KUCHING: More has to be done to tackle bullying cases in schools, said Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
He stressed that schools need to be empowered to overcome such incidents be it physical or even cyberbullying among students.
He pointed out that the Education Ministry (MoE) has to play a significant role in empowering schools to address the issue on a holistic level.
“We have seen multiple news reports of acts of physical bullying including a recent report of an alleged case of bullying involving a female MRSM student in Kuantan.
“The mother claimed her daughter’s uniform was vandalised and that her hair was cut while she was asleep,” he said there were many similar cases.
In a statement on Monday he said the most disturbing was that some students died due to bullying. For instance, he said a student of SMK Bandar Rinching died after drinking pesticide in February 2014 because he could not take the bullying by fellow students.
Another case involved a Form One student T Kavinraj who had reported the bullying to his teachers and family but finally, perhaps in a fit of frustration, took his own life.
“From reports from some parents, some school administrators tend to bury or play down bullying and other acts of indiscipline. “This does not help the situation and may perpetuate problems if no action is taken,” said Dr Yii who also heads the Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth (DAPSY).
According to the 2017 Adolescent Health Survey by the Health Ministry, 16.2 per cent of the country’s teenagers were involved in bullying.
However, he added, such figures may not paint the full picture as many bullying cases go unreported, and this may not have covered the incidents of cyberbullying which is getting more and more rampant in the country.
In a report released by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Malaysia ranked second in Asia in 2020 for cyberbullying among youths with at least 28 per cent of children in the country being victims of online violence.
“That is why I welcome the Education Ministry’s intention to launch a portal by this week that will allow parents and teachers to lodge reports on bullying cases in schools.
“Such initiative is important so that there is a safe place for such reports to be lodged and the Ministry can be an oversight towards all schools just in case some schools try to down-play or even sweep such cases under the carpet.”
Dr Yii said most importantly after reports are lodged, schools must take the issue seriously and action must be taken to build confidence in the system.
As such, existing guidelines and procedures to minimise such incidents must be strengthened and reformed taking best practices from what is done in other countries.
On top of that, he added, the federal government through the Communications and Multimedia Ministry should look into formulating a comprehensive anti-cyber bullying law as currently there is no specific legislation on cyberbullying in Malaysia.
Besides the legal framework, he said community initiatives and support are required to effectively combat the prevalence of cyberbullying in Malaysia.
These include public awareness, education and social norms on social media etiquette and what type of online behaviour is appropriate.
