A little kindness goes a long way

THE “kindness revolution” starts tomorrow.

It has nothing to do with GE14 – those taking part in this shake-up are mainly school students and teachers – but it is definitely a good idea for everyone else to pay close attention over the next several days.

After all, anything that can raise the country’s kindness quotient ought to be received with open arms.

Over the coming school week (April 2 to 6), Malaysia will, for the first time, have a National Kindness Week – an annual campaign that will hopefully transform all Malay­sian schools into kinder and more positive places.

Over the five days, participating schools will hold activities that en­­­cou­rage kindness and understanding among students and teachers.

There will be competitions. There are games that can be played in the classroom that tie in with the objective of National Kindness Week.

Teachers and students can try to do something kind each day, and there are checklists to guide them. Schools can sign up and organise related events.

National Kindness Week was mooted by R.AGE and property developer S P Setia Bhd as part of their #StandTogether campaign, which aims to end bullying in schools by creating a culture of kindness.

The five-day programme was developed by the #StandTogether Committee, which includes volunteers from R.AGE, SP Setia, Unicef Malaysia, Digi, Teach For Malaysia, 100% Project, and Study Hub Asia, as well as psychologist Dr Goh Chee Leong from HELP University.

#StandTogether wants to break the vicious cycle fed by childhood bullying.

Some victims escape the torment by fighting back, joining gangs for protection, or becoming bullies them­­selves. As the campaign website points out, “hurt people hurt people”.

And bullying in schools is a pro­blem we cannot afford to ignore.

At least 84% of Malaysian children experience some form of bullying before they turn 18. Often, the psychological effects extend into adulthood.

Last November, Unicef said its survey revealed that almost seven out of 10 children in Malaysia worried a lot about bullying, compared to only three out of 10 in Japan or close to four in 10 in Britain.

Schools are priority targets for a campaign against bullying because children are particularly vulnerable, and much of the bullying happens in the school.

The problem needs to be tackled early, and using kindness as a counterweight makes perfect sense.

At the same time, we all know that bullying is a social issue and not just a matter for the schools.

Adults bully and get bullied too, and surely many young bul­­lies take their cue from the behaviour of grown-ups.

Let us not think of National Kindness Week as a kids-only affair.

It is relevant to us all; the world could do with more kindness.

It is therefore heartening that the Perak, Negri Sembilan and Melaka governments support the programme.

Of course, a lot more can be done. But as with most things, we can start with simple yet potentially effective steps.

The #StandTogether Personal Pledge is an example.

An individual can pledge to do three things to help create a kinder community: Treat everyone he meets with kindness, no matter how different they are; never be a bystander when he sees someone in need or being mistreated; and consciously do at least one act of kindness every week in 2018.

Imagine how different GE14 would be if every politician took the pledge – and fulfilled it.