OCT 15 — Education director-general Dr Mohd Azam Ahmad has reportedly cautioned schools against concealing cases of bullying and sexual misconduct, stressing that such behaviour should be regarded as criminal offences rather than disciplinary matters.
He has also criticised those who attempted to hide such cases to protect their school’s image.
“If we hide everything under the carpet, it will seem as though everything is fine, but in reality, we know these problems exist. They are like a thorn in the flesh or an atomic bomb just waiting to explode,” he was reported as saying.
But teachers have long been reminded and warned — by an old Malay ‘pantun’:
“Siakap senohong, gelama ikan duri,
Bercakap bohong, lama-lama mencuri”
The pantun reminds us not to lie, or start lying. If lying becomes a habit, one day it will lead us to doing something worse, which is stealing.
So too is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, to abuse or intimidate one or more others.
If done repeatedly or habitually, it becomes bullying, which in turn can lead to doing something worse, like raping.
Worst still, it can lead to murder.
