Our Kids Should Be Scared Of Pop Quizzes Not Being Killed

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 You hear about high school shootings and stabbings in other countries, never here in Malaysia. But the unthinkable happened, and we now see in our local news media headlines such as “16-year-old girl stabbed to death by 14-year-old schoolmate in school”.
In my head, schools are supposed to be a place of bad jokes, noisy friends, some horsing around, scribbles and engravings on desks and. It is not a place where you would expect death. But it happened.
The Education Ministry reacted, and its minister, Fadhlina Sidek, showed up and promised action. Decisions were made, and the ministry said it would strengthen mental health support and review safety protocols nationwide.
She even said she doesn’t want this tragedy to be “swept under the carpet” which, honestly, was refreshing to hear from a politician. But let’s be honest. We’ve heard this movie before. It’s nothing new.
Something awful happens, everyone rushes to react, statements are made, pledges are announced. Then, when the news cycle moves on, we go back to our regularly scheduled programming. But we can’t afford to keep doing that now.
Education Minister Fadhlina SidekWhat happened in that school most probably isn’t just a one-off. It’s most probably a symptom of a much bigger problem. It’s the kind of thing that happens when emotion, frustration, and loneliness go unnoticed till a tipping point.
We can provide metal detectors, put in more CCTVs and issue new circulars. But none of that addresses what’s really going on because violence doesn’t just happen. It’s like mould that grows quietly when we’ve stopped paying attention.
When a 14-year-old feels so angry or sad, so unheard and so disconnected that picking up a knife feels like an option, that’s not just a breakdown in discipline. That’s a breakdown in belonging.
I find this very scary because I have daughters who are 14 and 10, and a son who is six years old. I do not want a situation like this happening involving them (or anyone really).
Mental health
Our education system is great at producing smart kids who can memorise, regurgitate, and pass exams like Olympic athletes. But is the system good at teaching kids to be human? Or how to deal with pain, feelings and have empathy?
We must realise that when we tell them to “be respectful”, are we really nagging them to not question and think critically? When we tell them to “be strong”, do we show them how to actually be strong, and that it is okay to cry, apologise or ask for help?
When all of this starts to get messy, we treat them as problems to suppress instead of signals to understand. And that’s how the silence starts to become dangerous. We need to create schools where students can talk about what’s bothering them.
To Fadhlina’s credit, she seems to recognise that. Her decision about strengthening mental health programmes is a step in the right direction. But it can’t just be a snappy speech in Parliament. It needs to be implemented.
This probably means giving counsellors actual resources and training, and not just adding another portfolio to a teacher’s workload. It means rethinking how schools handle disciplinary problems.
If not, it will just end up as another initiative that sounds great in the news media and when giving speeches, but dies quietly after the next reshuffle or general election. Now that is something that we Malaysians have gotten so used to, isn’t it?
Start in the classroom
This isn’t only about personal violence. It’s connected to something bigger, which is an area that I have been working in for many years now, and that is the issue of violent extremism and radicalisation.
The same conditions that could breed school violence, such as isolation, hopelessness, and unprocessed anger, are also the same ones exploited by extremist ideologies.
So, if you want to prevent radicalisation, start in the classroom. Not with slogans about patriotism and nationalism, but with lessons in empathy, critical thinking, and the ability to challenge hate with understanding.
Kids who know how to think and feel properly are less likely to fall for manipulative ideas or even to express their pain by harming others. That’s what holistic education should mean, and not just smart classrooms and TVET strategies.
Our education system needs to inject emotional literacy, curiosity, compassion, and the freedom to express. We could start small in a Bahasa Malaysia or English class. Talk about why a character in a story makes a bad choice.
In Sejarah (History) class, the teacher can ask how people felt during a particular case study in history. Was there fear, grief or happiness? In Moral Studies or Pendidikan Islam (Islamic Studies), don’t just teach what is right and wrong, but also ask what they would do in different situations.
The real test
And of course, listening is very important too. Not the kind of listening where you nod absent-mindedly while checking your phone, but actual listening, acknowledging, validating and giving advice.
Parents, of course, have their part. Talk to your kids properly. I am lucky that the relationship that my wife and I have with our children is a close one. Even then, my wife and I always try to do better, and we always remind ourselves that it is very important to listen more than to lecture.
Our society always values discipline and achievement, but we rarely reward gentleness, reflection, or empathy. Yet those are the very things that stop violence before it starts.
So, the real test will be whether the minister and her ministry can go beyond just reacting, because at the end of the day, every rule and policy means nothing if kids still feel like they can’t speak or express themselves.
Now, one family is grieving, one is in shock, while the rest of us are asking how this could happen. Maybe the answer isn’t in stricter rules and punishments. Maybe it’s in the smaller things like the conversations, listening and compassion.
When my kids walk into school, I don’t want them to fear violence or judgment. The only thing they should fear is a pop quiz or the canteen running out of fried chicken.
They are all children, for goodness’ sake, so let’s make sure we protect them properly. - Mkini
ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and academic. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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