Schools urged not to cover up bullying cases

MELAKA: School authorities, especially of boarding schools in Melaka, are urged not to conceal any incidents or cases of bullying, including ragging, among their students.

State Education, Higher Learning and Religious Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Rahmad Mariman said stern action will be taken against schools that conceal or allow such acts to happen, especially if they pose a threat to students' lives.

He said the call on schools to report bullying incidents to the authorities aims to curb further harm to the victims, such as trauma, which can have a negative impact on the students’ lives.

"Bullying does nothing good for the students, either the bully or the victim, and most of the time, the bullying or ragging occurred during the orientation session between senior and junior students.

"However, in some schools, especially boarding schools, these acts become a habit and continue even after the orientation session, resulting in physical and mental effects on the victims,” he told reporters after attending the monthly assembly of Melaka Islamic religious agencies here Thursday (July 6).

Elaborating, Rahmad said the "Zero Bullying" campaign will be intensified at the school level to foster awareness regarding the effects and implications of bullying among daily school and boarding school students.

He said the campaign aims to create a more comfortable, safe, and harmonious learning environment for students, ultimately achieving zero bullying in schools.

Meanwhile, Rahmad said parents should also be concerned about their children's behavioural changes, and pay attention to their learning aspects and relationships with their peers at school so that whatever problems the children are facing can be addressed at an early stage.

On Thursday, the media reported that the father of the nine-year-old boy who died after he was believed to have been strangled by his teen brother on Wednesday (July 5), claimed that his 14-year-old son was a victim of bullying when he was studying at a religious school in Alor Gajah.

He said the teen boy’s behaviour was said to have changed after being bullied at the school last year and no action was taken despite reports being made to the school and the police.

The father said the impact of bullying had caused his son to experience trauma, leading to frequent outbursts. In the incident at their home in Bukit Piatu at around noon Wednesday, the nine-year-old boy was reported to have been strangled to death by his brother. - Bernama