The guilt hangs heavily over Jerry* whenever his mind drifts back to his school days in Kota Kinabalu and that quiet “awkward kid” he once tormented.
Advertisement
Sitting at the back of the classroom, the boy was an easy target for Jerry and his friends, who delighted in humiliating him by stealing his shoes, tugging down his trousers or meting out the occasional beating.
They were only 12, behaving as children do, he once thought. But more than two decades later, Jerry feels the weight of what those moments might have meant for his victim.
“It was such a terrible thing, but at the time I didn’t think much about it,” he told This Week in Asia. “Nobody said anything, and the teachers didn’t even question me or any of the other students about it.”
Malaysia’s problem with bullying in schools and colleges has far outlasted Jerry’s childhood. Abuse, humiliation and violence – sometimes fatal – have a long history in the country’s educational institutions, especially its boarding schools.
The issue has resurfaced with a string of disturbing recent cases, many in Sabah, where Kota Kinabalu is the state capital.
Advertisement