Caning Not Everything Moe Says Amid Calls For It To Return To Schools

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PARLIAMENT | Public caning should not be the way forward when dealing with student disciplinary issues, said Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh during a Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
In response to Abdul Ghani Ahmad (PN-Jerlun), Wong stressed that the government has considered how public caning in schools has not proven to be effective, and could expose students to increased risks of depression and other mental health problems.
“The Education Ministry wants to emphasise that caning is not everything. Many have suggested that we should return caning to schools. But the provision for caning students has not even been abolished completely,” he said.
Earlier, the Jerlun MP had suggested the ministry review its implementation of conditional caning in line with the standard operating procedure of the Education Ministry under the Education (School Discipline) Regulations 1959 and Professional Circular No 7/2003.
ADSThe 2003 circular restricts caning to male students and only for serious offences. It also prohibits caning from being done publicly, with specific limitations on the number of strokes, the method of caning, and requires stringent record-keeping by school administrators.
The caning must only be conducted by specific school authorities, and students are required to undergo health checks before facing corporal punishment.
Children’s development at risk
Wong said that the government has no plans to review existing guidelines and reintroduce public caning, despite acknowledging the recent rise in violent crimes in schools.
He highlighted that Suhakam has consistently called for the abolition of caning in schools, with its findings showing that punitive disciplinary measures can lead to negative consequences for students’ mental and physical development.
“So how can we take into consideration the protections urged by Suhakam, while also protecting our teachers and students, by ensuring they adhere to existing guidelines?
“These are important considerations we need to look into, before discussing amendments to existing regulations,” Wong said.
Stressing that the government views the recent rise in violent bullying and sexual crimes amongst adolescents as a serious matter, he nevertheless suggested that school authorities continue working within existing frameworks.
The deputy minister also clarified that the government has no plans to introduce retired law enforcement officials to enforce disciplinary action in schools, as Ghani suggested.
Instead, the ministry plans to implement community service programmes for students facing disciplinary action by early 2026.
The programme, Wong said, is meant to be corrective and rehabilitory for students to get a “second chance”, and would also involve guidelines for parents, to raise awareness on their children's misbehaviour.
Support for caning
ADSLast month, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim opined that caning in schools should be reconsidered, but must be implemented according to guidelines and strict controls to prevent abuse.
Anwar stressed that the view was his personal opinion and had not become government policy, and that the matter needed to be refined through comprehensive engagement between the Education Ministry and stakeholders, including Suhakam.
During the debates on the recently tabled Budget 2026, several MPs, including DAP veteran Lim Guan Eng (Harapan-Bagan), Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan), and Azli Yusof (Harapan-Shah Alam), supported calls to cane students who misbehaved.
In August, Bersatu’s Rosol Wahid (PN-Hulu Terengganu) had also proposed reintroducing caning as a form of corporal punishment in schools, following the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir in Sabah, linked to alleged bullying.
This is despite Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said saying that same month that the government is studying the abolishment of mandatory caning sentences in the criminal justice system.
Recently, a spate of cases involving teenagers committing violent crimes has also brought the issue back into public discussion, including a student fatally stabbing a Form Four girl at a school in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, on Oct 14.
There were also two recent reports of gang rapes involving students - one in Kedah, and the other in Malacca. - Mkini

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