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School bullying and violence have long plagued Malaysia despite nationwide outrage and repeated calls for action. Policy gaps and inconsistencies undermine efforts, allowing such behaviours to persist in learning institutions.
The horrendous bullying incidents at the National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM), one of which led to the death of a navy cadet and another causing severe injuries to a junior student, highlight the extremity of violence in educational settings. Concerningly, bullying cases now dominate news cycles, from teenagers attacked over jealousy to disputes over behaviour. The recent death of Zara Qairina, a Form One schoolgirl, has sparked renewed public debate on Malaysia’s pervasive bullying culture.
In the first ten months of 2023, the Ministry of Education (MOE) recorded 4,994 bullying cases, up from 3,887 cases in 2022. Cyberbullying has also become a prominent problem, with Malaysia ranking second in Asia for cyberbullying in 2020, according to UNICEF.
Bullying has lifelong health ramifications for both victim and perpetrator.
A systematic review found that bullying inflicts psychological harm, leading to emotional distress, loneliness, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Verbal bullying through ridiculing and name-calling remains the most prevalent due to its low risks, yet it is among the most damaging to adolescents’ mental health, as it erodes victims’ social identity. To cope, adolescents may turn to smoking, alcohol, or illegal drugs.
In the worst case, bullying drives victims to attempt suicide.
Liew et al. (2023) found that 6.9% of Malaysian school-going adolescents attempted suicide, with a fourfold risk among bullying victims compared to non-victims. Globally, being bullied at least once in the past 30 days is linked to more than triple the suicide risk. The longer the bullying continues, the greater the odds of an attempt.
Although suicide among Malaysian adolescents is less prevalent than in other Asian countries, the low rate likely reflects under-reporting due to cultural, religious, and legal factors. Section 309 of the Penal Code criminalises suicide attempts, punishable by imprisonment or a fine.
Bullying is also closely linked to peer aggression, exposure to violent content, and involvement in physical attacks (Wan Ismail et al., 2014; Tan et al., 2019; Sabramani et al., 2021). It often co-occurs with other conduct problems that may predict future criminal behaviour (Ganesan et al., 2021). Playing the bully can lead to behavioural problems, depression, and academic difficulties that persist into young adulthood.
Sabramani et al. (2021) reported that 79.1% of Malaysian participants have been involved in bullying, with the majority as bully-victims (48.4%). Bully-victims often become bullies themselves due to weak support systems, prompting retaliation or redirection of frustrations toward more vulnerable peers.
This dual role worsens their psychological challenges, as they endure both the trauma of being bullied and the strain of their own aggression. Such cases underscore the need for early victim intervention to break the cycle, alongside rehabilitative measures tailored for bully-victims.
Given the substantial time adolescents spend at school, the school environment and teachers are pivotal in shaping students’ experiences. UNESCO notes that bullying is 7% more likely in schools with poor disciplinary climates and 12% higher where teachers treat students unfairly. Worryingly, teachers can also be perpetrators, exposing students to aggression and corporal punishment—still legal in Malaysia.
Conversely, teacher guidance and support are essential in prevention, with a 49% to 53% likelihood of reducing student involvement in bullying. Adolescents also reported higher life satisfaction when supported by teachers, even after experiencing bullying (Chong et al., 2023).
Unlike Singapore, China, and the Philippines, Malaysia has no state-level anti-bullying laws and no statutory definition of bullying. Current measures include the Guidelines for Bullying and Sexual Harassment Management and 2024 amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code and Penal Code outlawing acts that cause distress, fear, or harassment. Yet experts stress the need for specific laws, noting disproportionate punishments for verbal and non-verbal bullying.
Tackling school bullying in Malaysia requires enforcement mechanisms as strong as its prevention strategies. Policies must deliver deterrence, ensure fair investigations, and close the loopholes that allow cases, especially in elite schools, to be suppressed. EMIR Research recommends:
- Automatic expulsion with mandatory rehabilitation before re-entry. For serious or repeated bullying, students should be immediately removed from their current school. Re-enrolment in any mainstream institution should only be permitted after completing a certified behavioural intervention programme. A centralised MOE registry should track offenders to ensure compliance and prevent quiet transfers that bypass accountability.
- Independent investigation panels for serious cases. Establish regional inquiry boards consisting of MOE officials, legal representatives, and independent child rights advocates to oversee severe incidents. This reduces internal cover-ups, particularly in institutions with influential stakeholders, and ensures impartial decision-making.
- Enact comprehensive anti-bullying legislation: Define physical, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying in law. Require all MOE-registered institutions to have enforceable anti-bullying policies, detailing penalties, safe reporting procedures, and clear timelines for response. Evidence shows such laws reduce victimisation, depression, and suicidal behaviours among students. (Rees et al., 2022).
- Secure and direct reporting channels. All institutions must maintain anonymous, tamper-proof reporting systems, online portals or physical drop boxes, directly linked to investigation bodies. Malaysia’s existing anti-bullying portal should be replaced with a dedicated national platform that automatically connects victims to police, counsellors, and child protection services, as EMIR Research has recommended previously (see “Child Bullying—When Will it End?”).
- Whistleblower protection and anti-interference laws. Criminalise any attempt to intimidate, bribe, or obstruct a bullying investigation. Protect students, teachers, and staff who report incidents from retaliation, with legal immunity where appropriate.
- School-based mental health screening and counselling. Psychological challenges, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and loneliness, are both causes and effects of bullying (Sabramani et al., 2021; Ariani et al., 2025). Conduct bi-annual screenings to identify at-risk students. Partner with certified mental health professionals to deliver evidence-based interventions, focusing on both victims and perpetrators to break cycles of violence.
- Prevention and rehabilitation education. Embed bullying prevention in the national curriculum, including conflict resolution, empathy-building, and media literacy. Develop targeted rehabilitation programmes for offenders, with monitored reintegration into school communities.
- Educator training and accountability. Weak teacher training is a serious risk factor for bullying (Gusfre et al., 2023). Require teachers to complete specialised training in classroom management, non-violent discipline, early detection of bullying, and proper incident reporting. Establish consequences for staff who fail to act on reported cases.
- Strengthen on-campus security. Deploy trained security personnel and wardens in schools and dormitories, with daily patrols in known hotspots such as bathrooms and secluded areas.
- Parental and community engagement. Engage parents in early-warning and prevention initiatives, and collaborate with NGOs, youth groups, and faith-based organisations to extend anti-bullying campaigns into communities.
- Mandatory transparency reporting. Require all schools to publish anonymised quarterly data on bullying incidents, investigation outcomes, and measures taken, consolidated into an annual national report by the MOE.
Without decisive enforcement and sustained prevention, victims will remain voiceless in the very institutions meant to safeguard them, while perpetrators, often shielded by influence or inaction, continue without consequence. Breaking this cycle demands more than statements of concern: Malaysia must pair strict, enforceable laws with independent oversight, embed mental health and rehabilitation into the heart of its education system, and close every loophole that allows bullying to be minimised or ignored.
Failure to act decisively will not only invite more preventable tragedies but also deepen public distrust in the nation’s commitment to protect its children. Only by holding every school, teacher, parent, and student accountable can we create learning environments where safety is non-negotiable and respect is the norm.
Dr Margarita Peredaryenko and Avyce Heng are part of the research team at EMIR Research, an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research.
