Creating children who think cruelty is normal

SINCE Zara Qairina Mahathir’s tragic death, the whole country is talking about bullying in schools. My heart breaks for the family of the 13-year-old who died last month after a fall from the third floor of her dormitory at school.

When I think of my school years in Malaysia, what comes to mind first aren’t exams, friendships or extracurriculars. Instead, I remember moments in classrooms where teachers turned their eyes away from cruelty, or worse, stood in the middle of it, fuelling it.