AWARENESS campaigns are the adult version of “I’ll start my diet on Monday”. We keep promising action but end up printing posters instead. Bullying? Roll out a banner. Road safety? Launch a hashtag. Climate change? Invite a sweaty panda mascot to dance at a mall.

Meanwhile, the only real change is in the quality of the free curry puffs at the launch event.

The truth? Awareness is not the problem. You know it, your Makcik knows it, even your cat – judging by its judgy glare – knows it. The real gap is not awareness; it is action.

Every year, schools, ministries and HR departments roll out glossy “Stop Bullying” campaigns.

Posters go up: “Bullying Hurts”. Someone organises a colouring contest. Teachers squeeze one sad PowerPoint slide into a lesson – and that is it.

Yet in the classroom, Badrul is still pushing Amar’s head into the toilet while the teacher develops a sudden passion for essay-marking.

It is no better at work. Companies love declaring, “We take bullying seriously”. Oh really?

Then why is your corporate Darth Vader still yelling at interns, cc’ing the entire office in humiliating emails and gaslighting colleagues until they doubt their own name?

Awareness campaign? 10/10; Action? 0/10

Awareness = procrastination with graphic design. This is why endless awareness drives annoy this Makcik. They make us feel like something has been solved when all we have really done is order new bunting.

Imagine a doctor saying: “Sir, you have cancer. I recommend an awareness ribbon.” That is not treatment; that is procrastination with graphic design.

Awareness is easy. Retweet a poster? Hero. Wear a ribbon? Activist. Join a walkathon? Saint. Meanwhile, nothing changes.

Bullies don’t stop because of posters. Selfish politicians don’t resign because of hashtags. Rivers don’t clean themselves because of colouring contests.

The unsexy hero

What works? Action. The unsexy stuff: policies, enforcement and consequences.

We need:

– Parents who admit their little angel sometimes moonlights as Satan in school uniform;

– HR that serves justice, not Marie biscuits; and

– Schools that face bullies head-on, not hide them under rugs like bad decor.

That is how you stop bullying, not with balloons and hashtags, but with accountability and spine.

Recycling campaigns? Mascots made of papier-mâché dancing in malls, influencers hugging dustbins. You have “Be Clean, Be Green” slogans, yet open any bin and you will still find banana peels spooning with plastic bottles like Romeo and Juliet.

Road safety? We have all seen the ads with dramatic music and flying motorbikes. And yet abang motor still wears his helmet on his elbow – as if the elbow is the organ at risk. What next? Knee pads on the forehead?

Stop dreaming of instant magic, people. Of course, real change is boring; it could make your cat file for bankruptcy just to feel something.

Planting trees is not sexy, filing complaints is tiring, sorting your trash is inconvenient and standing up to a bully is uncomfortable. But history shows boring action works.

Smoking did not decline because of “World No Tobacco Day” selfies; it declined because of taxes, bans and rules. Seatbelts became normal not through jingles but fines. Polio did not vanish thanks to hashtags but because people rolled up their sleeves and took the vaccine.

So why do we keep circling back to awareness? Because it is safe, pretty and comes with free curry puffs at launches.

Real action is messy, controversial and unpopular. Nobody claps when you discipline a bully but they will clap for a poster that says “Love, Not Hate”. Well, clap all you want. Posters don’t stop punches.

What next?

Here is my proposal: the next time a ministry, school or HR department wants to “raise awareness”, ask: “Awareness, then what?”

If there is no plan, policy, enforcement or punishment, then save the money, cancel the bunting and just hand everyone curry puffs. At least we are not pretending.

Awareness is knowing your cholesterol is high. Action is putting down the ayam goreng and walking further than the fridge.

Awareness is a shiny “Stop Bullying” poster. Action is the teacher hauling Badrul out by the ear: “Boy, sit down before I use this rotan as WiFi antenna and live-stream your nonsense.”

Awareness is like nasi lemak kosong, without sambal. Action is the pedas that wakes you up.

Do more

Awareness looks good on mugs, makes catchy hashtags, maybe even gets you a selfie with a YB. But action? It saves lives.

So next time someone chirps, “We need more awareness”, tell them: “No darling, what we need is fewer posters, fewer hashtags and more people actually doing something.”

Now, excuse me, I have got to go bully my cholesterol into behaving.

Azura Abas is the associate editor of theSun.

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com