COMMENT | I am shocked at this repugnant episode of bullying. What is happening to our schoolchildren? Why have they developed such sadistic tendencies?

Quoting G25 member Noor Farida Ariffin, anyone can understand her strong reaction after watching a video of a boy bullying another in the classroom with others cheering him on.

This particular video, which depicted a Standard Six student at a religious school in Sabah beating up a classmate with a chair, went viral in September last year. However, it is still being circulated on platforms such as WhatsApp.

In the wake of teen bully victim T Nhaveen’s death, the whole nation is shocked. Even inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar has instructed the case to be reclassified as murder, after being investigated at first under Section 148 of the Penal Code for rioting with weapons.

To take a step backwards, it is the authorities who should be blamed when privileged groups or individuals linked to a particular political party are allowed to show off their prowess in an attempt to bully others. They serve as bad examples to the younger generation of Malaysians.

“The other children who were in the classroom (in the Sabah video) seemed to have enjoyed the spectacle and made no attempt to intervene,” Farida added. “And how can this happen in a classroom and no teachers or adults were aware of what was happening?”

Urgent action needed

Shockingly, but this is the fast-changing landscape in the state of our education. To address this issue, according to Farida, most G25 members also feel that the Education Ministry and the school authorities must take urgent action to address the problem of bullying among schoolchildren.

In fact, the authorities also have to be seen taking action by making public what disciplinary measures or punishments have been meted out against the bullies.

Silence is not golden. As the oft-quoted aphorism goes: "Not only must justice be done; it must also be seen to be done."

A suggestion that the police should take seriously is to station their officers at different schools, and make their presence felt in the community.

School guard posts are great places to double up as police beats. Distribution of the officers in blue will also ensure a better patrol of the community, and their response time would be reduced substantially when there is an emergency.

Speaking as chairman of the Centre of Public Policy Studies, Ramon Navaratnam expressed his disgust after viewing the video. “A point-blank question: What on earth is the Education Ministry doing about this?” he asked.

Ramon strongly advocated for maximum publicity after the disciplinary measures have been meted out, to allow justice to be upheld.

I concur with Farida’s stance that the ministry should adopt a zero-tolerance stance towards bullying in schools. Any form of bullying in any educational establishment has to be severely dealt with, and the disciplinary measures should be published widely.

This particular bully in the video I mentioned should not be spared any stern action against him. There is no room for leniency.

On a positive note, Farida recommended that “the school curriculum should inculcate the values of kindness and caring for others in school children.” This is an important role played by teachers, apart from helping the children academically...