KUALA LUMPUR: The late social media influencer A. Rajeswary is not the first and will not be the last victim if the relevant authorities do not take serious measures to stop cyberbullying, says her mother, R. Pushpa.
She said if a person as bold as her daughter was pushed to the extent of taking her own life, it's not impossible for other cyberbullying victims to be driven to do the same.
Speaking to the New Straits Times, the mother of four from Taman Melati, Gombak, said she wants justice for her daughter, who is fondly known as Esha, and hopes for stricter enforcement on trollers and fake accounts on TikTok.
"The whole family is still in disbelief that Esha took her own life. She was the smartest and bravest in the family, and for her to do this, can you imagine how badly she was bullied?
"Actually, two or three days before her passing, I advised her not to do live sessions or speak at other people's sessions for a while after her release.
"But she said she wanted to clear and clarify all the allegations made against her before she took a break from the social media application.
"She told me to give her two days to set things straight, and after that, she wouldn't go live anymore. At the time, it didn't strike me... But now I know what she actually meant," said Pushpa.
The woman in her mid-50s said the trolls got very personal, and they were under tremendous pressure because of the lies the bullies were spreading.
"Esha said, 'Give me two days to clear all the false accusations, and then she would take a break from social media.' But I never knew this was the break she was talking about, to leave this world," she said.
The 30-year-old influencer had a large following because of her informative and insightful videos.
She was well-liked by many netizens and often talked about issues related to the Indian community and Hinduism.
In the past, she had also debated with several other religious preachers, including the controversial Zamri Vinoth and Sophian Mohd Zain, on live sessions to correct certain misinterpretations made about Lord Shiva and Hinduism.
Apart from speaking on other influencers' live sessions, she also hosted her own live discussions about weight loss and beauty products.
However, in a recent live session she hosted, a Malaysian living in Germany, Ganeshparan, who was sought by police for hurling insults at the King, entered her live session and degraded Islam.
She said certain unhappy viewers lodged a report, which led to her arrest.
"It was about this time that the bullies currently in police custody started trolling my daughter.
"They said explicit things about her and put up her photo, as well as a family photo, on a green screen, making all sorts of defamatory statements during the live session. What's worse is that the viewers also supported these bullies by posting emojis and comments," she said.
She added that it is okay to post about one's talent through creativity but urged others not to engage in any live sessions.
"It can be your friend, a stranger, or whoever. You don't need to go on live sessions to speak on anything," she said, adding that immediate intervention is needed to weed out fake accounts and bullies from social media.
In May 2020, a young girl, Thivya Nayagi, 20, took her own life after she was continually harassed and bullied online.
In August 2022, another TikToker by the name of N. Sashikala, 44, committed suicide at her home in Selangor after cyberbullies trolled and harassed her for days prior.
Another relative who did not want to be identified, known as Vani, in her 30s, added that anyone who supported the victim, asked the bully to show themselves, or questioned the insensitive bullying, would become an immediate trolling target.