Bullying in Malaysia

Bullying is becoming a significant concern in Malaysian schools today. It attracts people’s attention due to its frequency and negatively affects students, including their studies and their mental health and well-being. Recent data have shown that this is a serious problem.

Based on the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, Malaysia was ranked fourth out of 45 countries for bullying among Form Two students (Pfordten, 2025). The rate dropped a little, from 65% in 2019 to 56% in 2023, but Malaysia is still one of the worst-affected countries in the world. It is not just international data that shows this. A study on Malaysian secondary school students found that 79.1% of them had been involved in bullying in some way, and almost half were "bully-victims," meaning they were both the ones being bullied and the ones bullying others (Sabramani et al., 2021). This finding is particularly concerning because these students often do not receive enough support, leading them to end up contributing to the continuation of bullying behaviour instead. This creates a cycle that is hard to break.

Government data further demonstrated the seriousness of the bullying issue. According to the Ministry of Education's Student Character System (Sistem Sahsiah Diri Murid, SSDM), 5,703 students were involved in bullying cases as of October 2024. This is a big jump from 3,887 cases in 2022 (Portal Rasmi Parlimen Malaysia, 2025). The increase in reported cases highlights that this is not just a one-time issue but the persistent nature of bullying, showing why many people are now calling for the government to take stronger, long-term action instead of just responding to cases one by one.

The seriousness of this issue became very clear after the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir, a case that significantly attracted public attention. She died in July 2025 after being found unconscious near a drain at her boarding school hostel in Papar, Sabah (Chan, 2025). During the ongoing inquest, it came out that in the months before she died, she had been dealing with tension with her peers, being left out, and feeling humiliated, on top of the stress of boarding school life (Chan, 2025). Her case is along with several other bullying incidents reported across the country, caused public outrage and led to calls for stronger laws, including a proposed Anti-Bullying Act.

Given the seriousness and increasing prevalence of bullying in Malaysia, long-term action is needed to address this issue effectively. There are three key measures are suggested to address bullying effectively. Firstly, schools should provide regular anti-bullying education to teach students empathy, respectful communication, and how to respond to bullying (Gaffney et al., 2021). Secondly, schools should strengthen counselling and emotional support, particularly as psychological distress has been linked to bullying involvement (Sabramani et al., 2021). Finally, schools, families, and the government should work together to improve the reporting systems and ensure that bullying cases are handled consistently. A combined approach is essential to prevent the problem and break the cycle of bullying, as bullying is influenced by individual, peer, family, and school factors (Sabramani et al., 2021).

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References

Chan, J. (2025). Zara Qairina inquest: What we know so far. Malay Mail. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/09/13/zara-qairina-inquest-what-we-know-so-far/190957 

Diyana Pfordten. (2025). Malaysian students among world's most bullied. Asianews.Network. https://asianews.network/malaysian-students-among-worlds-most-bullied/ 

Gaffney, H., Ttofi, M. M., & Farrington, D. P. (2021). Effectiveness of school‐based programs to reduce bullying perpetration and victimization: An updated systematic review and meta‐analysis. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 17(2), 1–102. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1143 

Hakim Mahari. (2025). Bullying in schools on the rise over past 3 years. NST Online; New Straits Times. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2025/09/1273675/bullying-schools-rise-over-past-3-years 

Sabramani, V., Idris, I. B., Ismail, H., Nadarajaw, T., Zakaria, E., & Kamaluddin, M. R. (2021). Bullying and its associated individual, peer, family and school factors: Evidence from Malaysian national secondary school students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13), 7208. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137208