SHAH ALAM: My gloves are off, and you better be prepared.
This is singer and actress Linda Rafar’s warning to 100 Netizens who have “whacked” her on social media since December 2018.
Linda, 41, has sought the help of law firm Nurul Hafidzah And Associates in Section 7 here, to file a lawsuit against various individuals who ridiculed her.
The founder member of girl group Elite claimed that the unnamed individuals slammed her for allegedly humiliating a nurse who looked after her mother in Shah Alam Hospital, and also criticised her family.
“They lobbed terrible insults at me and my family. Among others, they said that I bullied a nurse, that I was nasty and arrogant, and worst of all, that my family was too much and should be banned from hospitals,” she said at the law firm here, today.
Linda, whose real name is Azlinda Rafar, demanded apologies from the individuals on the social media platforms which they used to attack her, failing which she would sue them for defamation.
“We are in the process of identifying the individuals and this will take a month. Once they have been identified, we will give them seven to 14 days to apologise for their actions,” she added.
Linda said she was not “seeking revenge” against anyone, but “teaching irresponsible Netizens a lesson”.
“I want to make it clear that social media, particularly Instagram and Facebook, should not be used to slander others. My family and I have suffered as a result of insults, my siblings’ businesses have been affected. We must stop this cyber-bullying!”
Linda also said her family and band mates were 100 per cent behind her move to sue the individuals.
She revealed that her mother Rasimah Abdul Rahman, 73, who died at the hospital on Jan 11 due to health complications, wanted her to “resolve the matter amicably” with the Netizens.
“At first I thought of doing that but the insults continued even after her death. So I decided that enough is enough, nobody should step on me and my loved ones.”
Linda, who is the first Malaysian artiste to take legal action against social media users, said she had to “defend her mother’s rights” and “speak up for her family”.
“I’m sure other people have suffered similar insults on social media. I want to tell them that we should not take insults lying down.”
When asked about the lawsuit by the nurse against her, Linda said it had been going on in the Shah Alam High Court since Jan 18.
Lawyer Nurul Hafidzah Hassan said they had received the notice of demand filed by the unnamed nurse dated Jan 7 on Jan 8 and had responded to her on Jan 11.
“Our client is considering a civil suit to those parties involved in damaging her and her family’s image and reputation either directly or indirectly. We urge the public not to speculate on this before the final decision is made by the court,” said Nurul in a statement.
On Dec 31, non-governmental organisation the Delegation of Nurses issued a statement on social media which said that they had demanded an apology and compensation from Linda on behalf of the nurse.
They alleged that Linda had insulted the nursing profession and attacked nurses on social media.
Linda had criticised the nurse for not cooperating when she requested that her mother’s soiled bedsheet be replaced. Rasimah had spent a month in the hospital prior to her death.
