PUTRAJAYA: A coalition of student activists staged a protest outside the Education Ministry on Thursday (Aug 21), demanding its minister, Fadhlina Sidek, respond to their memorandum within 24 hours.
The demonstration, organised by Malaysian Muslim Students Coalition (Gamis) and Malaysian People's Advocacy Coalition (Haram), was joined by groups including Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth, Demokrat Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and United Muslim Malaysia.
They submitted a memorandum which laid out a series of urgent demands for the ministry to act on within 30 days, with bullying and student safety at the centre of their call.
The groups outlined six key demands: the establishment of a stronger psychosocial support system in schools through more counsellors; mandatory trauma-informed training for teachers and wardens with clear anti-bullying protocols; compulsory parental education modules to address toxic home environments; independent and transparent monitoring; the introduction of a National Anti-Bullying Plan and additional measures to safeguard students.
Haram president Brendon Gan Vinnten said the six demands within the memorandum must be implemented within 30 days, or they insisted that Fadhlina resign.
“If she cannot commit to addressing the concerns of bullying across schools, then she should step down.
“If the Education Minister fails to provide us with a written or verbal response, we will not hesitate to mobilise more students and the Malaysian people to protest.
“Bullying is not a trivial issue. If you look at the reports, there have been over 11,000 cases in the past three years,” he said, adding that this does not include cases that have not been reported.
Gan also pointed to initiatives such as the “Anti-Bullying” slogan campaign, the reward scheme for “bully-free schools,” and the RM8.4mil for the purchase of Jalur Gemilang pins.
“None of these addresses the real root causes of the crisis,” he added.
Fadhlina could not attend the handover as she was in Parliament, but ministry officials accepted the memorandum on her behalf.
Education Ministry corporate communications unit head Faiz Rashid later confirmed the memorandum had been received.
“We have accepted the memorandum and will give it due consideration,” the official said.
In a Facebook post, Fadhlina said she would review the proposals, including those related to psychosocial support, training for teachers and wardens, parental education modules, monitoring in educational institutions, the development of an anti-bullying plan, and the implementation of safety measures.
“At present, the ministry is carrying out several key initiatives aimed at enhancing safety in educational institutions.
“These include conducting safety audits, installing closed-circuit television (CCTV), and establishing a safety reform committee.
”I welcome the views and suggestions of all parties to improve safety in all institutions,” she said.
Fadhlina was recently called out over the handling of Zara Qairina Mahathir’s death case, as well as revelations in Parliament that RM8.4mil was spent on Jalur Gemilang badges for school uniforms.
She also faced criticism after a social media video showed her leading students in chanting birthday wishes for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on his 78th birthday on Aug 10.
Zara Qairina died at Hospital Queen Elizabeth on July 17, after being found unconscious in a drain near the school dormitory in Papar on the morning of July 16.
