Anwar said it is “sickening” that bullying is generally accepted.

“One weakness that we have is that we tolerate bullies.

“It (bullying) cannot happen if such a culture is rejected,” he said during a meeting with students at the National Defence University (UPNM) here today.

His remarks come in the wake of an abuse case involving a cadet at the university who was said to have had a hot iron pressed against his chest by a senior cadet.

However, Anwar did not specifically mention the incident.

In a statement later, the university said it was investigating the matter and promised to take strong disciplinary or legal action against those found responsible.

Anwar also said the level of thuggery and gangsterism in the country’s educational system was absurd.

“We talk about knowledge, but not about character and values,” he said.

He later told reporters that schools and universities must take responsibility for finding ways to combat the bullying culture among students.

“Headmasters, principals, vice-chancellors and college heads must take the responsibility to see how to halt this heinous culture, as there are too many complaints, some of which have surfaced on social media,” he said.

The alleged abuse incident is the second such case involving UPNM.

Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal sentenced six former UPNM students to death for murdering naval cadet officer Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain seven years ago.

The trial was told that five of the defendants had taken turns to press a steam iron on Zulfarhan’s body, including his private parts, while one was complicit in inciting and instructing the five to do so.