FOLLOWING the assault on two teenage boys that left one braindead in Penang, DAP Wanita has urged the government to make the safety and wellbeing of Malaysia’s youth a priority.

DAP Wanita vice-chairman Hannah Yeoh said it was high time Malaysia stopped citing lack of budget and expertise as excuses for not doing something about bullying in school.

She said it was critical that the schools reported and investigated every case of bullying without fearing that such reports would affect their ratings, or took the easy way out by transferring the problematic students.

“Schools must have zero-tolerance programmes that make clear that no form of bullying will be tolerated.

“Schools and teachers must also be equipped with enough resources as well as tools, skills and counselling facilities to deal with bully incidents,” she said in a statement today.

Yeoh, who is also the Selangor legislative assembly speaker, said parent-teacher associations should also meet regularly with the press to discuss complaints from students and parents transparently.

“When our children go to school, the basic expectation would be for them to return home alive,” she said.

Yeoh’s statement came on the heels of news reports that an 18-year-old and his 19-year-old friend were beaten up by their former schoolmates and their friends last Friday night.

The older boy escaped with injuries but the other was captured by the group to be abused. By the time he was sent to the Penang Hospital early Saturday morning, he was already unconscious.

Doctors declared him braindead shortly afterwards. On Sunday, his family was told that the boy also suffered injuries in his anus and genitals. He also bore burn marks on his body.

This morning, police said the assault occurred after the two victims ran into two boys they had gone to school with at a burger stall. 

The two victims were teased and when the younger one told off the two boys, who used to bully him in school, the two called their friends to the scene.

Police have since arrested the five boys allegedly involved in beating up the duo.

Yeoh said school bullying was on the rise, adding that the assault on the Penang teen could had been prevented if action had been taken earlier.

“I call upon the Home Ministry and the Education Ministry to ensure that every complaint or police report related to bullying is investigated. Action must be taken and stern warning must be given to aggressors of bully incidents.” – June 13, 2017.