Speech: Why BULLYING Happens and What Can We Do About It?

Title: Why BULLYING Happens and What Can We Do About It?

Theme: Bullying

By: Roshini A/P Mahendran | Instagram

Sad. Are they right about me?

"Life is fight, but not everyone is a fighter. 

- Johnny Depp"

My stomach hurts and I have headaches everyday. The girls are spreading rumours and telling secrets, and it just doesn’t feel right to me. Is there something wrong with me? Or am I really what they say I am? Could I be a victim of bullying?

A very good morning to the honourable judges, dedicated teacher, and fellow friends. As you may have noticed my speech is about bullying – so let’s get started. I will try not to talk too long; they say it is best to leave the audience before your audience leaves you. So, let us get started.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Have you ever been bullied? Has it happened to your peers or have you just seen or heard about it on TV? Many people have different opinions on what bullying is. Some say it is kicking or hitting someone, others say it’s when you say mean things or call someone names. Did you know that one out of every four students report being bullied during school years? All of these things are correct, as they are different ways you can be bullied. However, they are not the official definition of bullying. Everyone has a different opinion, but I define bullying as anything that a person does on purpose to upset or hurt another person. 

To be honest, bullying is just like a disease because you don’t make it happen and it does not just go away overnight.

Bullying even makes you feel like you are sick, or something is wrong with you! This, however, isn’t true at all. It is not your fault if you get bullied. Did you know that 900 thousand children get bullied every day in Malaysia? Out of 5.2 million students! That means that 1 out of 5 students get bullied every day! And people say that Malaysians are too nice to be bullies!

Ladies and gentlemen,

Victims of bullying may cause people who are normally confident and happy to become self-conscious, shy and unsure. Additionally, victims of bullying may also become sad or depressed. Their confidence might completely disappear, keeping them from new things or trusting people. Once a person has been bullied, they may hesitate to participate in situations where he or she might be ridiculed, such as in public speaking, debate or even in sports. A bullying victim might even begin to possess previously absent anxious behaviour. Many people are unaware of the bullying that happens around them. That just shows how bad it is bullying is. To make things worse, more youngsters are now suffering from mental health problems. The survey revealed that about 4.2 million Malaysians aged 16 and above suffered from mental problems. The number is alarming because it shows an increase of 11.2 percent compared with 2006.

Approximately 84 per cent of children in Malaysia suffer from some form of bullying, with 33 per cent having been bullied online. “Another 45 percent of kids say they’ve bullied others offline and 15 percent admit that they have committed cyberbullying acts,” he says, referring to nobullying.com, an online forum aimed at stopping bullying. Mental health problems predicted to be the second largest health problem in the country after heart disease by 2020, parents and teachers must ensure that children are getting the help they need.

Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim believes that schools should have a zero-tolerance policy towards bullying. “Any form of juvenile behaviour must be dealt with promptly and in a serious manner. Students must be made to understand what constitutes bullying. There must be a safe channel for bullying to be reported. Establish standard operating procedures and enforce them. Parents undoubtedly play an important role to ensure and provide a healthy environment where peer groups and sibling interactions occur,” she says, adding that bullying traits can start at home. “Kids pick up on what their parents say at home, such as using derogatory terms like cacat (retarded), fatty, pondan (sissy) and cursing while driving. Schools should break this cycle by teaching students that this is wrong. In turn, students should be brave enough to tell off their parents. I think parents will appreciate it.” She says PAGE has consistently advocated a non-corporal punishment approach in schools to stop the cycle of bullying from recurring.

Counselling psychologist and former principal of HELP International School Dr Gerard Louis says social media contributes to a significant number of bullying cases. “If social media is put under the broader category of media in general, such as movies, television, video games and the Internet, then many studies point to the role that media plays. This is especially so in influencing and forming attitudes of young people in using violence as means to resolve conflict and becoming increasingly emotionally desensitised to violence.”

Many people, he says, find it enjoyable to watch acts of violence committed online. These individuals have no sense of anxiety, as one normally will when watching such acts. He says those inclined to act that way could have come from an abusive family, an unhealthy school environment, have low self-esteem, are impulsive, have poor social skills or lack of positive role models. “Such individuals are more likely to imitate what they see.” Retired headmaster William Doraisamy, 74, who has 30 years of teaching experience, says many youths today are desensitised to violence in media. Violent movies and news about terror attacks and crime have diminished the value of life and the feelings of concern for others. These anti-social traits are usually displayed by the perpetrators, who often come from broken homes or from homes where guardians have lost control of their children or are completely ignorant of what their children do outside the home.

Here are some myths and facts about bullying:

Myth number 1: “Bullying is just a stage, a normal part of life.” However, fact is – bullying is not a “normal” or socially acceptable behaviour. We give bullies power by our acceptance of this behaviour.

Myth number 2: “If I tell someone, it will just make it worse.” Fact is: Research shows that bullying will stop when adults in authority and peers get involved.

Myth number 3: “Just stand up for yourself and hit them back.” Fact however is: While there are sometimes when people can be forced to defend themselves, hitting back usually makes the bullying worse and increases the risk for serious physical harm.

Myth number 4: “Bullying is a school problem; the teachers should handle it.” Fact is: Bullying is a broader social problem that happens everywhere.

Myth number 5: “People are born bullies.” Fact is: Bullying is a learned behaviour and behaviours can be changed.

Okay, you are probably wondering what the different types of bullying are? Statistics show that there are six different types of bullying: Physical, Verbal, Indirect, social Alienation, intimidation and last but not least Cyber Bullying. Bullies bully because it makes them feel better than everyone else. Verbal Bullying is the most common because it is not as easily noticed as physical is. Talk about how horrible this is! Think if you were the target or the person that got bullied! Some people that have been bullied all their life decided to leave their old life because they do not appreciate it and commit suicide. SUICIDE!!! That just shows how out of hand this get. Bullying is that serious.


Ladies and gentlemen,

As a quote said by Johnny Depp, life is fight, but not everyone is a fighter. Otherwise, bullies would be an endangered species. People who have been bullied sometimes become so upset, scared and depressed that they see no worth in themselves and no way out of their torment. According to our latest research, 1 in 2 people experience bullying at some point before their 20th birthday. And trust us when we say, we know how difficult it can be to go through it, especially if you don’t fully understand the psychology of bullying. In this article, we will be exploring the reasons why people bully, using the latest research and psychology, to give you a greater understanding of the motives of those who are either bullying you right now or who have done so in the past. You may have assumed that you get bullied for whatever makes you different: your race, religion, class, sexual orientation, line of work, fashion sense, weight, or your political alignment

Bullies bully because it makes them feel better than everyone else! Also, they do it because they have been bullied at some point in life and feel like they need revenge. A bully can be a person that is big or someone small, it just depends on what type of bullying we are talking about. Sometimes teenagers and older students bring guns to school to kill bully but end up injuring many others too. In a recent Ditch the Label study, we spoke to 8,850 people about bullying. We asked respondents to define bullying and then later asked if, based on their own definition, they had ever bullied anybody. 14% of our overall sample, so that’s 1,239 people, said yes. What we then did was something that had never been done on this scale before; we asked them intimate questions about their lives, exploring things like stress and trauma, home lives, relationships and how they feel about themselves.


In fact, we asked all 8,850 respondents the same questions and then compared the answers from those who had never bullied, those who had bullied at least once and those who bully others daily. This then gave us very strong and factual data to identify the real reasons why people bully others. It also scientifically proves that the reason people get bullied is never, contrary to popular belief, because of the unique characteristics of the person experiencing the bullying. Those who bully are more likely to feel like their friendships and family relationships aren’t very secure. In order to keep friendships, they might be pressured by their peers to behave in a certain way. They are more likely to feel like those who are closest to them make them do things that they don’t feel comfortable doing and aren’t very supportive or loving.

You may think now – wow – how can you stop bullying when you can barely see it happening! I mean how are you supposed to put an end to it when it goes on 24/7? The best way for you to make a start is to talk to your friends and have a discussion in your class and make a set of rules to put an end to it. Then present the idea to your whole school. The next step is to create an Anti-Bullying team so you can end bullying at your school. Bullying is so bad that it can end up with dying and killing others which shows exactly how serious and bad this is!

A quote once said by Abraham Lincoln. “What if the kid you bullied at school, grew up, and turned out to be the only surgeon who could save your life. You may think now, wow. How can you stop bullying when you can barely see it happening! I mean how are you supposed to put an end to it when it goes viral the whole world. The best ways for you to make a start, is talk to your friends and have a discussion and make a set of rules to put an end to it. Then present the idea to your whole school. The next step is to create an Anti-Bullying team, so you end bullying at your school.

Remember everything I have told you today and you will not be a bully or not be afraid to stand up for yourself! Just be strong, keep your head up high and do your best to stop bullying once and for all! Remember, school Bullying is EVERYONE’S business! Before I walk down this stage, I hope you enjoyed my speech and if you did not, I hope you had a good nap.

Thank you for listening and have a good day!