KUALA LUMPUR: Treat cyberbullying culprits as criminals.
That was the call made by a psychospiritual expert in response to the increasing prominence of cyberbullying cases in the country, with adolescents and young adults being the main targets.
Malaysia Organisation of Psychospiritual Wellbeing deputy chairman Dr Adnan Omar described it as a significant step forward if the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) intervenes and treats those responsible for cyberbullying cases as criminals.
He added that preventing cyberbullying is crucial, as it can lead to depression, which may cause victims of these cases to have suicidal thoughts.
"Cyberbullying can be much worse than physical bullying because we don't see the perpetrator, making them hard to track down.
"If MCMC has made a statement that the commission will take action, they must follow through because it's always a matter of life and death in some cases.
"But of course, laws evolve at a very slow pace because changing them is not easy. However, I think it's a positive move in the right direction," he said.
He highlighted a recent case where artificial intelligence (AI) was used to create fake nude images of a person, demonstrating the dangerous potential of cyberbullying.
"Cyberbullying is much more serious as the victims often feel hopeless and helpless believing that things will never improve and that the law is not there to protect them.
"There are many people who become depressed and commit suicide because of cyberbullying. What can internet authorities do about it?
Associate Professor Haslina Muhamad said cyberbullying has become more prevalent and "increasing issue" in the country in which the culprits often targeting adolescents and young adults.
She also cited a the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) report, which ranked Malaysia second in Asia for youth cyberbullying in 2020.
"A recent Malaysian study discovered that the prevalence of cyber-victimisation and cyber-perpetration stood 31.6 per cent 20.9 percent respectively, when examining incidents within the previous month among adolescents aged between 13 and 14.
"Adolescents and young adults aged between 13 and 17 are the ones who spend the most time on social media or other online platforms," said Haslina of Universiti Malaya's Department of Anthropology and Sociology.
She said that the common kinds of cyberbullying cases are harassment, denigration, and exclusion.
"I don't have the statistics for each type of cyberbullying, but for harassment (60.4 per cent for victimisation and 55.4 per cent for perpetration)," she said.
Haslina, therefore, hope to see a more stringent measures to address cyberbullying cases in the country since the affects of the victims is not limited to only physical but also emotional distress.
"Victims typically experience increased levels of stress, anxiety, severe emotional distress, and depression, which if not addressed, can lead to suicide attempts particularly among adolescents and youths due to feelings of helplessness.
"Sometimes stress and worry caused by cyberbully are seen in headaches, stomach aches, and sleep difficulties especially among teenagers.
"It affects school performance; some victims will avoid school; becoming socially disconnected increases the feeling of loneliness and isolation and victims can become angry or turn to bad coping mechanisms such as substance misuse," she said.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil had said that issue of cyberbullying on social media platforms will be presented to the Cabinet this Friday (July 12 ) to find the best solution, including legal and enforcement aspects.