{"id":158905,"date":"2021-11-18T02:53:09","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T02:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=158905"},"modified":"2021-11-18T02:53:13","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T02:53:13","slug":"how-do-we-prevent-another-zulfarhan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=158905","title":{"rendered":"How do we prevent another Zulfarhan?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Ainina Hasnul<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever accidentally touched a boiling kettle? Even a\nquick touch could cause you a blistering burn, imagine the pain multiplied,\nscorching on 90 different parts of your body. Could you possibly imagine the\npain Zulfarhan had to face days before his tragic death?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accused of a crime he didnt commit, murdered upon a mere accusation, Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnains passing crushed millions of Malaysians’ hearts. Four years ago, until today. The deceased was allegedly tortured by his own fellow peers from Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia <\/em>(UPNM) due to accusations of laptop theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports stated Zulfarhan had a hot steam iron pressed onto\nhis body, including his private parts. Withstaining pain, he screamed and cried\nloudly begging for the accused to stop. Mercilessly, they did not. A week and a\nhalf passed, he was found covered with bruises and 90 horrendous burn marks\nbefore being brought to Serdang Hospital. There, he was pronounced dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The worst part is, the laptop was later proven never was in\nhis possession. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His case shed light to the alarming culture of bullying in\nboth schools and higher learning institutions in Malaysia. To be frank, being\nbeaten up and having a hot steam iron pressed against the body does not even\nfall close to bullying. It is cold blood abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a heartless crime, and should be addressed as one.\nThese bullies arent misunderstood teenagers, in fact they are criminals.\nHowever, the origin of such behavior must have come from the normalisation of\nthe bullying culture that was birthed in schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This case alone raises many questions. How did we go by\nraising a generation of heartless thugs? Who is to be blamed for this failure?\nAnd is it worth pointing fingers? We talk about accountability, but are there\nenough means provided to establish and enforce it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most crucial question here is, how do we prevent another\nZulfarhan? Is anti-bullying campaigns and awareness enough to protect our\nyouth? Who is responsible to ensure no such incidents reoccur in the future and\nhas the government done their part enough? These questions should get you\nthinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you do even a slight research on the topic (trust me, I\nhave), you would see a lot of urging, and very little of doing. It has been\nfour years since the ground-breaking incident and we have yet to see specific\nlaws being enacted to curb bullying problems. Calls have been made, but none\nwere returned. Merely urging is not enough, we need to see actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are in desperate need of an Anti-Bullying Act. Not having bullying offences specifically stated under the Penal Code leads to higher chances of criminals (lets address them as they are) escaping punishments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our laws are almost iron-clad and the government is terrible\nat smelting. Over time, these laws would be outdated and loop-holes are bound\nto appear. Perpetrators are only getting a slap on the wrist, be it for any\nfactors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are currently front-seat audiences of this show. Six\naccused of Zulfarhans murder case escaped the hangman’s noose. They were found\nguilty of a lesser charge hence were only convicted with a sentence of 18 years\nof jail. This is owing to the fact that the crime was deemed an unpremeditated\nmurder as no intent of murder was found by the Court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I doubt anyone could explain how death crossed not any of\nthe minds of the six culprits as they were printing 90 burn marks on the poor\nboys body. Evidently, the masses agree. The courts ruling has caused chaos\namong followers of the case, especially online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These loopholes do not only fail the deceased, but also the\nliving. Family of the victim fought for justice for four years. Zulfarhans\nfather, Zulkarnain Idrus, expressed his disappointment and has planned to\nappeal the High Court decision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of that, this fosters fear among those who are facing\nthe same situation. Knowing the law could potentially fail them as well in any\ncase of misfortune, justice seems so far out of reach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother of Zulfarhan, Hawa Osman, still a million pieces\nbroken. She suffers cataract problems as she loses sleep after her sons\npassing. D. Shanti, mother of T Nhaveen, another bully victim brutally beaten\nto death, admits to the undying grief she experienced. She described that the\npain felt endless and surreal even after years have passed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, what do we do? Malaysia simply needs to wake up and\nlook up. We have neighbouring countries who have made efforts to halt the same\nproblem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The closest example would be Singapore. The countrys strict\nlaws govern a wide range of bullying offences. This would include offences\nranging from harassment, cyberstalking, denigration, impersonation, trickery to\nother different forms of harassment. Their law provides remedies, with help\nfrom special courts that take care of these cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we look further, the United Kingdoms Education and\nInspections Act 2006, Section 89 (Determination by head teacher of behaviour\npolicy) enforces strict and strong policies to be made by head teachers for\ntheir respective schools. The Act lists down a clear guideline of measures\nneeded to be met. The message is to publicise that bullying will not be\ntolerated under any circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the United States, anti-bullying laws and regulations are\navailable in all 50 states. Similar to Singapore, remedies and disciplinary\nprocedures are readily drawn if incidents were to occur. Awareness does its\njob. Prevention is indeed better than cure. Be that as it may, what happens\nwhen prevention doesn’t work and the cure is not there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This matter needs to be handled holistically and we are all\nresponsible. It is about time for specific legislation to be drafted and\npolicies to be made stricter at schools and universities. The Child Act 2001\n(Act 611) and the Penal Code (Act 574) are insufficient to safeguard victims of\nbullying and discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This requires a collective effort involving all members of the society. From policy makers to teachers and from parents to peers, let us all play our parts.***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(This article is written as part of individual assignment series for Feature Writing class)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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