PARENTS of schoolgoing children have urged the government address the alarming rise of bullying in schools by adopting modules designed to educate children on the consequences of abusing others and to identify signs of bullying.

Dr Nurul Kharmila Abdullah, a mother of a victim of bullying and the founder of popular anti-bullying campaign ‘You Touch, You Go”, said she was now designing an anti-bullying module, which would include a student rehabilitation programme.

“For now, our plan is to have a large-scale campaign to increase awareness about bullying and physical attacks at the school level,” said the lecturer and expert in medicine and forensics.

“My group and I will try to bring this to the ministry, and hope to work with them on this.

“(The modules) will emphasise spiritual and moral education, but will also highlight that authorities must take harsh action against offenders,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Dr Kharmila and the family members of other bullying victims have been active on social media, promoting their campaign which is trying to get schools – especially boarding schools – to immediately expel bullies.

Their campaign kicked off after Dr Kharmila’s son was badly injured by 10 students in MRSM Parit in Perak on May 23, in what was believed to be a case of bullying.

Making clear anti-bullying laws

Dr Kharmila also urged the emphasis of educating students on the legal repercussion of being involved in bullying activities.

“The campaign will have awareness talks, where we will explain the type of bullying, the short-term and long-term physical and psychological effects on students, and we will also share case studies.

“We will also put in the legal input. Explain under which section of the law will a bully be charged. And what is the punishment.

“At the very least, a student will be aware and hopefully will remember it. But the main focus of the campaign is to strengthen their spiritual and moral awareness.”

Apart from Dr Kharmila’s son, several cases of bullying have made headlines in recent weeks because of the shocking nature of the abuse and death of the victims.

Five cadets at Universiti Pertahanan Negara Malaysia (UPNM) have been charged with murder while another was charged with being an accomplice over the death of fellow student Zulfarhan Osman on June 11. They face the mandatory death sentence if found guilty under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

On June 19, four youth were charged with the murder of T. Nhaveen, 18, at a magistrate’s court in George Town, Penang.

“I personally feel saddened by the cases of bullying and physical attacks on Nhaveen and Zulfarhan. It’s as if the suspects never learnt anything from the earlier cases. The sense of sadness and disappointment is overwhelming,” said Dr Kharmila.

Prevention from a young age

Dr Mohamad Ali Hassan, the acting president of the National Parent-Teacher Association, has also prepared a module to identify the traits of a bully.

“The Education Ministry needs a module to set up a system of early recognition,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

He said the module would help parents and teachers identify children who might be exhibiting signs of bullying.

“Once we can identify them earlier, we can prevent it from getting out of hand and provide rehabilitation.

“I think that bullying has reached a serious level because it’s not just physical and emotional, but also becoming acts of sabotage.”

Mother-of-three Amila Daud said schools needed to be more sensitive to changes in students, such as those showing signs of depression.

“A lot of students who are being bullied don’t want to share their problems with friends, much less teachers.

“A bully can be rehabilitated with religious and moral teaching,” said the part-time tuition teacher.

Education Ministry statistics show that students with disciplinary problems dropped from 0.08% in 2013 to 0.06% in 2015.

Records had shown a declining trend of bullying cases in schools, from 4,159 cases in 2012 numbered, to 4,120 in 2013, and 2,825 in 2014, but the number of cases picked up again in 2015 with 2,968.

Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid had said harsher action against bullies would be taken, including immediate suspension. – July 2, 2017.