In recent weeks, Malaysia has been deeply shaken by a series of disturbing campus incidents. These include the fatal stabbing of a student in Selangor, a gang-rape case in Melaka, an AI-generated obscene image scandal in Johor, and an act of animal cruelty at a public university. These tragedies are not isolated events but reflections of a deeper systemic failure within our education ecosystem. Each case exposes the structural weaknesses that have long been neglected, including the lack of mental health education, the decline in moral and ethical development, and the absence of effective crisis management mechanisms.
From a psychological perspective, violence in schools rarely occurs spontaneously. It is often the result of long-term emotional suppression and social isolation. When individuals cannot find support through relationships, communication, or institutional systems, they may develop what psychologists refer to as externalising coping mechanisms, in which aggression or attempts to control others become substitutes for a sense of agency. Without accessible psychological support within schools, these accumulated emotions can eventually erupt into destructive behaviour.
