LETTERS: In 2017, the death of National Defence University (UPNM) navy cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, 21 shocked the nation.
He had sustained serious injuries after being bullied by his classmates.
This week, the Court of Appeal sentenced six former UPNM students to death for causing his death. Many people believe bullying doesn’t happen at universities because students are supposed to be smart and mature.
The lack of supervision by university management and ineffective or outdated policies to deal with the issue are other reasons.
Our universities need to develop a policy that addresses bullying effectively, apart from a procedural process for victims to lodge complaints and for witnesses to give testimony and evidence.
The policy must define the act and categories of bullying, and an emergency contact number for victims to seek help.
Explain this to students and staff so that everybody has an idea about the issue.
University management, student associations and non-governmental organisations need to work to organise educational talks and awareness programmes to reduce bullying.
We can amend the Education Act 1996 (Act 550) or create a new law to address bullying like in the United Kingdom through its Education and Inspections Act 2006. In the United States, all 50 states have anti-bullying laws.
DR MUZAFFAR SYAH MALLOW
Associate professor
Faculty of Syariah & Law
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
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