KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has warned schools not to cover up bullying or related incidents to protect their reputation, at the expense of students' safety.
Addressing the Dewan Rakyat, Anwar acknowledged some incidents have gone unreported as some schools believe such cases would tarnish their image.
“When it comes to bullying and abuse cases, I have been stressing against it in my speeches at schools, but the problem is that (schools) do not want a bad image.
“They want to submit good reports, but the children who attend school are the ones feeling pressured.
“I agree with what has been expressed by police; do not hide them (cases),” he said during Minister’s Question Time in Parliament today.
Anwar was replying to Indera Mahkota MP Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah’s question about the government’s approach to bullying and abuse in schools, following the murder of a 16-year-old student in Johor on October 2 despite existing safety guidelines.
Anwar also agreed schools must prioritise children's safety.
“If we hide (bullying cases), our children suffer. This approach is not right,” he said.
Anwar, who is also finance minister, said the government must keep boosting efforts to protect students as cases of death, serious injury, attempted suicide, bullying and abuse remain a concern in several states.
“We have cases happening one after another in almost every state now, like Kelantan, Sabah, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Johor.
“These are only the cases involving death. Cases of serious injury, attempted suicide, those who were rescued, as well as bullying and abuse in schools, are still happening,” he added.
On increasing cases of bullying in schools, Anwar stressed that greater awareness among the public and parents is needed to curb the issue.
He said schools and Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) have a role to play in addressing the problem, especially since the recent case in Johor happened outside school hours.
“Participation among parents in some PTAs remained limited despite the importance of cooperation between families and schools,” he said.
Anwar, who is also Tambun MP, also revealed to the Lower House that 5,681 bullying cases were reported in schools in from January to August this year, involving physical, verbal, nonverbal and cyber bullying, while adding that there could be more cases unreported.
