In Malaysia, it is technically illegal to irritate anyone else, intentionally. Yes, that's the gist of various laws pertaining to sedition, and also electronic communications. However, because the laws are so ridiculously stringent, most people break these laws casually, and enforcement policies (distinguished from the law itself) are generally weak. In short, we have useless laws which everyone pretends do not exist - there are many examples of such laws in other domains besides irritation, but we shall skip them for now. In short, many domains of life in Malaysia are essentially lawless, and subject to jungle rule - the strong get to decide when, and how, the weak will suffer. That is a rudiment of Malaysian society which I have been familiar with for ... only my entire life. Hell, I even spent time in college preparing myself physically and mentally for solitary confinement, in case it ever befalls me due to the whims of any powers that may be. Providing business counsel to friends in such an environment is therefore usually less about legal strategies, and more a matter of folk wisdom. Nevertheless, in an advisory note I wrote yesterday, a couple of points were key.
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+1.
If for example, you are going to irritate someone, knowing full well that it is illegal, you should perhaps consider the physical safety of that someone, and besides irritating them, you may want to avoid adding physical danger to their person. The liabilities for these are two separate items. Hence while name-calling is a perpetual part of our weekly lives as Malaysian citizens, sending mobs to harass others is taking it to the next level entirely. Lesson one: you should be aware of these differences, prior to any action.
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+2.
By definition, a mob is amok. It does not subject itself to specific control, and hence while you can be guilty of intentionally inspiring a mob, you may not be easily found liable for the things the amok mob may do, even if it results in bodily harm, economic loss, social castigation, or death, of whomever the mob attacks. However, if you make a public claim that your intentions are ill ... that may be brought against you, as a testament against your character, if it ever comes to question in a formal proceeding what your responsbilities were at the time you intentionally inspired a mob. Therefore, if you have any ill intentions, it is best to keep those claims private, even as you publically inspire others to achieve your hidden intentions. This is for your own defense - you may not be a well-intentioned person, but by keeping your secrets well, you may be a more legally defensible fellow that the other who makes vengeful claims in public. Lesson two: if you're going to be an asshole, try to keep yours costs down, and you may be able to perpetuate that assholery for a longer time.
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+3.
Finally, let's say you've made a public claim that your intentions are evil. Very well, a naive reader would take you at your horrible word, and perhaps hold it against you - but a moderately experienced person would also question the nature of your claim: are you really an ill intentioned person, or did you simply wish to make a false public claim in order to get others to react to that claim? If it is the latter, then you are probably doing okay. However, if you were actually wearing your heart on your sleeve, then you have opened up an operational security vulnerability, as anyone who watches now knows that they can get you to behave in specific ways by stimulating your heartfelt tendencies. (This opsec issue is separate, and in addition to the legal vulnerability exposed in 2. above.) Lesson three: don't help your haters to predict your behaviour.
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And with that, I leave you to these basic considerations. None of this constitutes professional advice, and you are free to ignore, or interpret it within your own biases. I hope only that some readers may benefit from such tactics, to their own advantage.
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