A Malaysian father is sharing his disbelief and disappointment over how a school in Terengganu had allegedly handled a bullying incident involving his daughter, which led to her hospitalisation.
The father, Amir Hafiz, took to his Instagram account to share how this isn’t the first time his daughter had been bullied at school, that there was a first incident that took place last year.
He wrote, “Are schools a safe place for our children? On April 22, 2024, a year ago, I had already given the school a warning. My daughter, Maya, a standard 6 student at (a school in Terengganu), became a victim of ongoing verbal bullying. We made a police report. The school asked that we settle it internally.”
At that time, the school decided to transfer his daughter’s bully to a different class, as the student had a history of bullying others.
Amir Hafiz, on the other hand, told the school to ensure that such bullying cases would never happen again.
“But, who would have thought that, a year later, things would turn into a physical altercation that almost took my child’s life.”
Fast forward to May 2025
This year, on May 21 (Wednesday), another student had gotten physical with his daughter, leading to her having to be hospitalised after blood was found in her urine.
According to the father, a student pulled Maya’s headscarf, kicked her in the stomach twice and head-butted her following a verbal altercation. The student also allegedly threatened to punch Maya in the face while in the presence of a teacher.
The incident was also said to have taken place at 10am, but the father claims to have only heard about it at 4:45pm, after his daughter returned from school. According to Amir Hafiz, his daughter informed him about what happened, not the school.
“My child was traumatised. We immediately went to a hospital, and the case was referred to the OSCC (One Stop Crisis Centre). Blood was found in her urine. She was admitted as there was a fear of internal injuries,” he explained.
“I gave the school a warning a year ago”
Amir Hafiz questioned how the school could allow such bullying incidents to happen, especially considering how his daughter had already endured a bullying case last year.
He also explained how he had submitted a letter to the Terengganu State Education Department (JPNT) but received a response informing him that they found his complaint to be baseless.
For the sake of his daughter’s mental health, he ultimately chose to transfer her to another school.
“How long are schools going to wash their hands (of such incidents)? Until when is the State Education Department going to assume our complaints are unfounded? Until when will society consider bullying as something small? Don’t tell me that they’ll only open their eyes when there’s a death?”
“Don’t forget, children under the age of 12 cannot be charged under the law. But, that’s not an excuse to allow them to keep hurting other people’s children without any guidance or control,” he said.
JPNT and the Education Minister have spoken out
Based on a report by Sinar Harian, JPNT has denied the bullying incident and has emphasised that it was a misunderstanding between the two students involved, adding that this was confirmed by the School Liaison Officer and the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).
“The investigation into the case is being conducted in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Bullying and Misconduct. The school has also visited the student involved while she was receiving treatment at the hospital, and a reconciliation session between the parents of both students is being arranged and will be implemented in the near future,”
“JPNT will also not compromise on any form of bullying or other misconduct and will take firm action to ensure a safe school environment,” they shared.
Education Minister, Fadhlina Sidek, on the other hand, slammed people for allegedly attempting to politicise this issue, as it is said that the bully’s mother, who is allegedly a politician and is believed to have links to the Education Minister, had apparently intervened to ensure her child did not receive punishment from the school.
“I have never known this individual. As a follow up step, I have also instructed the MOE (Ministry of Education) Integrity Unit to conduct further investigations. I am closely following the development of this issue and want it to be resolved immediately.”
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