Parliament committee to summon Edu Ministry, cops

PARLIAMENT | A parliamentary committee will summon representatives from the Education Ministry and the police for their testimony on safety standards in schools, said Yeo Bee Yin (Harapan-Puchong).

The Parliament special select committee on women, children, and community development chairperson said the move to summon the authorities was determined following the shocking case of a fatal stabbing at a secondary school in Bandar Utama today.

“This incident happened just a week after news of a gang rape incident at a school in Malacca… this is madness. Many parents, including myself, are asking whether our schools are still safe for our children.

“To me, statements from the legislative (branch) are secondary - what is more important now is that the executive, as in the ministries, must act quickly to make our schools safe again for our children,” Yeo (above) said before commencing her debate on the Budget 2026 in Parliament today.

Petaling Jaya district police chief Shamsudin Mamat has reportedly confirmed that while the motive for the murder of the 16-year-old student is still under investigation, there is no indication of bullying involved.

The incident occurred at around 9.30am when the 14-year-old suspect allegedly brought a sharp object - believed to be a knife - to school before attacking his schoolmates.

Shamsudin said that the suspect would be remanded at the Petaling Jaya Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.

When asked by R Yuneswaran (Harapan-Segamat) if she would advocate for the Education Ministry to take stern action, including termination, against higher-ups implicated in criminal cases at schools, Yeo indicated that she agreed with the demand.

“I think heads must roll for big incidents like these. We can no longer be very lenient with officers, or anyone, who is involved in these cases (as) our children will be the ones who end up hurt,” she told the lower house.

‘You touch, you rape, you stay?’

Expressing similar sentiments, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda-Muar) said the Education Ministry should be more stern in its approach towards tackling bullying and assault cases in schools.

Addressing the Dewan Rakyat, he cautioned that seemingly callous statements risk deepening a trust deficit between parents and authorities.

The former youth and sports minister also highlighted that the public now has an unfavourable perception of authorities tasked with ensuring schoolchildren’s welfare due to a perceived lack of proper action.

Such displeasure, he said, is compounded by the public’s outrage against certain statements made by the Education Ministry in response to cases affecting schoolchildren.

“We used to tout a ‘you touch, you go’ policy (for school bullies), but now the perception shared with me is: ‘you touch, you rape, you stay’.

“This sort of perception, which arose because of slow action (from authorities) and careless statements, will cause parents to lose respect if it is not handled well,” the Muar MP said in his debate for Budget 2026.

Students’ safety vs school’s reputation

The evidently chagrined lawmaker also poured scorn on the Education Ministry’s previous response in interviews or media statements about bullying or rape cases in schools, asserting that the ministry’s supposed prioritisation of a school’s reputation is a case of misplaced primacy.

“They always stress the school’s reputation or say that the school is one of the best. Who cares? If someone has been bullied (or) raped there, the school’s name is no longer important!” Syed Saddiq said to a round of applause from other parliamentarians.

“What matters is the lives and safety of our children there… statements the ministry issues must be firm and send an unequivocally clear signal that bullying, however small, will not be tolerated.

“If we speak carelessly, even with good intent, certain perceptions will take root and persist,” he added.

Poor messaging

Previously, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek courted public backlash following her confirmation that four students implicated in the gang rape of a 15-year-old will still be allowed to sit for their SPM examinations.

The minister was criticised over her remarks affirming that the ministry did not want SPM students to be disrupted over the case, as well as her comment that the implicated school is “the best in Malacca”.

Education director-general Azam Ahmad yesterday said the four students involved in the crime have been expelled, following a meeting of the school’s disciplinary board, which upheld the decision to allow them to sit for the SPM later this year.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said also said being underage is not an excuse to escape accountability for committing such offences.

The suspects - two accused of the sexual assault, while the other two kept watch and recorded the act - were remanded on Oct 10 under orders from the Malacca Magistrate’s Court, and will be undergoing police investigation until Oct 16.

Reporting by Qistina Nadia Dzulqarnain, Hariz Mohd, Dania Kamal Aryf, Haspaizi Zain

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