PUTRAJAYA: Seven students involved in a bullying case at the National Youth Skills Institute (IKBN) in Miri, Sarawak have been suspended for a week, says Hannah Yeoh.
The Youth and Sports Minister said the decision was made after the institute's student disciplinary board meeting held on Wednesday (Sept 24).
"The Miri IKBN student disciplinary board committee unanimously decided to impose several other disciplinary actions on the students involved, including the immediate suspension of their allowances and the requirement to perform charity work, report regularly to disciplinary officers and refrain from 'outings' for one month.
"The students involved and the victim must attend counselling sessions," she said at a press conference on the investigation on the issue here on Thursday (Sept 25).
Yeoh said the action taken was a clear message that the ministry would not tolerate any form of misconduct, including bullying, that affects the safety of students and tarnishes the good name of the institute.
Earlier, a 13-second video went viral on social media showing a group of boys lifting an individual with his legs open and ramming him into a pole.
Yeoh had earlier said that the Youth and Sports Ministry had sent two top officials, including deputy secretary-general (strategic) Chan Hong Jin, to conduct an independent investigation, including questioning the students involved in the incident.
To prevent similar incidents from recurring, she said the student affairs unit and the institute's teaching staff would enhance monitoring, arrange counselling sessions in collaboration with the Education and Health Ministries, in addition to implementing prevention programmes with the police.
She said the unit would hold briefings and talks on bullying that will be delivered by the police quarterly and the complaint box facility will be expanded to make it easier for students to channel complaints or suggestions for improvement. – Bernama
