Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today called for an immediate end to bullying in schools and the workplace, including at hospitals.
Speaking at the monthly assembly of the Prime Minister’s Department, he said the government would not compromise when it comes to physical and psychological abuse.
“I hope we can put an end to this (bullying) culture,” he added.
He was commenting on several cases including the recent death of Form 1 student Zara Qairina Mahathir and that of tahfiz student Wan Ahmad Faris Wan Abdul Rahman.
Zara was found unconscious at 4am on July 16 after allegedly falling from the third floor of her school’s hostel in Papar, Sabah. She died at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital the following day.
Her mother, Noraidah Lamat, filed a police report on Aug 3 saying she recalled seeing bruises on parts of her daughter’s back prior to burying her.
An inquest into Zara’s death is expected to start at the end of this month or in early September.
Wan Faris meanwhile died 12 years ago. A coroner’s court ruled in June 2016 that he was murdered by an unidentified person.
In July, contract doctors’ group Hartal Doktor Kontrak was reported to have said that a houseman at a hospital in Tawau had suffered from depression and attempted suicide after being continuously bullied at the workplace.
On Zara’s death, Anwar said that the allegations of bullying, which police have not ruled out, would be probed.
This follows reports on Saturday that Bukit Aman’s integrity and standards compliance department would probe a district police chief, a district criminal investigation division chief, and an investigating officer suspected of non-compliance with standard operating procedures during the investigation into the case.
“Mistakes were made in the course of the investigation, but believe me, we are doing all we can,” Anwar said.
