Antara topik dan isu yang sering menjadi perbualan santai bersama keluarga kami adalah seperti kesihatan ahli keluarga yang sudah berusia, keadaan cuaca, hinggalah kepada berita antarabangsa dan tempatan.
Hal ini selalunya berakhir dengan kebimbangan yang sama terhadap isu-isu tempatan, yang sukar untuk diabaikan dan sentiasa menjadi perhatian seluruh rakyat Malaysia.
Sejak hujung Julai, kita semua telah mengetahui berita gembira dan duka yang tersebar luas di media arus perdana dan media sosial. Namun, perbualan kami lebih tertumpu kepada isu buli di sekolah dan institusi pendidikan negara.
Sudah bertahun-tahun, berita tentang insiden buli dan kesannya yang tragis amat meruntun hati kita semua.
Pada tahun 2017, Zulfarhan Osman Zulkifli, seorang kadet tentera laut, meninggal dunia akibat kesan melecur di tubuhnya. Pada tahun yang sama, T. Nhaveen dari Georgetown, meninggal dunia akibat pendarahan dalaman di kepalanya. Kedua-duanya adalah mangsa buli.
Sekolah dan institusi pendidikan termasuk universiti sepatutnya menjadi tempat di mana anak-anak kita berasa selamat. Namun hakikatnya, tempat itu menjadi mimpi ngeri bagi pelajar yang menjadi mangsa buli rakan sebaya.
Mengapa ada antara mangsa buli memilih untuk menyimpan penderitaan mereka sendiri? Dalam satu lagi perbualan dengan seorang kenalan, saya difahamkan bahawa antara sebab pelajar enggan mendedahkan identiti pembuli ialah kerana mahu melindungi rakan-rakan mereka: jika mereka melaporkan tentang pembuli, rakan-rakan mereka pula akan menjadi sasaran. Maka mereka memilih untuk berdiam diri.
Ada di antara kalangan mangsa buli yang bernasib baik boleh memilih untuk berpindah sekolah, namun bagi yang tidak mempunyai pilihan itu, mereka terpaksa kekal dan menanggung apa jua penderitaan yang dialami.
Selepas berbual tentang isu buli yang membimbangkan ini bersama keluarga dan rakan, saya meneliti pula pelbagai platform media sosial. Beberapa sanak saudara saya yang lebih muda mencadangkan agar saya menonton sebuah siri tempatan dan filem tentang kes buli di sekolah berasrama, yang diinspirasikan daripada kisah benar. Saya hanya menonton treler cerita tersebut, namun tidak berhasrat untuk menontonnya secara keseluruhan. Ia bukan karya hiburan yang ringan.
Satu artikel yang mengulas siri tersebut menyatakan, “…Jika anda pernah bersekolah asrama, anda akan merasai pengalaman pahit dan manis kehidupan asrama…Namun bagi ramai rakyat Malaysia, perkataan ‘asrama’ akan mengingatkan mereka tentang perkara negatif, contohnya seperti buli.”
Buli di sekolah telah menjadi satu budaya yang amat buruk di Malaysia. Perbualan bersama keluarga dan sahabat handai sudah cukup membuktikan bahawa ia sebenarnya berlaku lebih kerap daripada yang disangka. Ianya benar dan ia berleluasa.
Adakah kita mengabaikan perkara ini hanya kerana ia tidak berlaku kepada anak kita sendiri? Haruskah seorang lagi remaja atau belia mati dengan derita sebelum kita berkata cukup? Berapa ramai lagi ibu bapa dan keluarga harus menanggung derita dan pilunya kehilangan insan tersayang? Jika kita benar-benar ingin dikenali sebagai sebuah masyarakat “penyayang”, maka sudah tiba masanya kita menjawab soalan-soalan ini.
Anak-anak, remaja, dan belia Malaysia tidak seharusnya merasa takut untuk ke sekolah atau universiti kerana terpaksa menghadapi satu hari atau satu malam lagi, diseksa oleh rakan sebaya mereka. Para ibu bapa juga tidak sepatutnya perlu bimbang tentang keselamatan anak-anak di sekolah, sedangkan mereka sudah cukup terbeban dengan masalah kewangan dan keluarga sedia ada.
Tanggungjawab bersama kita sebagai masyarakat ialah memastikan setiap nyawa yang terkorban di tangan pembuli tidak berakhir dengan sia-sia.
Zarith Idris
18 Ogos 2025
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“When Schools Should Be Safe Places”
It often happens that our rambling family conversations will touch on many topics and issues : from the health of our elderly relatives, to the weather, and then to international and local news.
And, as always, it ends with our shared concern about what is happening locally. It is, as always too, almost impossible to ignore what is of concern to most Malaysians.
Since late July, we have all been aware about both happy and sad news that have made headlines in both mainstream and social media. And thus it was that we ended up sharing stories about bullying at our schools and other educational institutions in Malaysia.
Over the years, news and accounts of bullying and their often tragic results have always made for disturbing reading.
In 2017, Zulfarhan Osman Zulkifli, a navy cadet, died from burn wounds on his body. In the same year, T. Nhaveen, from Georgetown, died from an internal bleeding in his head. Both of them were the victims of bullying.
Schools and other educational institutions including universities should ideally be places where our children (of whatever age) feel safe. But the opposite is true for far too many of them : these are instead places where many become the victims of their peers.
Why do some of those who have been bullied choose to keep their ordeals to themselves? During another chat with a family friend, I found out that one of the reasons a student will not expose the identities of their bullies is to protect their circle of friends : if they “snitch” about their tormentors, their friends would be bullied too. So, to protect their friends, they would keep quiet.
Others who are lucky enough to be able to leave their schools, would choose to do so. But those who do not have this choice would stay on and endure whatever is done to them.
After my conversations with both family and friends concerning bullying at our schools and universities, I scrolled through the different social media platforms. I had been told by my younger relatives to watch a locally-produced series and a film about bullying at a boarding school, both of which are based on real events. I watched the trailer but decided against watching the entire film : this was no light-hearted comedy.
One article written about the series noted that “…If you’ve been to a boarding school before, you’ll have experienced the thrills and spills of asrama life…However, for many Malaysians, the word “asrama” will remind them of its negative aspects like bullying, for example.”
Bullying at schools has become an unwanted and ugly culture in Malaysia. Just talking to family and friends prove that it happens more often than not. And that it is real. It is rampant.
Do we just ignore it because it hasn’t happened to our own son or daughter? Must another teenager or young adult die a painful death before we say enough is enough? How many more parents and families have to endure the grief of losing a loved family member? If we aspire so much to be called a “caring” society, then it’s time for us all to answer these questions.
Malaysian children, teenagers, and young adults should not dread having to be at schools or universities because they must face yet another day, yet another night, of being tortured by their fellow classmates. Parents too should not have to worry about the safety of their children at school whilst they struggle with financial burdens and family problems.
It is our collective responsibility as a society to make sure that those who have died at the hands of their bullies have not died in vain.
Zarith Idris
18 August 2025
