By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 10: Senator Abun Sui Anyit has called on the Ministry of Education (MOE), schools, parents, and the community to put an end to the bullying culture that has plagued schools and school hostels nationwide following the case of Zara Qairina Mahathir.
According to The Star, she was a 13-year-old Form One student who was pronounced dead at a hospital in Sabah on July 17, a day after she reportedly fell from the third floor of her school dormitory. Her family believed that her death was linked to bullying.
In a statement, Abun said that Zara’s tragic case served as a clear warning that failure to address this issue comprehensively can lead to physical and emotional suffering, and even loss of life.
He said that although the Education Act 1996 (Act 550) provides for the responsibility to maintain student discipline, he claimed that it lacks specific and stringent provisions to combat bullying in schools and hostels, prompting him to propose the following:
- Amending the Education Act to include specific provisions that define bullying and stipulate clear punishments, whether in the form of internal disciplinary action or criminal proceedings.
- Imposing legal responsibility on school and hostel management to report bullying cases to the authorities.
“In addition to law enforcement, preventive education must begin at the primary level through anti-bullying education modules in the school curriculum; organising awareness programmes involving students, teachers, parents, and the local community; and providing training for hostel wardens and school counsellors to detect early signs of bullying,” he said.
He added that every school and hostel must provide a safe, confidential reporting channel that is free from discrimination against victims or witnesses.
Abun also said that victims of bullying must be given immediate access to medical treatment and psychological support.
“We can no longer compromise on the culture of bullying. The Zara Qairina case is a clear signal that half-hearted measures are not enough. I urge all parties to treat this issue as a social emergency requiring coordinated and immediate action.
“No more compromise. No more bullying,” he said. — DayakDaily
