PUTRAJAYA, Aug 20 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reportedly said today that the Cabinet will deliberate on the proposal for a tribunal to handle bullying cases involving children
“This proposal will be brought to Cabinet,” New Straits Times quoted him replying briefly after the Finance Ministry’s monthly assembly here.
Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said suggested that Putrajaya will review the need to enact an Anti-Bullying Act that emphasises the establishment of a tribunal to hear bullying cases involving students and children.
At present, she said, there is no specific definition or clear punishment for the offence of bullying under any legal provision.
She however lauded the introduction of Sections 507B to 507G of the Penal Code that handles similar offences, in addition to the appointment of a Children’s Commissioner in Sabah and Sarawak.
Fatal bullying of children has come into public spotlight recently following the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir in Sabah and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Reserve Officers Training Unit (Palapes) trainee cadet Syamsul Haris Shamsudin.
The family of tahfiz student Wan Ahmad Faris Wan Abdul Rahman who was found dead in Kok Lanas, Kelantan in 2013 has also called for the case to be reopened.
Five teenage girls are scheduled to be charged in the Children’s Court in Kota Kinabalu this morning in connection with the bullying case of student Zara Qairina.
