Over 5,000 Bullying Cases Reported In Schools In Jan-Aug 2026 - PM Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- A total of 5,681 bullying cases were reported in schools nationwide between January and August this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.

He said the cases included physical, verbal, non-verbal and cyberbullying.

However, Anwar said the actual number could be higher as some bullying and disciplinary cases at educational institutions might have gone unreported because administrators wanted to protect their schools’ reputation.

“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 replying to a question from Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah (PN-Indera Mahkota), who asked why cases threatening students’ safety continue to occur in schools despite various safety guidelines and procedures being in place.

The Prime Minister urged parents to play their part and share the responsibility of monitoring their children’s education and safety, rather than placing the responsibility solely on educators.

“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.

He said records of several reported bullying cases showed that almost all the students involved had expressed frustration over not being treated well by 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 the government’s measures to ensure that the issue of bullying was not placed entirely on educators, Anwar said various measures had been taken to curb the problem, including increasing the number of guidance and counselling teachers as well as assistant wardens at hostels.

He said the Royal Malaysia Police had also been authorised to enter school premises at any time while in uniform, in addition to training 400 wardens in psychosocial skills and support.

“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.

Asked by Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PN-Alor Setar) in a supplementary question on whether the government was prepared to implement Islamic law to impose punishments for bullying cases, Anwar said more integrated enforcement of the law was indeed necessary to address bullying cases.

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.

-- BERNAMA