Cabinet enforces clear anti-bullying measures after Zara Qairina's death

The Star

8 hours ago

PUTRAJAYA: The government is standardising the enforcement of Sections 507B to 507G of the Penal Code to make clear to all quarters that bullying is a crime, says Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil (pic).
He said the move is part of efforts to enforce newly amended anti-bullying laws and reflects Putrajaya's zero-tolerance stance on abuse.
The matter was discussed at yesterday's Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, following the high-profile death of a 13-year-old boarding school student in Sabah.
'The Prime Minister conveyed a firm view that the government will not allow such bullying behaviour to persist.
'Among the measures being coordinated by ministers is the implementation of the amended provisions, which took effect in July, and define bullying, inclu­ding cyberbullying, as a criminal offence.
'We want to ensure all ministries, especially those managing educational institutions, such as boarding schools, understand and follow through with enforcement,' Fahmi told reporters after attending the 20th Civil Service Premier Assembly here yesterday.
The Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2025 and the Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Act 2025, aimed at tackling bullying more effectively, were passed in the Dewan Rakyat on Dec 10 and in the Dewan Negara on Dec 16 last year.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail is also expected to address several cases in his ministerial statement in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday, inclu­ding the death of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir and the attack on the son of former economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli.
Zara Qairina was found unconscious near her dormitory at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar, Sabah, on July 16 and died the next day at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu.
Although police initially classified the case as sudden death, public concern over possible bullying prompted the Attorney General's Chambers to order an exhumation and inquest.
Investigations are ongoing, with Bukit Aman's Integrity and Standards Compliance Depart­ment also looking into possible procedural lapses by police and school supervisors.
In the separate incident, Rafizi said two men on a motorcycle tailed his wife's car before one attacked his son with a syringe at a shopping mall in Putrajaya.
He said he believes the attack was premeditated.