suicide as we do not know the mental state of the victim or the accused.
"Therefore, we want this anti-bullying act to be drafted and implemented immediately to curb bullying cases, especially those leading to suicide," she commented.
Meanwhile, Wan Azliana mentioned that, besides harsher punishment, one of the penalties that should be imposed on bullying offenders is long-term social service to teach the offenders a lesson.
She stated that although offenders could be sentenced to prison, she believes it has less impact on them.