Students in Perlis are to learn martial arts in response to the fierce beating of a child by his classmates which left him paralysed and shocked the country, a report said today.

State Menteri Besar Shahidan Kassim, who made the announcement, said he hoped that students who learned martial arts might refrain from bullying each other.

Those who practice martial arts "often display a high degree of discipline," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times .

The classes are expected to start in the second school term, which begins in two weeks, the newspaper said.

Holding parents responsible

The savage beating of a 13-year-old boy in Pahang state has been splashed on the front pages of local newspapers this week.

The child is in intensive care and doctors fear he may be permanently paralysed by the injuries. His schoolmates reportedly stomped on his back and threw him against a locker, damaging his spinal cord at the base of the skull.

Two of the three children allegedly involved in the assault have been detained.

In response to the bullying incident, Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has asked the ministry's legal team to find ways to hold parents responsible for their children's actions.