New laws are only the beginning

FOR too long, bullying in Malaysia has been treated as an unfortunate rite of passage. It has long existed in school corridors and is laughed off in workplaces or shrugged away as office politics.

It is not uncommon for parents to be told by teachers their child needs to toughen up, or for employees to hear that “this is just how the boss is”, or for friends to laugh off social media taunts.