THE problem of bullying in schools (and hostels) is far more serious and widespread in schools, not only in Malaysia but in several other countries too. In fact, Unicef has provided good information and advisory on this problem.
Our very own YDPA has rightly singled out the need for compassion and love to be cultivated among our children in schools to help address this problem that has taken many young lives and left many more unaccounted children psychologically maimed and families affected.
As wisely pronounced by our King, if this problem is not collectively addressed with urgency, we may risk creating a whole new generation of bullies and maimed victims.
According to Unicef, ‘bullying is a pattern of behaviour’ and as such it is not to be treated as isolated incidents, which unfortunately we in Malaysia often tend to do. Three characteristics associated with bullying are ‘intent, repetition, and power’.
The victims ‘usually come from a perceived higher social status or position of power, such as (those) who are bigger, stronger, or perceived to be popular’. If we look at the broader social fabric of our society, we can see the manifestations of bullying, as qualified by Unicef, present everywhere.
Bullying is ever present and becoming a dangerously threatening trend on our roadways as motorists pay scant respect and care to traffic laws, leading to fatalities that is earning us a negative image or label on the global travel maps.
In business, we see how larger, wealthier, powerfully connected organisations bully the weaker into making way for the big companies to have things their way.
The challenges faced by SMEs in Malaysia, for example, attest to the untold bullying endured. We see how squatters are given a raw deal when it comes to evacuating families, all in the name of development, behind which is the hidden hand of profits and successes.
In politics, too, we endlessly face the brunt of being bullied into a corner. A classic case is the ongoing sagas relating to flying the Jalur Gemilang, where compassion, advice and a helping hand are steamrolled by advancing political mileage.
In a country where the ‘majority’ are advancing their right of way, can we therefore say that the minorities are being bullied into silent submission? When politicians holler ‘pendatang’ in the august hallways of Parliament, is this not bullying?
I am sure sociologists, psychologists, economists, and political scientists in the country can provide a more comprehensive and exhaustive list of how our decades of socio-political, economic and related policies, preferences and exploits have helped to permeate a bullying culture across the country.
Indeed, if we are to effectively purge bullying from our schools, we need to take a hard, honest look at the sitz-im-laben of the adult world’s existence in the country. – August 24, 2025
J. D. Lovrenciear is a Scoop reader