SUBANG JAYA, July 9 — Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil will hold a meeting with Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said tomorrow to discuss cyberbullying issues.
“We want to make sure the internet is safe, especially for children and families.
“These matters will be carefully discussed with the two ministers before we bring them to the Cabinet meeting on Friday,” he said after launching the CelcomDigi AI Experience Centre here today.
Fahmi said someone believed to be a cyberbully whose actions led to the recent alleged suicide of a TikToker has contacted at least two journalists with what appeared to be threats.
“At least two journalists have contacted me, complaining that the person believed to have cyberbullied female influencer, the late Esha (A. Rajeswary), had also contacted them, and that they were very scared.
“This is because (the person) had gone to the extreme and taken pictures of their houses and their family members. This is criminal intimidation,” he said.
Fahmi said cyberbullies usually use fake accounts to avoid detection, and that most victims suffer in silence.
“Cyberbullying is a huge problem now. In Esha’s case, several cyberbullies uploaded her picture as the background for their Tiktok live sessions and invited hundreds of people to troll her, to the point of what can be considered sexual assault.
“We must draw the line. Today, I also asked the MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) to act on several people who have been found on Facebook or TikTok livestreams to be uttering words that can be interpreted as cyberbullying, or disseminating content, ugly comments or any other comments that violate the law,” he said.
— Bernama
