PM wants end to bullying over race; Fadhlina vows action over Johor case

Summary

• PM Anwar urges Malaysians to stop bullying tied to race, class, or personal attacks, while admitting errors in official responses to cases.

• Education Minister Fadhlina pledges no compromise in a Johor bullying case involving a 10-year-old who suffered a brain injury after being attacked in February.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called for an end to bullying on any grounds, including race, whether it be in schools or the workplace.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek is vowing prompt action over a school bullying case reported in Johor.

In his monthly address to the Prime Minister’s Department, Anwar said bullying is a culture that destroys culture.

“Bullying is psychological, physical abuse, be it at school, university, the office, or the Health Ministry; it must be stopped.

“Whether it’s insulting someone’s character, their skin colour, or class, we hope this culture can be stopped,” he said.

He cited the deaths of Zara Qairina Mahathir in Sabah, as well as Wan Ahmad Faris Wan Abdul Rahman, who died 12 years ago in Kelantan.

Public outrage over Zara’s death has reignited calls for justice to be delivered to Wan Ahmad Faris as well.

However, the prime minister acknowledged there were some mistakes in the official response to bullying, including during investigations as well as delays in taking action.

He also acknowledged his own mistake when commenting on Zara’s death, saying at the early stages he did not remember her name and thus called her “budak” (kid).

Anwar has been criticised on social media for the remarks, which alleged him of being insensitive.

Commenting further, the prime minister condemned attempts to capitalise on bullying incidents, in response to an incident where a fake pathologist gave a purported account of the post-mortem on Zara.

He also criticised those who used such tragedies for political gain.

Johor case

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Fadhlina said there would be no compromise towards bullies involved in a case in Johor that surfaced yesterday.

“The investigation must be hastened and necessary action taken,” she said.

Yesterday, Berita Harian reported the plight of a 10-year-old boy who has been a victim of bullying.

According to his mother, Siti Suhana Misdi, the Standard Four student, who is also suffering from nose cancer, was first abused on Feb 21 by a 12-year-old boy.

The purported bully is accused of thrashing the victim, including hitting him in the head, as well as forcing the boy to strip naked.

It was alleged that the attack was in retaliation after the 10-year-old boy’s sister rejected romantic advances by the accused bully.

The attack eventually led to the victim being hospitalised weeks later, on March 12, during which it was confirmed that the boy had suffered a concussion.

According to Siti Suhana, doctors said it may take years before the boy fully recovers.

She said she only learned about the bullying after her son was hospitalised, when her daughter finally revealed what happened.

She then lodged a police report that same day but claimed that officers refused to launch an investigation, and only mediated by getting the alleged bully’s family to meet her.

“To this day, I am not satisfied because the impact on my son is severe,” Siti Suhana was quoted as saying.

She said her son fell victim to bullying again on Aug 7. She has also lodged a police report on the latest incident.

The Johor Education Department said it is looking into the matter.

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