HIS Majesty the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, has urged that Malaysia’s education system must once again serve as a platform for developing ethical and humane individuals, rather than merely functioning as a race for examination results and quantitative performance indicators.
Delivering his royal address at the National Integrity Month 2025 celebration today, His Royal Highness expressed grave concern over the increasing cases of bullying, violence, sexual misconduct and juvenile crime among students under 17, describing them as signs that education has failed to fulfil its moral and humanistic role.
“Schools, which are supposed to be the safest places for children, are now exposed to environments that threaten their safety and emotional well-being.
“A humanitarian crisis is occurring in places that should be the safest for children. We must not point fingers or politicise this issue, but instead have the courage to acknowledge our weaknesses and take corrective action,” he said.
The Sultan lamented a growing culture of denial, refusal to admit mistakes and an overemphasis on academic key performance indicators (KPIs), which he said have marginalised moral and human values.
Sultan Nazrin also highlighted the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) revelations about corruption cases in schools involving both teachers and students — including pupils offering money to secure class leadership positions — as well as the persistence of bullying over more than two decades.
“Research findings also show that an increasing number of university students no longer view corruption as a moral offence, which is an alarming indication of the erosion of integrity among the younger generation.
“Education today is overly focused on numbers and rankings, neglecting character formation. We may be raising a generation that excels in answering questions but fails to understand empathy and respect for others,” he said.
Sultan Nazrin stressed that the purpose of education is not merely to produce the most intelligent individuals, but the most humane ones. He cautioned that substantial allocations to the education sector would be meaningless if moral and spiritual goals were not achieved.
“Integrity does not emerge spontaneously and cannot be built solely through plans or institutional frameworks. It must be cultivated continuously from an early age — beginning at home, nurtured in schools, reinforced by society and exemplified by leaders,” he said.
“Every child is born in a state of purity. It is the parents who determine their moral direction. The home is the first school where the seeds of integrity must be sown,” His Royal Highness added.
The Sultan affirmed that the responsibility of shaping an ethical and honourable society is a collective trust shared by parents, educators, leaders and all citizens to safeguard the nation’s dignified future. - November 5, 2025
