We need real change to fight bullying

Targeting bullying: It begins with education and empathy, instilled from primary school, where children must be taught not just what bullying is, but why kindness and respect matter. — Posed photo/The Star

I WRITE today not just as a concerned citizen, but as a voice within a community that mourns deeply for the loss of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir.

On July 16, she was found unconscious near her dormitory in Papar, Sabah, and declared brain-dead the following day under deeply troubling circumstances and no witnesses to explain how she fell from the third floor. The official account is murky, but whispers of bullying have become a roar.