Civil society groups, paediatric specialists and child rights advocates have urged the government to implement evidence-based preventive strategies instead of punitive responses to combat bullying in schools.
In a joint statement, they also stressed the importance of tackling the causes behind bullying, particularly issues at home.
They said that while an Anti-Bullying Act and the establishment of a tribunal to handle bullying cases involving children may be useful, such measures alone will not address the root of the problem.
“It is not sufficient to just look at the behaviour. It is also necessary to address the underlying motive(s). All bullies should be evaluated for possible abuse at home,” they said.
Citing global research, the group said the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) model is an effective and adaptable framework for bullying prevention in Malaysia.
MTSS consists of three tiers:
- Tier 1 includes school-wide strategies such as anti-bullying policies, teacher training, parental involvement, social-emotional learning and awareness campaigns.
- Tier 2 targets at-risk students with small-group training in empathy, conflict resolution and peer support.
- Tier 3 provides intensive, individualised support such as counselling and family engagement for students chronically involved in bullying.
The group called for long-term commitment to address bullying and warned that reactive, short-term measures will not resolve what they described as a deeply rooted problem.
Bullying and harassment, particularly in schools and on social media platforms, have been making headlines recently.
Yesterday, Kuala Lumpur police said it was investigating the death of a 22-year-old student in Taman Melati, Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday under new amendments to the Penal Code that make bullying a criminal offence, this after the student’s mother lodged a report saying her daughter had been bullied.
Earlier this week, five teenagers were charged in Kota Kinabalu with verbally abusing 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir who died on July 17, a day after she allegedly fell from the third floor of her school’s hostel in Papar, Sabah.
Last year, a 29-year-old social media influencer known as “Eesha” died after enduring severe and coordinated cyber harassment, mostly on TikTok.
