By Hadi Azmi

Copyright scmp

A prank known as “Happy Corner” that originated in China has made its way to Malaysia, triggering student suspensions in schools determined to show they are getting tough on bullying after a string of scandals.
Happy Corner, also called aluba in Taiwan, is a prank or form of hazing common among boys in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan that started in the 1980s. It typically involves several boys lifting up an unsuspecting victim and bumping his groin against a pole-like object.
A 13-second video of the prank being pulled on a student at the National Youth Skills Institute (IKBN) in Miri, Sarawak, made the rounds on social media over the week, showing the roughly 18-year-old’s groin being smashed against a pole so forcefully that one of his shoes fly off, while others laugh. It is not clear how the practice made its way to this institution.
The incident caught the attention of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, whose ministry governs the institution. Not only had the people involved in the prank been suspended, but their student allowance was frozen, Yeoh said.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ariz Ramli (@capricedaddycap)

“The Miri IKBN Student Disciplinary Board Committee unanimously decided to impose several other disciplinary actions on the students involved, including the immediate suspension of their allowances and the requirement to perform charity work,” Yeoh said at a press conference on Thursday. They also lost weekend leave privileges for students who live on campus.
She added that the perpetrators and victims of the bullying were required to attend counselling sessions set up by the institute. The police will hold talks on bullying and set up a complaints box for students on the campus.
“This decision was taken to ensure that it is a deterrent to such cases [of bullying] and there is no room for this kind of thing to happen again. We want to send a serious message because if we do not take action, there will be more complaints,” she said.
Described as a rite of passage for Taiwanese men in news reports and academic papers, the prank can cause serious physical harm. Due to those dangers, the hazing ritual has been banned in Taiwan since 2004.
No room for bullies
Malaysia’s stern reaction to the prank is a response to the intensified scrutiny on bullying in schools and colleges after the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir.
The body of Zara, whom her mother said had been a victim of bullying, was found on the ground of her Islamic boarding school in the neighbouring state of Sabah on July 16, 2023. Her death saw nationwide protests to reopen her case, including exhuming her body for a full autopsy.

Emir Research, a local think tank, said Malaysia’s problem with bullying highlights weak teacher training. Teachers who resort to corporal punishment were normalising aggression and bullying, it said.
As public scrutiny mounts, some educational institutions are taking a zero tolerance approach to bullying.
The Mara Junior Science College, a network of semi-autonomous government-linked boarding schools, has asserted a policy of “if you touch, you go” following a string of bullying cases involving its students.