It’s not unknown that if a Malaysian passed a rude and insensitive comment about our monarch, they can be held responsible for it. In fact, people have been arrested for doing that in the past.
Bearing similar consequences, one Malaysian is now suffering the repercussions for irresponsibly passing a rude comment about our Agong who has recently resigned on Facebook.
According to the Malay Mail, Eric Liew lost his job with tech firm Cisco (M) Sdn Bhd after several concerned Malaysians called for immediate action towards their staff via Cisco ASEAN’s FB page.
Besides an online uproar, several opposition party members also went to Cisco’s office yesterday afternoon (7 January 2019) with a memorandum which demanded disciplinary action against Eric’s rude online behaviour.
FYI, on 6 January 2019, Eric passed a rude comment about Sultan Muhammad V under a post about his resignation as an Agong. The man’s exact words were: “Too busy fornicating with his new bride”.
After receiving backlash for the comment, Eric posted an apology on his FB page, which has now been deactivated. His post is shown below:
Following that, Cisco ASEAN took to FB to announce that Eric no longer works for the company and that the man’s remark doesn’t represent Cisco’s views.
Their apology read,
“Cisco firmly believes in respecting and honouring local Malaysian traditions and laws. The remark was made by the employee in his personal capacity and does not represent Cisco’s views. We deeply regret any distress caused and apologise. The employee has also issued an apology and is no longer with the company.”
Well, it’s good that Cisco has taken a quick disciplinary action against their employee who passed the rude comment against our former Agong. We also hope that all of us would learn from this incident and be extra careful with the kind of comments we make online.
Do you think Cisco made the right move by firing Eric? Let us know in the comments below!
Also read: Honda Fires Suspended Staff for Her Insensitive Comment About Adib’s Death on FB