PETALING JAYA: Last year, six students were expelled over bullying incidents at the Mara Junior Science Colleges (MRSM).
In one case, a Form Two student suffered injuries after being assaulted by seniors, while another incident that surfaced via a viral video led to police recording statements from several students.
Mara chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki was incensed.
“You touch, you go,” he said.
Yesterday, though, he was a happy man.
A nine-month pilot project in two MRSM schools has led to zero cases of bullying there.
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Asyraf is now pleased that efforts are underway to strengthen anti-bullying measures in all schools, including a proposed tribunal, with a zero-tolerance stance against bullying.
The tribunal is currently in its final development phase and is set to be operational in the second half of this year.
“This includes setting up physical tribunal offices and developing a dedicated online complaint system,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said yesterday.
The tribunal is a key feature of the Anti-Bullying Act 2026, aimed at providing a specialised platform to handle bullying complaints swiftly and fairly.
Azalina said key milestones included finalising tribunal appointments and opening its office at the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC).
She said the tribunal’s operations will be divided into six zones – northern, southern, east coast, central, Sabah and Sarawak.
“We remain fully committed to ensuring a timely rollout,” she said.
According to the Prime Minister’s Department’s Legal Affairs Division, the appointment of tribunal members is currently underway, with more than 100 applications received.
“The Tribunal will be led by individuals with the right expertise, particularly in legal, psychological and child development aspects, coupled with integrity and sensitivity, to handle such cases,” it said.
The division said standard operating procedures and filing systems are in the final stages of completion, supported by subsidiary legislation outlining procedures such as the commencement of proceedings, service methods and the issuance of summonses.
While the tribunal is not yet operational, it noted that victims can still seek recourse under existing laws, including the Penal Code and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, as well as through school-level grievance mechanisms.
Asyraf, meanwhile, said the pilot project, conducted at MRSM Besut in Terengganu and MRSM Balik Pulau in Penang, involved appointing external full-time wardens to strengthen supervision in hostels.
“Throughout the implementation period, no bullying cases were recorded, while overall student discipline showed clear improvement.
“Monitoring within the hostels was also more consistent, resulting in faster responses to student welfare and safety issues.
“As a result, hostel environments became safer, more orderly and more conducive for students,” he told The Star.
Mara will expand the initiative to 10 more MRSM from June before rolling it out nationwide to all its 58 colleges next year, he said.
The Mara experience only goes to show that the rules under the Anti-Bullying Act can work.
