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When the accused is painted as a victim
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In the last week, two interesting similar cases went viral for all the wrong reasons.

A TV host made fun of Watson Nyambek’s father on TV. Only after the issue went viral did the studio involved, Primeworks Studios apologise and suspend the host and six production team members of the said programme.

On an even more serious note, a college student who was part of a WhatsApp group allegedly made a rape joke on a fellow female student, who then posted the issue online. However the moment the issue went viral, college representatives allegedly accused the young woman of posting it online and forced her to remove the post. Instead of supporting the victim of a nasty joke, the college representatives hounded the woman instead.

Her parents decided to pull her (a scholarship student) out of the college due to harrassment and blame that was being hurled at the woman by the college and other students.

While Primeworks did the right thing to suspend the host and production team, I’m sure most of you don’t get why the team had to go as well.

It’s because none of them stood up to correct what shouldn’t have even gone on air at all. Seven people and perhaps more, didn’t see any wrong in making fun of the name of a celebrated athlete’s father. Instead we now have people feeling sorry for the accused and the team as they have already apologised.

If the issue hadn’t gone viral, would the studio and the host have apologised? No, they wouldn’t. For they felt their actions were right and anything goes for a good laugh. I mean come on why are people so sensitive?

That brings me to the apology post that a student posted on Facebook - “Just know what to say and when to say things because some people are sensitive...” Despite a lengthy apology that seemed sincere, he in fact believes the joke shouldn’t have been said only because some people are sensitive. Despite numerous people pointing out that rape is not a joke, he still thinks he got caught because someone was sensitive.

Now while we shouldn’t blame the college or all its students for the action of some, they don’t all go scot free of blame.

The college representatives who allegedly bullied the young woman to remove the post and eventually led to her leaving, why did you force her to remove the post? Is your embarrassment at being in such a mess bigger than the victim’s right? Why was she treated so badly? Is that how the college educates its students?

Releasing a statement without properly ensuring the accused and other students understand how grave the incident is, is simply a means to get the college out of the limelight.

Then there are the members of the WhatsApp group who went scot free. How is it that you think it was appropriate to share and discuss female students in a WhatsApp group? Why didn’t any of you (expect for the guy who revealed the info) not voice out how inappropriate and wrong your friend was? Just because you didn’t say the phrase, it doesn’t make you less guilty. You are part of a group that objectifies women and at no point did you think his words were wrong.

‘She didn’t get his brand of joke’

Instead the members of the group are more concerned on finding out who the mole was, and are upset that they are being scolded online. They are apparently more upset that someone leaked out that distasteful joke and that their friend got caught. Because these kids believe the woman was sensitive and didn’t get his brand of joke.

Then there are students from the same college who are blaming the victim for posting the issue online. I mean of course it’s her fault for standing up for herself, how dare she. These people feel she should have gone to the school instead. Well, when she did go to the college, she was harassed and blamed instead. Is that the kind of support you wanted her to have so you could be spared the embarrassment?

There are also students of this college who believe it shouldn’t even be an issue as it was a private message. Well, under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588), which is under the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) jurisdiction - any person who uses a network service or facility to threaten or harass a person can be charged.

Please read up on existing laws in the country before you make such statements. You can’t just do anything you wish online and think there will be no consequences.

Section 233: Improper use of network facilities or network service, etc.

(1) A person who -
(a) by means of any network facilities or network service or applications service knowingly -
(i) makes, creates or solicits; and
(ii) initiates the transmission of,

any comment, request, suggestion or other communication which is obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person; or

So now the young woman is to blame for leaking the matter out, for being too sensitive and the accused has now been painted to be of a victim of a too sensitive woman.

The fact that despite numerous people and NGOs coming out to explain why rape isn’t a joke, somehow these students still haven’t understood why they are wrong. Of course how will they think it’s wrong when there are numerous Facebook pages and groups that verbally abuse, share women’s photos and issue threats online. These pages have mostly gone scot free until the recent arrest of one group admin who threatened to spray paint women.

With these people and groups around how will these students ever understand that their actions were wrong? Perhaps it’s time MCMC and the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) start curbing the activities of such sites for they are already breaking the laws of the country.

I for one am glad Watson lodged a report and PDRM is currently pursuing the case. It’s time people stop being victims and use the law to curb such behaviour. Perhaps the college can look at educating their students on how their actions were against the law.

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