Zunar will file a lawsuit against two social media users who refused to apologise over the fabrication of his cartoons on Twitter and Facebook.
The political cartoonist, whose full name is Zulkiflee SM Anwarul Haque, said today that he will file the civil action against Facebook user Neezam Perkasa and Twitter user Tun Faisal after Hari Raya.
He said he is taking legal action against the two netizens because they failed to apologise within the seven-day ultimatum he issued on April 9.
It was previously reported that he had demanded that the two plus another Facebook user, Roslan Bian, to issue a public apology over the plagiarisation of his works.
Zunar said Roslan tendered his apology on April 11 but Neezam and Tun Faisal have not as of today.
“After Hari Raya, I will proceed with legal action (against the two). This matter involves two separate legal avenues. One is via an investigation by the MCMC, with whom I had earlier lodged a report.
“The other is via civil action which will be filed in court,” Zunar told Malaysiakini this afternoon.
The veteran cartoonist said the legal action was necessary as it involved not only plagiarism of his work but his reputation as a cartoonist.
“My work had not only been plagiarised but also it stained my name as a cartoonist. Some of them out there said that Zunar had repented (via the modified cartoons).
“This is an action that I cannot accept as it is a serious matter,” said Zunar.
He reminded Neezam and Tun Faisal that the MCMC has all the particulars of their postings of his plagiarized work even if such modified works had been taken offline.
On April 9, it was reported that Zunar has lodged a report with MCMC on the fabrication of his cartoons on social media.
In a statement issued to the media, Zunar named Facebook page owners Neezam Perkasa and Roslan Bian as well as Twitter account holder Tun Faisal for fabricating and editing his original artwork and uploading them onto the social media platforms.
"I felt angry and annoyed by their actions because, as an artist, I value my original works and any attempt at fabricating or editing my works amounts to stealing and is akin to plagiarism, which is a big no-no in the publishing industry," Zunar said.
"It is also an ethical issue. Why can't they use their own creativity to design their own cartoons? Please don't steal. It is shameless," he added.
Zunar claimed Neezam posted a modified cartoon of his on or around April 1 this year while Tun Faisal posted a modified cartoon on March 31 or thereabouts.
The latter also posted another modified cartoon on or around April 1, Zunar claimed.
"This is a serious case of infringement and violation of intellectual property rights. Besides fabricating and editing, they also added slanderous and malicious words to destroy my reputation," Zunar alleged.
"By the time this statement is released, they may have deleted the said postings, but that does not mean they can get away with it," he added. - Mkini
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