Books Not Body Bags Bung Urges Ministry Action On School Bullying

---

 


PARLIAMENT | With children being harmed and, in some cases, killed, especially in boarding schools, Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) has sounded the alarm on bullying.
Debating the 13th Malaysia Plan in Parliament, the Sabah BN chief urged the Education Ministry to take decisive action and highlighted the growing "phobia" among parents towards these institutions.
“Bullying cases in schools are widespread, especially in boarding schools, be they religious, vocational or national type schools. What is the problem here?
“(These children) come to gain knowledge but they are killed, and all sorts of things are done to them. This is not right,” he told the Dewan Rakyat.
ADSBung said the alarming frequency of bullying cases in boarding schools has left many parents in Sabah deeply reluctant to send their children to such institutions.
“(These parents) don’t want to send their children to boarding schools. They say that they’ll just be sending their children to their deaths,” he alleged.
Bung’s remarks came in the wake of questions surrounding the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir, a boarding school student in Papar, Sabah, who is said to have been a victim of bullying.
Yesterday, the Attorney-General’s Chambers announced that it is examining a comprehensive preliminary investigation report from the police on Zara's death.
Four demands
Lawyers representing the student’s mother earlier today outlined four demands, complaining that the police investigation has "weaknesses and serious flaws".
Zara Qairina MahathirThe lawyers also demanded an exhumation of her body to identify the cause of death, and an inquest to determine if criminal elements were involved.
Zara was pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital in Kota Kinabalu at 11am on July 17.
She was taken to the hospital for treatment after being found unconscious in a drain near the hostel of a religious school at 4am on July 16.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek has assured that the ministry is giving top priority to the case while promising a fair and transparent investigation. - Mkini

---