PETALING JAYA: School bullying in Malaysia has too often ended in tragedy – from the 2017 torture and death of naval cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain to last year’s fatal dormitory assault of a 17-year-old boy.
Parliament will today confront the issue when the Select Committee on Women, Children and Community Development tables a statement expected to push the government into systemic reform.
Committee chairperson Yeo Bee Yin will present recommendations drawn from weeks of hearings with ministries, NGOs and child-rights groups. Central to the proposals is a national, child-friendly portal for bullying complaints, designed to give students a safe, direct channel to seek help.
Existing platforms such as Talian Kasih have been criticised as intimidating and inaccessible for children. Many victims fear their reports will be dismissed or worse, that schools will retaliate once complaints surface.
The committee is also considering the proposed Anti-Bullying Act, which could create a dedicated tribunal to handle student cases.
Such a tribunal would mark a clear shift – treating bullying not merely as a disciplinary lapse but as a child-protection issue requiring legal and institutional safeguards.
Yeo, however, has cautioned against relying on punishment alone.
Without counselling and support, she warned, victims often become perpetrators themselves, fuelling a cycle of violence.
The urgency is clear. Boarding schools in particular have seen repeated assaults, some filmed and circulated online, raising doubts over whether students are safe in hostels. Parents in several cases accused school authorities of being slow to act, deepening the trauma for victims.
Civil society groups say the problem is structural. Parents’ associations argue that bullying is too often dismissed as “rough play” until disaster strikes.
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has urged schools to stop burdening teachers with warden duties, saying the double workload weakens both classroom teaching and hostel supervision.
It recommends trained external wardens, screened through strict background checks and psychometric tests.
The Education Ministry has, meanwhile, approved RM3 million to boost school safety, including closed-circuit television (CCTV) installation in selected boarding schools.
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s criminologist Datuk Dr P. Sundramoorthy welcomed the move, saying cameras can deter bullies and provide crucial evidence.
“Installing CCTV shows intent to protect students, especially in dormitories and common areas where bullying goes unreported,” he told theSun.
He, however, said surveillance is not a cure-all.
“Without clear policies on placement, access to footage and data storage, CCTV risks eroding trust. And without proper upkeep, cameras quickly become useless.”
He added that safety should not be limited to hostels: “Every child deserves protection, whether they live on campus or go home daily.”
On the ministry’s new “We Hate Bullying” pledge, recited nationwide, Sundramoorthy was sceptical.
“Slogans rarely change behaviour. Real progress depends on nurturing positive school climates, closer teacher-student ties, peer intervention, counselling and active parental involvement.”
Today’s tabling sets the stage for a charged debate in the Dewan Rakyat. MPs will press the government on whether it is ready to treat bullying, not as adolescent mischief to be punished, but as a child-protection crisis demanding urgent, systemic solutions.
For grieving families and anxious parents, the stakes are high – whether Parliament finally acts to break the cycle or risks yet more preventable tragedies in Malaysia’s schools.