Syed Saddiq urges top-down accountability to tackle bullying in schools

New Straits Times

3 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: Muar member of parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has called for top-down accountability in tackling bullying, warning that systemic inaction by school authorities has allowed a culture of violence to persist.
He said bullying cases in schools had surged thirtyfold in recent years, rising from 300 annually to 6,500, while violent incidents increased more than sevenfold to 5,300 cases.
"What is more alarming is the trend involving physical assaults, not just mental bullying.
"Systemic bullying happens when wardens neglect their duties, when principals turn a blind eye to protect the school's reputation, and when peers justify the act as part of school culture," he said during the Dewan Rakyat debate on the 13th Malaysia Plan.
Citing the deaths of naval cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain and the recent Zara Qairina Mahathir case, Syed Saddiq questioned why negligent school authorities are not held legally accountable in the same way as parents who fail in their duty of care at home.
"We place responsibility on parents to protect their children. That same responsibility must be placed on principals and wardens.
"They cannot just wash their hands by saying it was one bully and that action was taken," he said.
Referring to Zara Qairina's death, he said that the principal and warden were only transferred following public protests.
"What about the tens of thousands of other bullying cases without media coverage? Their fate is sealed if we cannot address the systemic support that enables bullying," he said.
Syed Saddiq urged action from top to bottom, including against negligent investigators, and called for dismantling all support structures for bullies to ensure schools are safe for every student.
Earlier today, the Education Ministry has decided to temporarily transfer several people from SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha until police investigations into the death of Zara are completed.
In a statement today, the ministry said the school's principal, senior assistant (student affairs) and all its wardens will be temporarily placed at the Sabah Education Department.
On July 16, 13-year-old Zara Qairina was found unconscious in a drain at her school and rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, where she died of her injuries the next day.
On Aug 9, her body was exhumed for a post-mortem examination, which took place the next day.
Her remains were reburied early the next day.