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A COORDINATED, nationwide campaign declaring bullying a criminal offence must be urgently mobilised across all levels of society, said Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) Chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
Calling for uncompromising legal action against perpetrators, Asyraf said a strong message must be sent that bullying — whether physical, verbal, psychological or online — will no longer be tolerated, excused or trivialised.
“Firm and severe punishment must be implemented, regardless of who is involved, to send a clear message that there will be no tolerance, compromise or downplaying of any form of bullying — physical, mental, verbal or cyber,” he said in a Facebook post.
“Even the culture of tolerating bullying as a form of so-called harmless fun in boarding school life must come to an end.”
His statement follows the tragic death of a Form One student, who reportedly fell from the third floor of a school dormitory building in Sabah. The incident has been linked to possible bullying.
Asyraf said he was deeply disturbed by the news and stressed that a collective effort is needed to eradicate bullying in schools.
“This must be a total, integrated effort involving teachers, wardens, school administrators, parents and students,” he said.
He further urged the cultivation of values such as compassion and empathy to be instilled from a young age as a core part of students’ holistic development.
“The instilling of rahmah (compassion) and ihsan (empathy) must be promoted so that they become central values in shaping a generation of students balanced in body, emotion, spirit and intellect,” he said. - July 19, 2025
