Dr Kelvin Yii. — Malay Mail photo
KUCHING (Aug 15): The Ministry of Education (MOE) plays a vital role in empowering schools to address and handle bullying cases on a holistic level, said Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth (Dapsy) chief Dr Kelvin Yii.
He said based on reports from some parents, some school administrators tend to bury or play down bullying and other acts of indiscipline — which does not help the situation and may even perpetuate problems if no action is taken.
“This is why I welcome the Education Ministry’s intention to launch a portal by this week which allows parents and teachers to lodge reports on bullying cases in schools.
“Such an initiative is important so there is a safe space for such reports to be lodged and the ministry can oversee all schools in case some try to down play or even sweep such cases under the carpet,” he said.
The Bandar Kuching MP added the most important thing after these reports are lodged is that schools must take the issue seriously and action must be taken to build confidence in the system.
“Existing guidelines and procedures to minimise such incidents must be strengthened and reformed, taking from the best practices in other countries,” he said in a statement on Monday.
On top of that, the federal government through the Communications and Multimedia Ministry should look into formulating a comprehensive anti-cyberbullying law as there is currently no specific legislation on cyberbullying in Malaysia.
He said aside from a legal framework, public awareness as well as education and social norms on social media etiquette — such as acceptable online behaviour — are needed to effectively combat the prevalence of cyberbullying in Malaysia.
This comes following multiple news reports of physical bullying, including a recent report of an alleged bullying case involving a female MRSM student in Kuantan whose mother claimed her daughter’s uniform had been vandalised and her hair cut while she was asleep.
He said such incidents are not isolated, with many similar cases happening in other schools.
“On Dec 14, 2021, it was reported Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Sultan Azlan Shah (MRSM) in Kuala Kangsar had expelled 10 students for bullying a fellow student who was punched and kicked by a group of boys — which had been captured on video.
“On Dec 16 last year, the police remanded five 16-year-old boys for allegedly bullying a 14-year-old student in Muar on Dec 9. The boy suffered injuries to his left ribs and received treatment at a hospital.
“Most disturbing is that some students have died from bullying. For instance, a student of SMK Bandar Rinching died after drinking pesticide in February 2014 because he could not take the bullying by fellow students. The Form 1 student, T Kavinraj, had reported the bullying to his teachers and family but finally, perhaps in a fit of frustration, took his own life,” he added.
Dr Yii also referred to a survey on adolescent health conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2017 and pointed out 16.2 per cent of teenagers in Malaysia were involved in bullying.
However, he said such figures may not paint a full picture as many bullying cases go unreported and this may not have covered the incidents of cyberbullying, which are growing more rampant in the country.
He cited a report released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) where in 2020, Malaysia was ranked second in Asia for cyberbullying among youths with at least 28 per cent of children in the country being victims of online violence, with this becoming an increasingly serious problem.
“More has to be done including properly equipping and empowering schools to handle bullying cases in order to overcome such incidents in schools whether physical or even cyberbullying especially among our students,” he said.