KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has stressed today that Putrajaya will not tolerate the culture of bullying in educational institutions.

Speaking at a dialogue event at University Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM), Anwar said the issue of bullying has become systemic, and therefore a challenge that needs to be tackled by everyone from the institutions and relevant ministries.

"It’s a small group that does not represent all students, but the culture allows it... a culture of thuggery, bullying, and gangsterism within the education system in national, Chinese, Tamil, tahfiz, and religious schools.

"This is madness. We talk about knowledge, but we don’t realise that discipline is essential in educating human beings. Humanity and knowledge are key to understanding,” he said here.

Anwar said currently authorities are taking a soft and compromising stance towards bullies to the point of permitting abuse to happen.

"I told the education minister, don’t compromise. I warned and advised not to tolerate it at all because we don’t want it to happen as a separate phenomenon embedded within the culture,” he said, referring to Minister Fadhlina Sidek.

This comes as Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) issued a statement saying that it is investigating the case at the Military Training Academy in UPNM.

The case involved a senior allegedly pressing a hot iron to the cadet officer’s chest, leaving burn marks.

Chief of Defence Force Gen Tan Sri Mohammad Ab Rahman later said that the MAF will not compromise with any parties involved in the case.