Comment with care: Social media should not be a no-holds barred war zone where no prisoners are taken. — 123rf
THE past few months have chronicled an alarming spike in hate content on social media.
If the provocative literature and videos seem bad, then the viewership count is far more unsettling because many comments are racist and seditious.
These hurtful comments are being read by people of other races and religions, but the netizens who post them do not care or do not realise they cause uneasiness and unhappiness.
Social media here has become a no-holds barred war zone where no prisoners are taken. Not even our respected and esteemed Rulers are spared, either.
Politicians have blatantly fanned racial flames in their despicable attempt to champion their communities. And as a sideshow, some preachers of different faiths are even competing to run down their own kind.
These converts have inaccurately portrayed their own races, and incited racial and religious anger in the process, whether intentional or otherwise.
They need to be stopped. If these extremists are not contained, it could jeopardise the harmony among Malaysians.
Regrettably, the police haven’t been convincing. There’s surely no need for a police report to filter through before this recalcitrant flock gets called up for questioning, or even be remanded to let their hot heads cool off.
If nothing happens, the police will only be inviting accusations of incompetence in dealing with those who have threatened race relations.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is working overtime to remove offensive, insulting and excessively provocative postings on social media, but it needs the public’s support, too.
MCMC has warned it will not compromise on or tolerate the dissemination of incendiary comments following the “Allah” socks controversy. Since March 13 this year, 479 pieces of provocative and race, religion and royalty-related content have been taken down.
There are adequate laws in Malaysia to track down and punish violators, including Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA), 1998, where offenders can be fined up to RM50,000 or face imprisonment for up to a year, or both.
Portal operators as well as social media account owners could be ignorant of the fact that they could potentially be charged for malicious comments left on their sites.
Most have not moderated their comment traffic or have just struggled to detach themselves from this disrespectful and hostile display of emotions because something likely resonates with them. Some careless users might just think these angry responses will help increase the number of followers of their sites.
In 2021, the Federal Court sentenced Malaysiakini’s operator Mkini DotCom Sdn Bhd to a fine of half a million ringgit for contempt over its facilitation of five readers’ remarks against the judiciary on the news portal’s website.
Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Rohana Yusuf delivered the majority decision by six judges for the fine of RM500,000 to be imposed and paid within three days of a Monday.
“In meting out the sentence that shall be imposed, we first consider the apology that has been extended by the respondent and the fact that the respondents had cooperated both with the police and the courts.
“Having said that, it is our public duty to bear in mind the seriousness of the contemptuous act today which will ultimately undermine the system of justice in this country.
“The impugned statements had gone both far and wide both locally and internationally and the contents published are spurious and reprehensible in nature and it also involves allegations of corruption which are all false and untrue.
“We are of the view that a fine in the sum of RM500,000 would be appropriate, so hereby an order for the fine by the first respondent to be paid within three days from Monday,” the judge said after the panel stood down to deliberate the sentencing.
Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Datuk Azahar Mohamed, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Datuk Sri Mohd Zawawi Salleh, Datuk Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, and Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli were the five other judges on the Federal Court panel which agreed with the RM500,000 fine imposed on Malaysiakini. However, Rohana and the five judges said that Malaysiakini’s editor-in-chief was not in contempt of court.
So, it’s time for the authorities, including the MCMC and police, to enforce accountability in the comments section.
If portal owners can’t manage their comments section, then they should just turn it off.
Sadly, digital media has degenerated to being the dumping site of hate content by those cloaked in anonymity and irresponsible with their sharing, obviously oblivious to the immediacy of online publishing.
Lawmakers, especially politicians, are reluctant to act for fear of appearing undemocratic and opposing freedom of speech.
However, the public is also against the authorities abusing regulations to suppress legitimate criticism.
The truth is, freedom of speech doesn’t amount to freedom to defame and preach hate and cause disunity, or even threaten national security.
Exemplarily, Britain has imposed a range of criminal prohibitions on hate speech, both online and in print.
Basically, our authorities can’t give the impression they’re responding too slowly to these online hate mongers or not acting fairly.
A concerted public campaign is desperately needed to remind users to desist from uploading or sharing destructive content related to race, religion, and the royal institution on social media, as well as text messaging applications.
There can simply be no compromise on public order and harmony, and they must always come first.
