Hotlines alone won’t ensure safe varsity environment, says student group

 

A senior lecturer at Universiti Utara Malaysia has urged universities to establish hotlines enabling students to promptly report bullying cases. (File pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

Establishing a dedicated hotline to address bullying issues is insufficient to create a safe environment in universities, according to the National Student Consultative Council (MPPK).

Its president, Syahril Ahmad Sofian, said bullying – often stemming from the belief that conflicts can be resolved through violence – was not a new issue but one that had become deeply ingrained.

“The idea is good, but the purpose and function must go beyond merely serving as an online portal for reporting bullying cases.

“I don’t want it to end up being no different from reporting to the police or other authorities,” he told FMT.

Syahril was responding to a proposal by Universiti Utara Malaysia senior lecturer Alif Jasni for universities to establish hotlines enabling students to promptly report bullying cases.

Alif said such hotlines were urgently needed given the rise in bullying cases involving university students.

Syahril said institutions of higher learning must cultivate an ethos that rejected violence as a means of problem-solving, but even that was not enough.

He said efforts to combat bullying must begin at the earliest stages of childhood education.

“Most importantly, parents must ensure the mindset supporting bullying and violence does not take root in any individual.”

Syahril said MPPK supported efforts by universities to ensure a safe environment, including the hotline idea, to demonstrate that complaints were taken seriously.

Meanwhile, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin’s student council backed Alif’s proposal, emphasising the importance of providing a safe and accessible channel for students to report bullying without fear.

“With a reporting system in place, strict action can be taken against perpetrators, contributing to a safer learning environment,” said council president Irfan Ariff Asri.

In 2017, the nation was shocked by the death of Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, a naval cadet at the National Defence University of Malaysia, who was assaulted with objects such as a steam iron, belts, rubber hoses and coat hangers.

More recently, on Dec 18, police arrested 12 students from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu in connection with an assault on a fellow student. - FMT