Malice Gone Wrong

Published May 2011

A few weeks ago I wrote a piece about the act of moving on and what an interesting journey it was to arrive at a place where I was ready to forgive, or ask for forgiveness. And truth be told, I felt fairly positive and upbeat about the whole thing.

That was until a good friend reminded me that sometimes, there are just situations which are still so raw, the act of forgiving the guilty parties is still a long way away.

Now I've said this before and I'm going to darn well say it again: I have been guilty of whining and complaining about others in my personal blog posts, but with the exception of a naïve mistake I made way back in 2004 of actually naming the person in full, I learnt my lesson and never did that again. We make errors. We learn. We move on. I also never gave away any personal information, and I never talked about their workplace or their family members. I try my best not to practice slander and hearsay in my scribblings. Just the honest truth, which in most cases is bad enough.

Look, most of us have enemies wherever we go. For a large majority of regular folk, this sometimes cannot be avoided. I'm anything but regular and am little proud to say that I have what could be considered a fan club in reverse.

It is with that in mind that I tell the true story of the two men who tried their best to slander me to within an inch of my professional life in an extremely aggressive open manner - with absolutely no regard or respect for the confines of Malaysia's legal system. And until today I am still hard pressed to believe that they fully understand just how much trouble they are still able to get in to.

For the sake of relevance, I'd like to make it clear that I am not friends with the two gentlemen I am about to discuss – M, a West Malaysian living and working here in our fair city, and P a retired expat. I've not been friends with them since May 2008, due to a variety of reasons. In the interest of fairness though, it should be said that we were all equally responsible for the events that transpired, resulting in the breakdown of our respective friendships. And to clarify further, while I enjoy a fair amount of freelance work I also hold a full-time job in an editorial capacity for a local magazine

Sometime in early 2010, M, who for the longest time was an English teacher and lecturer, was interested in trying his hand at some freelance writing. He started providing a few articles free of charge to a publication that I also happened to freelance for. Not an unreasonable move, wanting to build a writing portfolio and we all had to start somewhere.

Unbeknownst to me, the higher-ups of this publication felt that even though M was qualified on paper, his writing wasn't what they were looking for (hey I'm no Sidney Sheldon, but some people are better at waffling than others).

Truth be told, yes I did read his writing and yes I was pretty surprised at it's blandness. Perhaps I was expecting more from someone who held higher educational qualifications than I. Then again, what do I know? Before my current job in the media industry, I trained as a cook for four years and I sold shoes for eight years. But that's just me.

However, due to my friendships with some of the senior staff attached to the publication, certain people jumped to dangerously inaccurate conclusions. But I had absolutely nothing to do with the management deciding that they didn't want to accept his work any longer.

That aside, nothing prepared me for the pathetic unfolding of events that was about to take place. Until today I sometimes still wonder what possessed them to do what they did. There must have been some serious rage boiling somewhere – and a little part of me smiles as I write this, but permit me a small bon mot. Imagine my surprise one morning in 2010 when a trusted mate forwarded me a captured screen shot image of a very ugly note on Facebook, written by M's very good friend – that chap I mentioned earlier, P.

In this note of now-laughable fury, P listed me by full name and accused me of costing poor M his “job” with the publication due to my sneaky, underhanded dealings with the superiors that worked there. P also listed the publication's full name – a stupid move done in bad taste, and this is something that I sincerely believe will come back to bite him in the derrière one day.

P's epic tome went on to slander me further by way of listing out my day job, the name of the company I work at, and stated that M had submitted work to the company I am attached to, but was never financially compensated for it, and that I had plagiarized his work. Plagiarism is a grave accusation and I immediately forwarded this note to my bosses. They assured me that not only was this untrue, but that I could count on them for their support.

As this note was on Facebook and had very few security settings, it was open to a wide number of readers. I thoroughly examined the comments made by P and M's deluded supporters, all of whom were baying for my blood and my head on a stick.

Funnily now, whenever I do encounter most of these misguided and misinformed commenters, none of them are ever able to look me in the eye. Embarrassed would be a kind way to describe it. Safety and strength in numbers until you end up looking like a ninny I suppose. Then all that flag waving and foot stomping is quietly swept under the carpet, praying to be forgotten about.

So let's recap: there's a note written which I like to refer to as a poorly put together piece of fiction. The authors are, until today, unable to provide solid or concrete evidence of any of their wild accusations. What I should have done, had I not been dissuaded by P and M's loyal friends (who at the time pretended to be acting in my interest), was to have taken firm legal action. A copy of the screen shot was sent to the offices of one of KK's most reputable law firms and I received confirmation that I had a case should I have wanted to press charges. However, I stupidly listened to the wrong advice and took it on the chin. I should have proceeded with a strong corporate response, to clear not only my name and reputation, but more importantly, the reputations of the other companies openly listed.

I have to admit that it still irks me until today that these two gentlemen genuinely believe that they have gotten away with it. Ignorance is bliss to the unwise. Their lack of awareness at how weak their accusations and arguments were, is ludicrous. And they ignored the one blatantly obvious fact - the very simple truth is that we are all accountable for what we write. A note on Facebook counts as a valid document in the realms of social media and our laws are constantly evolving to keep up with the developments and boundaries of the online world.

Some of us will end up facing ugly situations like these put forth by individuals we should really be pitying. So what should the course of action be? A full legal offensive with the high possibility of decent financial compensation for your trouble? To turn the other cheek, let them get away with it, and have people believe them just because they're banging their pots and kettles louder than you can speak? Many, sadly, will believe that people are guilty until proven innocent – not the other way around.

So have I also resorted to slander and libel in this column? Nope. I've given you, the reader, very general information and a prime example of malice gone wrong as food for thought. Think of this as a delayed form of a well earned self-defence, an explanation, rather.

What I can tell you is that with regards to this topic, forgiveness is not something I am considering anytime soon. Many of us in this industry work hard to ensure that our jobs and roles are genuinely carried out to the best of our abilities.

I do not take this profession lightly and I refuse to suffer fools gladly. These are serious times for serious people who refuse to be lumped in with the trivial dalliances and crybaby antics of amateurs who demand to be regarded as members of the media, but who have yet to pay their dues and end up causing more harm than good.

So I'm afraid I have to state that with regards to this issue, forgiveness is nowhere in sight. Perhaps it'll take me a few years to even approach this topic in a more understanding manner. Call me childish, call me whatever name you can think of. All I know is that I have a responsibility to carry

out my roles honestly, and to protect the organizations that I work with to the best of my abilities. And if that means that this makes me a harsh and unforgiving person, well I'll take that any day rather than being regarded as a pushover.