Parliament Launches ‘Stop Bullying’ Townhall Platform

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- Today's townhall session, 'Hentikan Buli: Suara Rakyat, Tanggungjawab Kita’, organised by the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Women, Children and Community Development, serves as an important platform for the community, including teachers, counsellors, parents, and students to share their experiences and suggestions in an effort to combat bullying more effectively.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul, who officiated the first townhall session, said the feedback obtained through these sessions would be compiled by the select committee to produce a complete report to be tabled in Parliament.

“This bullying issue requires a clear and accurate perspective. The feedback we receive isn't just put on the table and kept in a drawer, but the views will be collected, documented and turned into a report," he said when speaking at the launch at the banquet hall of the Parliament Building today..

“Insya-Allah, I will allow the debate to take place so that the entire country knows that this committee takes what is happening (bullying issue) seriously.

"We hope to 'push' the government to come up with a serious remedy to solve this bullying problem as soon as possible so that we can save more of our children."

Johari, when met by the media later, said he had asked the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Women, Children and Community Development chairman Yeo Bee Yin to expedite the preparation of the report so that it could be tabled and debated during the parliamentary session in November.

“The sooner the report is ready, the better. It is understood that the chairman (Yeo) will hold several more townhall sessions, including outside Kuala Lumpur, so we will see how quickly the report can be completed before it is tabled," he said.

Earlier in his speech, Johari emphasised that the issue of bullying, especially emotional bullying, is a major challenge that requires a comprehensive solution involving the government, educational institutions and society.

He also shared his personal experience as a rubber tapper's son who had been bullied in school and university, adding that when he was the director of Malaysian Students in the United States, he had handled cases of Malaysian students being bullied abroad.

"I myself have experienced bullying situations, not only physical, but also mental, and I know that the effects of mental bullying are very deep and last a lifetime.

"I still remember a female student from Terengganu calling me from Montana (in the US) while crying, wanting to come home because she couldn't bear being bullied. This shows that the issue of bullying is not only in Malaysia, but anywhere," he added.

-- BERNAMA