PUTRAJAYA: Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek (pic, below) has welcomed the views and proposals of all parties to improve safety aspects in tackling bullying at all educational institutions under her ministry.
Fadhlina said she is willing to scrutinise the proposals, including providing psychosocial support and training to teachers and wardens, parent education modules, monitoring at educational institutions and anti-bullying plans, in a bid to address the issue.
“Efforts to tackle bullying and ensure a safe ecosystem at educational institutions are our shared responsibility.
“The Education Ministry is implementing several important steps to strengthen safety aspects at educational institutions, including carrying out safety audits, installing CCTV cameras and setting up safety reformation committees,” she said in a Facebook post, Bernama reported.
This follows a memorandum from student activist groups with six key demands regarding improvements to safety monitoring and efforts to combat bullying.
The ministry recently approved a RM3mil allocation for the installation of CCTVs in selected boarding schools, starting immediately, before expanding it in stages to all boarding schools nationwide.
It said this is one of its ongoing efforts to strengthen monitoring, prevent unwanted incidents and create a safe and conducive ecosystem for all students.
Earlier, the student activist groups staged a protest outside the ministry.
Demanding action: Student activists staging a protest in front of the KPM office in Putrajaya. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
They pressed the Education Minister to act within 30 days to ensure students’ safety, or resign from her post.
The key demands outlined in the memorandum include the setting up of a stronger psychosocial support system in schools through more counsellors, and mandatory trauma-informed training for teachers and wardens with clear anti-bullying protocols.
It also includes 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.
The ministry’s corporate communications unit head Faiz Rashid accepted the memorandum on behalf of Fadhlina, who was in Parliament.
The protest, organised by the Malaysian Muslim Students Coalition (Gamis) and the Malaysian People’s Advocacy Coalition (Haram), also saw participation from Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany), Demokrat Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and United Muslim Malaysia.
Haram president Brendon Gan Vinnten criticised recent ministry initiatives, such as the “Anti-Bullying” slogan campaign, a reward scheme for “bully-free schools”, and the RM8.4mill purchase of Jalur Gemilang pins for students’ uniforms.
“None of these address the real root causes of the crisis.
“Bullying is not a trivial issue. If you look at reports, there have been over 11,000 cases in the past three years – and that doesn’t even count those unreported.
“Yet the ministry has instead launched incentives rewarding ‘bully-free schools’, which could encourage covering up cases rather than solving them,” he said.
He pointed out that beyond Zara Qairina Mahathir’s case, other recent bullying incidents have emerged, including students being tied up, punched, and even forced to strip.
Gamis president Azamuddin Sahar said that bullying cases have become normalised as they continue to rise without clear solutions from the government.
Umany president Tang Yi Ze said the Education Ministry’s foremost responsibility is not just to ensure world-class education, but to guarantee the safety and lives of students - otherwise parents will fear sending their children to school.
The protest comes amid heightened public scrutiny of Fadhlina’s handling of the issue, following the death of Form One student Zara Qairina, who was found unconscious in a school drain in Papar, Sabah, on July 16. She died the next day.
On Aug 11, the Education Ministry said a safety audit will be carried out immediately in all educational institutions and that it will review its safety operation procedures on school safety and handling of disciplinary issues, including bullying.
The Aduan Buli online portal will also be revamped to allow anonymous reports to be filed.
