A total of 5,681 bullying cases were reported in schools nationwide between January and August this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
He said the cases included physical, verbal, non-verbal and cyberbullying.
However, Anwar said the actual number could be higher as some bullying and disciplinary cases at educational institutions might have gone unreported because administrators wanted to protect their schools’ reputation.
“The problem is that sometimes the perpetrators are protected because they do not want the school’s image tarnished. They want to protect the school’s reputation and report only the good things, when in reality children feel victimised and distressed about going to school.
“So do not hide these cases. The victims are suffering and we are not addressing it, and that is a very wrong approach. I agree that in cases like these, whatever the reason, action must be taken swiftly and firmly,” he said during Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
