Farah said Malaysian schools can learn from anti-bullying policies in countries such as Australia, the UK, Canada and New Zealand.
While these nations do not have specific Acts against bullying, she said, their schools are required to have strong internal policies in force.
“It means that each school is mandated to have student safety policies that students, parents and school (teachers and administrators) sign off on,” she said at a town hall session on the Anti-Bullying Tribunal Bill at SJKC Aik Hua here today.
“So, there is no more saying that the moment you send your kids to school, they are the teachers’ sole responsibility. There must be a collective responsibility, and this must be spelled out clearly.”
Farah said Japan and the Philippines have clear laws and definitions on bullying. In contrast, Malaysia’s laws do not specifically define and punish bullying, but only various Acts that could constitute bullying.
She also suggested that in dealing with bullies in schools, the courts should be the last resort so as not to stigmatise children.
G Thiyagu of the legal affairs division at the Prime Minister’s Department dismissed the notion that there are no bullying-related laws in place, saying various anti-bullying provisions have been incorporated into laws.
However, Thiyagu, the division’s deputy director-general, acknowledged that there was no specific statutory definition for the act of bullying. “Therefore, it’s crucial that a definition that is internationally recognised be introduced under the law,” he said.
With regards to the tribunal under the proposed bill, Thiyagu said it will not handle criminal bullying cases, which are under the police’s jurisdiction.
Instead, it will mete out restorative forms of punishment to avoid lengthy court proceedings.
“Schools will be given clear autonomy under this bill through the formation of anti-bullying committees, and teachers’ views will be taken into account in forming these committees,” he said.
Earlier, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said the public had suggested that the tribunal mete out remedial punishments against school bullies instead of punitive measures.
The bill, which is still being drafted, aims to reduce the number of bullying cases in the country.
Azalina previously said the government expects to table it in the Dewan Rakyat in October after completing stakeholder engagements within this month and presenting the final proposal to the Cabinet.