Netizens highlighting the presence of Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Norza Zakaria’s family at the Paris Olympics recently is considered “ethical cyberbullying”, said academic Benjamin YH Loh.
The senior media and communications lecturer called the incident a perfect example of a partially successful online activism or “ethical cyberbullying” and said that the new social media licensing regulation could potentially outlaw this type of citizen activism.
“This is where the line between cyberbullying and holding civil servants accountable has to be determined.
“Is it focused on the individual at a personal level or their position? In this case, while the family is ‘attacked’, is it more (the claim) that they benefited from a government perk (nepotism)?” Loh said on X.
Norza defended his family against online attacks based on the viral photograph of them at the Olympics with special accreditation cards.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president said he was serving pro bono in both associations and that he had paid for his family’s trip to the Paris Olympics.
Tone deaf
BAM administrative director Michelle Chai also defended Norza saying all rules had been followed and that he should not be cyberbullied.
“The International Olympic Committee gave accreditation to the NOC (National Olympic Committee) president and secretary-general. Each of them gets one accompanying guest and on the card, they will have the letters ‘NOC’,” she said.
However, Loh went on to question the move.
“If you are receiving a plus one in the capacity of a public servant (president of BAM/NOC), the right way to use that would be to bring someone that would benefit at an official capacity.
“While not illegal, it is a tone-deaf move as this could have been used for the athletes’ benefit.
“As public officials, you are not immune to criticism. You are serving the public and whenever you appear in public, you are there on taxpayer dime and subject to citizen criticism.
“It is fair to question why your family members are there with other officials in the official box,” Loh added.
Re-evaluation
The issue was initially linked to national badminton player Goh Jin Wei who competed at the Olympics without her coach, Nova Armada, accompanying her due to the limited number of accreditation cards issued by the International Olympic Committee.
Loh said while it may be linked to a coach missing a seat, considering that Norza will likely appear on camera, it’s definitely going to give the impression that the Malaysian contingent favours officials rather than the actual athletes competing.
“It was a PR disaster. And this is a sort of win for Malaysian online activism here.
“The bigger question about how officials use their allocations for high-profile events needs re-evaluation.
“Despite not being elected like politicians, public officials are still beholden to Malaysian citizens since our taxes pay their salaries and they do represent us internationally,” he said.
Therefore, the people have the right to criticise them and be concerned with how they represent the people, he added. - Mkini
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