Parliamentary committee to summon education ministry, cops over school safety

Parliamentary committee to summon education ministry, cops over school safety

Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin says the committee will present a report in the Dewan Rakyat following the hearing, with hopes of a debate on the matter.

Yeo Bee Yin described the recent string of violent incidents involving students as ‘madness’, and said many parents are asking if schools are still safe for children.
KUALA LUMPUR:
The parliamentary select committee on women, children, and community development will summon representatives from the education ministry and police for a hearing on safety standards in schools following a string of violent incidents involving students.

Yeo Bee Yin (PH-Puchong), who heads the committee, said this comes after last week’s gang-rape case involving Form 5 students in Alor Gajah, Melaka, and the fatal stabbing of a Form 3 student at a school in Bandar Utama earlier today.

“I am deeply saddened that such cases can happen in our schools. This is madness,” she said before starting her debate on the Supply (Budget) Bill 2026 in the Dewan Rakyat.

“The question many parents out there, including myself, are asking is: are our schools still safe?”

Yeo said the committee would later table a report on school safety to the Dewan Rakyat and hoped it would be debated.

“However, the parliamentary report is secondary. For me, what is most important is that the executive branch, especially the education ministry, must act swiftly to make our schools safe again for our children,” she said.

The Bandar Utama stabbing marks the second major school-related crime in just over a week, following the Melaka gang-rape case.

Other recent tragedies include the deaths of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir, a student at a religious boarding school in Sabah, in July, and a 10-year-old boy, who was found unconscious on school grounds in Negeri Sembilan on Oct 1 and later pronounced dead.

The spate of cases has fuelled public outrage and renewed debate over moral education, student discipline, and safety in Malaysian schools.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.