Crib Foundation welcomes the parliamentary special select committee’s commitment to stopping bullying in schools and to seeking solutions, and stresses that any solution put forward by the committee or the government must be a comprehensive solution that truly combats bullying in schools.
It is pertinent to note that Malaysia’s commitments already point the way. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) requires the child’s best interests to be a primary consideration. The Child Act 2001 recognises every child’s entitlement to protection and assistance without discrimination. And national policies and programmes support protection for vulnerable children.
Any response must also recognise the realities of children’s lives: not all children have phones, and many parents control or remove phone access for safety or discipline. Disabilities, location, connectivity, emotional capacity or support and other factors affect whether a child can use an app at all. These principles must guide any anti-bullying response.
In drafting such a comprehensive solution, we emphasise that children need the same protection in every school, delivered by trained adults, clear timelines and safe spaces – not by a portal alone.
In Malaysia, different school types fall under different ministries and agencies. Policies are not uniform – even on safeguarding – yet bullying is prevalent across all schools. As with fire safety or crime safety, the same policy and measures should apply nationwide.
- Sign up for Aliran's free daily email updates or weekly newsletters or both
- Make a one-off donation to Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN), Maybank a/c 507246118995 or CIMB a/c 8004240948
- Make a pledge or schedule an auto donation to Aliran every month or every quarter
- Become an Aliran member
From our work with children through the Talisman Project, most students tell us they have been bullied or felt bullied at least once. Many say the worst harm is digital, and evidence disappears unless a child knows how to keep it. Inclusion means offline and in-person routes must exist for every child, not just an app.
- One national standard for safeguarding and anti-bullying across all school systems (government, residential, private, international and religious)
- Minimum, enforceable requirements in that national standard: a trained safeguarding and anti-bullying team (led by a safeguarding lead and deputy); qualified counsellors with protected time; clear reporting channels (offline and online); secure records, and fast human triage with promised response times (service level agreement, SLA)
- Funding and oversight: budget lines for counsellors and training, and annual public reporting on actions and outcomes
Minimum requirements the national standard should mandate:
- Clearly defined and structured bullying code – which, much like the Penal Code, sets out general and specific definitions of types of bullying that children can face, which schools can then refer to when determining further action
- A safeguarding and anti-bullying team (in every school). A senior teacher (safeguarding lead) and deputy, counsellor(s) and year heads; trained student ambassadors. Roles and contacts visible; reports kept confidential. Do not ‘mediate’ sexual violence, hate-based incidents or credible threats – escalate to the safeguarding lead and to the Department of Social Welfare (DoSW) or police where required; inform parents or guardians appropriately while keeping the child’s safety and wishes central
- Qualified counselling with capacity. Trained guidance counsellors with protected time and sensible student-to-counsellor ratios provide support (not discipline). Refer to the DoSW or police when needed. Follow Ministry of Education procedures and keep proper records.
- Fair consequences and restorative Clear, proportionate steps that stop the behaviour, repair harm and support learning, based on the type and severity of bullying (as defined in the Proposed Bullying Code). Suspension/expulsion only for serious or repeated cases, with fair process. Reward positive behaviour.
- Good records, kept safely. Log every concern and case in a secure system (for example the Sistem Sahsiah Diri Murid (SSDM) in government schools) – with a section which must be completed by the reporting child, which cannot be edited or changed by any other record actions and outcomes. Limit access to authorised staff. Follow the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, publish data-retention periods, have a data processing agreement with any app provider, and notify within 72 hours if there is a data breach
- Easy and safe ways to report. Provide in-person reporting; a worry box; a school-hosted QR/web form; and a dedicated email. Tell students what happens next and how fast the school will respond: acknowledge within 24 hours, see the student within 48 hours, start investigation within two school days, provide an update within five school days. Accessibility: Any tool should be available in Malay, English, Mandarin and Tamil, with plain-language options, large text and screen-reader compatibility; schools must also provide paper forms and in-person reporting
- Supervise hot-spots and fix spaces. Identify where bullying happens (corridors, canteens, toilets, dorm rooms), increase adult presence, improve layout and lighting, and adjust duty schedules. Install clearly abelled emergency call points (“bullying buttons”) in selected public areas (and dorm corridors and hallways) to alert staff directly. Set clear use rules, a fast staff response plan, and misuse safeguards (logging, periodic review). These are in addition to, not a substitute for, adult supervision
- Teach and talk about it. Train staff every year on what to teach. Lessons and assemblies on bullying, cyberbullying, consent, discrimination and respectful relationships. Teach students:
- the types of bullying (verbal, cyber, physical) and how their actions can impact a victim
- that small actions can quickly lead to dire situations, which may affect their lives (as in the case of Mohd Nazmie Aizzat)
- to be upstanders
- and that bullying is a severe offence, and will not be treated lightly – and that they might face consequences for life for bullying
- how to preserve digital evidence (screenshots, timestamps) and who to give it to – without sharing it widely.
- Student-led activities. Support student campaigns and peer programmes across the year. Involve families and the community
- Check progress. Run a short, anonymous school safety check-in each term. Review patterns in the logs. Share a simple yearly update with the school community about what improved and what comes next
- Targeted help. Small-group or one-to-one support for students who harm others and for those who are harmed. Refer to health or social services when needed. In the case of children who are bullying, this help should be provided at the first recorded instance of bullying, to prevent the bullying from escalating
- Technology and apps. If a reporting app is used, it must be school-managed. Connect directly to the safeguarding team, meet clear response times and protect data under the Personal Data Protection Act. Publish rules on misuse and false reports. A portal, if used, is optional; offline and in-person routes are mandatory. Otherwise, it risks becoming a privacy-risking ‘black hole’
Bullying robs children of safety, dignity and the chance to learn. It silences voices, fractures trust and can follow a child for years.
The fix is not a portal on its own, but people who act — trained adults, clear timelines and safe spaces in every school, backed by a single national standard so every child is protected the same way. – Crib Foundation
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
