KUALA LUMPUR – Schools must not conceal bullying cases to protect their reputation, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said, warning that such an approach could leave victims suffering without proper intervention.
He said 5,681 bullying cases were reported at schools nationwide between January and August this year, involving physical, verbal, non-verbal and cyberbullying.
However, Anwar said the actual number could be higher as some bullying and disciplinary cases may have gone unreported because school administrators were concerned about damaging their institutions’ image.
“The problem is that sometimes the perpetrators are protected because they do not want the school’s image tarnished. They want to protect the school’s reputation and report only the good things, when in reality children feel victimised and distressed about going to school.
“So do not hide these cases. The victims are suffering and we are not addressing it, and that is a very wrong approach. I agree that in cases like these, whatever the reason, action must be taken swiftly and firmly,” he said during Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Anwar was responding to Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah (PN-Indera Mahkota), who asked why incidents threatening students’ safety continued to occur despite various guidelines and procedures being implemented at schools.
The Prime Minister also called on parents to take greater responsibility for their children’s education, safety and wellbeing instead of leaving the matter largely to teachers and school authorities.
“Monitoring, hostel facilities, safety audits, student supervision capacity, counselling, mental health issues and wellbeing initiatives have all been carried out (by the Ministry of Education). Is that sufficient? I think not, because this is such a challenging issue and requires the involvement of all parties.
“Why are there parents who are almost completely unaware of their children’s welfare? In hostels, there are stricter controls, but … how can parents be unaware of whether their children have returned home or not by 11 pm or midnight?” he said.
Anwar said records from several reported bullying cases showed that almost all the students involved had expressed frustration over not receiving proper treatment from their parents.
“I do not mean to blame the parents, but this means that family responsibility, the family unit, must be the foundation. A country is built on strong family units. So in this case, let us not merely express regret after a report has been made; we must work together to resolve it.
“I hope the media can also play a role in urging parents to be more responsible. Many studies show that some parents in urban areas are busy or facing pressures in life, to the extent that they neglect their children,” he said.
Responding to Saifuddin’s supplementary question on measures to ensure bullying was not treated solely as an issue for educators, Anwar said the government had introduced several measures to strengthen prevention and intervention.
These included increasing the number of guidance and counselling teachers and assistant wardens at hostels.
The Royal Malaysia Police had also been authorised to enter school premises at any time while in uniform, while 400 wardens had received training in psychosocial skills and support, he said.
“The powers of principals, headmasters and disciplinary committees have also been strengthened, while disciplinary powers can be delegated to teachers.
“We have also improved the student discipline system, listened to students’ voices and problems, carried out advocacy efforts, outlined a student protection policy for schools and implemented mental health screening, following issues concerning mental health that had been raised,” he said.
On a supplementary question from Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PN-Alor Setar) on whether the government was prepared to use Islamic law to impose punishments in bullying cases, Anwar said more integrated enforcement was needed to address the problem.
He also said the government had, in principle, approved a motion to strengthen the Syariah Court institution in the country.
“The matter will subsequently be referred back to the Conference of Rulers, which is scheduled to meet in the next few weeks,” he said. – October 6, 2026