President Calls on Children to Not Conduct Bullying

Pekanbaru, Riau (Antara Bali) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo called on children in the country here on Sunday to avoid conducting bullying.

"I have a message for you. Like in the play just now you may not bully your friends. Do you agree?. You may not insult or make fun of your friends," he said at the commemoration of National Childrens Day 2017.

" You must respect and help each other. If one of your friends is ill you must visit him/her and do not forget bringing her/him food so that he/she will get well soon," he told children attending the event.

"Agree," the children said responding to the Presidents advice.

A video depicting a junior high school girl being bullied by a number of her friends went viral in the country recently drawing reactions from various quarters mostly expressing concern over the incident.

The 50-second long video recording showed a number of junior high school students pulling the hair of the girl in white uniform and later asked her to kiss in turn the hands of the children committing the bullying that happened at Thamrin City in Jakarta.

Another video depicting a special needs student of Jakarta-based Gunadharma University being bullied had also gone viral recently.

On the occasion minister of women empowerment and child protection Yohana Yambise said number of cases of violence on children especially in Riau province was still very high.

"Riau is ranked second with regard to the number of cases of household violence, child marriage and also child trafficking in Batam including Tanjung Pinang," she said.

Other ministers attending the event that was also attended by First Lady Iriana and Mrs. Mufidah Kalla, the wife of Vice President Jusuf Kalla were coordinating minister for human development and culture Puan Maharani and minister/state secretary Pratikno.

Riau governor Arsyadjuliandi and Jakarta governor Djarot Syaiful Hidayat and his wife were also seen at the event.(*)