KUALA LUMPUR: Parents of children found responsible for bullying may also be held jointly liable under Malaysia’s new anti-bullying law, with financial penalties and tribunal awards extending to families, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said the Anti-Bullying Act differs from conventional criminal laws by placing responsibility not only on the perpetrator, but also on parents and guardians.
“If you look at the Act, we have placed responsibility on parents as well.
“That is the difference between this law and ordinary criminal cases, where liability is placed only on the perpetrator,” she told reporters after the launch of the Anti-Bullying Tribunal on Tuesday (June 16).
“Under the Anti-Bullying Act, we have included clauses on responsibility. Issues involving the payment of fines and other penalties will also bind the family.
“We have transferred liability, or joint liability, to the family as well,” she added.
Azalina said the provision reflected the government’s broader approach to tackling bullying, which it views as a behavioural issue requiring accountability beyond the individual offender.
She also stressed that bullying, as defined under the Act, involves repeated conduct rather than a one-off incident.
“You must understand the definition of bullying in the Act. Bullying is more than one act. It means it is a continuous action,” she said.
Under the new framework, she said complaints should first be referred to the relevant authority with immediate responsibility, such as schools, which now have a statutory duty of care to address such cases.
“If you look at the Act itself, the process is that when there is an occurrence of bullying, there is a duty to refer it to the immediate agency, such as the school.
“The school now has a duty of care,” she said.
Previously, she explained that bullying complaints were often referred directly to the police, with authorities expected to open investigation papers and conduct inquiries.
“In the past, when there was a bullying case, it would be referred to the police and people would expect the police to open a file and for an investigating officer to conduct an investigation,” she said.
