20-fold bullying surge sparks alarm, experts warn of systemic neglect, changing face of aggression in schools

SHAH ALAM – Bullying cases in Malaysia have skyrocketed 20-fold between 2021 and 2024, with violent incidents rising by more than 77 times over the past decade, sparking urgent calls for accountability in schools and tougher enforcement of anti-bullying measures.

The shocking statistics were revealed by Muar MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman in Parliament saying that the problem has become systemic when wardens neglected their duties, principals turned a blind eye and students see bullying as a rite of passage.

Experts warned that systemic neglect, seniority culture and the normalisation of violence among students were fuelling the crisis.

Universiti Putra Malaysia, Faculty of Human Ecology, Department of Social and Development Sciences senior lecturer Dr Wan Munira Wan Jaafar said female aggression was an overlooked but growing issue.

“In Malaysia, changing social dynamics and digital culture have blurred these lines, with girls increasingly participating in both verbal and physical aggression, sometimes amplified by social media trends that reward public humiliation.

“Feminist sociology points out that these behaviors are shaped by social expectations and power relations, when young girls feel the need to assert dominance, defend status or respond to peer pressure, they can adopt behaviors traditionally associated with male aggression.

“Ignoring the reality of female-led bullying risks leaving such cases underreported and unaddressed.

“The case of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir, is a stark reminder that prevention and intervention must consider all genders and that aggression is not bound by sex but by the social environment that normalises it,” she said.

Meanwhile, Manipal University College Malaysia Criminologist Nadiah Syariani Md Shariff stressed that there were a lot of contributing factors to bullying whether at personal level, social and environmental influences, or situational interferences.

“Bullying at school involving young age, reflects more pertinent issues such as control and power, apathy, pro-delinquent attitudes, decay of moral values, influence from violent content accessible online or offline, or unwilling bystanders to report or interfere.

“It could be rooted to one factor in a specific case, but mostly is a result of a combination of multiple factors,” she told Sinar Daily.

Nadiah pointed out lack of parental engagement could be one of the many contributing factors as development of healthy emotions such as empathy begins at an early age which takes place between 3-5 years of age.

“Lack of parental involvement and poor parenting skills demonstrated during this period would have contributed to underdeveloped cognitive empathy in children, causing them to grow as someone who is self-centered, disregard the rights of others, demanding, or tendency to resort to aggression at slightest provocation,” she added.