IPOH: Parents with children studying in boarding schools are reminded to observe any change in their behaviour to curb incidents of bullying among students.

       Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said school teachers and dormitory wardens also play important roles in taking action if they notice such changes in students.

       'Sometimes, boarding school students like to bully as it is a way for them to deal with their dissatisfaction, perhaps with their families or even because they don’t want to attend boarding school but were forced by their families.

       "So they deal with the pressure by hitting others,” he said when asked to comment about the alleged bullying incident at the Sultan Azlan Shah MARA Junior Science College (MRSM) in Kuala Kangsar that went viral on social media on Friday (Dec 10).

       Saarani, a former teacher, said bullying cannot be taken lightly as it is closely related to students’ moral issues and needs to be addressed immediately to avoid unwanted incidents.

       "To me, there is something wrong with a person who wants to bully, he doesn’t have feelings and his emotions are unstable, it is very dangerous.

       "I really hope this bullying incident isn’t repeated because bullying can occur quite frequently anywhere. What I find strange is the person who recorded the video could just stand there and watch, when it should be someone would be recording while others around the area intervened to calm things down,” he said after officiating the Ipoh International Art Festival 2021 here on Saturday (Dec 11).

       Perak police chief Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said police detained six suspects, aged 13, for their alleged involvement in the bullying case to facilitate investigations.

       The incident, showing several teenagers, believed to be boarding school students, punching and kicking another student together, was recorded in a 13- to 30-second video and uploaded on social media, leading to a public outcry. - Bernama