S’wak activist files RM500,000 suit against social media admin over slanderous claims

MIRI (Aug 10): Local activist Peter John Jaban has filed a RM500,000 lawsuit against a retired teacher, said to have made slanderous claims against the former on social media.

In a statement issued today, Peter said he was seeking a public apology from the administrator of a social network platform, over a series of posts that was first uploaded on July 24 last year, adding that they contained serious allegations and statements that were defamatory in nature.

“I am very concerned about the usage of social media for negative purposes having become a popular trend among the youths lately.

“However, they should know their limits and not abuse social media to sow seeds of hatred and bring chaos to society,” the Global Human Rights Malaysia deputy president was quoted in the statement.

It also stated that law firm A Winston Kaya & Co Advocate, representing Peter, had sent a letter of demand to the said individual.

In the letter, the demands cover public apology by the individual to be published both on the social network site and a local newspaper for three consecutive days, as well as for the individual to pay the damages – failure to do such would result in legal action being taken against the individual without further notice.

“The letter of demand is an act of defence against the slander, as the claims made are completely false and baseless.

“All social media are supposed to be used for positive development, but they have instead been used to jeopardise racial harmony.

“Such negative elements in the usage of social media have brought destruction to the nation’s development,” said Peter.

He pointed out that there were many cases of people – not just in Malaysia, but also in other countries – being charged in courts due to the insults and allegations that they made known on the Internet, especially on social media platforms.

“There are just too many lies, false information and hate statements on social media. Unfortunately, though, there are also lots of people who believe in them.

“I believe that there is a need to strengthen efforts in educating people on how to be smart netizens, right from an early age.

“In today’s IT era, we cannot stop people from mastering technology, but we can continue educating them on ways to become a wise Internet user.

“The misuse of social media has led to division and harm in our society.

“People should not be manipulated by those with malicious intent, who are using these platforms to incite hate and other negative elements simply for personal or political gains,” he stressed.