Special committee formed to tackle rising school bullying after 49 cases in 2025

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By Dayangku Hidayatul

KUCHING, Feb 3: Sarawak has established the Sarawak Bullying Issues Management Committee (JPIBS) to address the growing concern of bullying in schools, after 49 cases involving students were reported across the State in 2025.

The committee will focus on schools, higher education institutions, and workplaces to ensure coordinated and effective interventions.

Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said the figures underscored the urgent need for stronger and more coordinated efforts to combat violent and intimidating behaviour among students.

“We have established a dedicated committee to manage bullying issues in Sarawak. We have also determined the scope of this committee, which will focus on bullying cases in schools, institutions of higher learning (IPT), and workplaces,” she told a press conference after chairing the Sarawak Bullying Issues Management Committee (JPIBS) meeting at Baitulmakmur Building II today.

She noted that bullying in government schools remained the main priority, though non-government schools were also included.

Current efforts, however, were limited by data gaps and the lack of standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Sharing police statistics, Fatimah highlighted worrying trends over the past three years. In 2023, 20 investigation papers were opened with 17 cases charged, representing an 85 per cent charge rate.

In 2024, 15 papers were opened, but only four cases were charged, largely due to complainants not coming forward.

In 2025, 49 cases were reported, with 25 charged in court, most involving offences under Section 323 (causing hurt) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Penal Code.

“Bullying refers to acts of intentionally and repeatedly harming, disturbing, or oppressing someone, either physically, verbally, socially, or online. It usually involves an imbalance of power, where the perpetrator is stronger, more popular, or more influential than the victim,” she explained.

She stressed the importance of awareness among students, staff, and institutions to ensure victims receive proper support and action.

“Schools must be seen to ‘walk the talk’. Otherwise, students will not report incidents if they feel nothing will be done,” she said.

She also highlighted the need to strengthen peer support systems in schools, as bullying can cause serious emotional and physical harm in both the short and long term. Safe environments are equally crucial in higher education institutions and workplaces to maintain confidence and productivity.

“This is the main purpose of today’s meeting: to establish the committee, define its terms of reference, focus areas, and programmes to be implemented,” Fatimah concluded. — DayakDaily

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