#KidsTakeover: Kita Peduli

Left: A Project IDer presenting proposed policy changes to combat bullying in schools

Origin

In 2018, a survey conducted by Children4Change found that 83% of students suffered from bullying in Malaysia while 70% called for an Anti-Bullying Policy to make schools a safe place again. In response, the Ministry of Education and UNICEF Malaysia commissioned Project ID to design a programme to recruit and prepare students to speak on ending bullying in schools to policy makers in Parliament on World Children’s Day.

Project ID ran a 3D2N camp for 40 students to develop their policy recommendations. Throughout the camp, they attended various workshops and activities to boost their public speaking skills in preparation of presenting them to Parliament.

Collaborating with Undi18, one of the activities involved bringing young members of Parliament to share their motivations for joining politics, the journey so far, and some tips and tricks for the presentation to come!

Among those who came to share their experiences were:

• ADUN of Kampung Tunku YB Lim Yi Wei

• ADUN of Dusun Tua YB Edry Faizal

• UMNO Youth Vice-Chief Shahril Hamdan

In the end, 15 students had the chance to present their recommendations for an anti-bullying school policy in Malaysia. Among those in attendance were:

• Deputy Minister of Education YB Puan Teo Nie Ching

• The Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia YAB Dato’ Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail

• UNICEF Representative to Malaysia Ms. Marianne Clark-Hattingh

• Parlimen Malaysia Speaker of the House YB Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md. Yusof

Several Members of Parliament also graced the event in support of the children.

6 recommendations were given by the students:

1. Update the “2010 Guidelines on Preventing and Addressing Bullying Among School Students” to include new forms of bullying such as cyber-bullying. Guidance for teachers, counselors, peer-counselors, and students should also be updated to reflect new trends;

2. Introduce the Code of Conduct for Students and Teachers in all schools to contribute to a safe learning environment;

3. Establish Comprehensive Reporting Systems for bystanders and witnesses;

4. Ensure thorough investigations that prioritise the privacy and protects the dignity of the victim and the bully;

5. Strengthen Support Assistance for victims of bullying so that students feel safe, trusted, and not sidelined

6. Replace harsh punishment with a holistic Program for Bullies that will help the bully to empathise and understand the feelings of the victim. The approach should also study the factors that led to the bullying, including home factors.