An advocacy group in Malaysia has urged the Ministry of Education to prioritise efforts to prevent bullying and violence in schools.
According to a Unicef survey, seven out of 10 Malaysian children fear being bullied, shared the senior vice chairman of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF). Also, over half of children feel that their views and voices are not heard or affecting change.
“This issue is very important in view of the fact that bullying and violent acts have lately resulted in death,” Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said in a statement.
One of the prominent cases was in 2017, when a Year 1 student (seven years old) from a boarding school died at the hospital after being beaten by a Year 6 pupil in school. The latter was subsequently arrested.
“Bullying and violence should be monitored as such a culture is increasing in our society. We need to ensure Malaysians reject all forms of bullying and violence as recent cases indicate that offenders also include primary and secondary students, adolescents and working adults.”
Lee added that minors who are involved in bullying are typically influenced by their peers or the internet and have inadequate parental guidance, according to the New Straits Times.
In the latest shocking case of bullying among minors, Free Malaysia Today yesterday reported the case of an eight-year old who was ganged up on by her classmates, and kicked, punched and slapped.
The Year 2 pupil’s parent had gone to the police to lodge a report but was advised to speak to the teachers and school headmaster first as the eight-year-olds involved may get a criminal record if they were charged.
The police advised the parent to lodge a report only if the school failed to take any action.
In 2017, there were 2,795 reported cases of bullying. Although this was about a 19% decrease from the 3,448 cases reported in 2016, Lee said the number was still high.
“I hope the authorities, in particular the Ministry of Education, will give priority to efforts to inculcate mutual respect among students in terms of religion, race and gender so that they become good friends, respect each other and not engage in bullying and violence,” he said.
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