THE Education Ministry must take a more proactive approach to school safety following a series of serious incidents involving students, said an MCA Youth leader.
Its Education Consultative Committee chairman Ong Chee Siang said recent tragedies should not be treated as isolated cases for the police and courts to resolve, but should prompt a broader review of school management, complaint mechanisms, bullying prevention and crisis response.
“Police investigations and judicial proceedings have to follow due process, and no one should prejudge the facts. But due process cannot become an excuse for ministerial silence,” he said.
Ong was commenting amid renewed concerns over student safety following the death of 16-year-old Irene Sofiya Mohd Khairool Faisal at a school in Yong Peng, Johor, on Oct 3.
Police are investigating the case as murder, while a 16-year-old boy has been remanded to assist investigations. The motive remains under investigation.
The case has also raised questions over school security. Education Minister Datuk Seri Fadhlina Sidek said the Yong Peng school had CCTV cameras, but none covered the location where the incident occurred.
She has ordered a review of the school’s security arrangements, including entrance controls, patrols, CCTV coverage, safety protocols and the performance of its security company.
Ong said the ministry should provide parents and the public with greater clarity on what happened and whether warning signs or weaknesses in existing procedures had been missed.
“The Education Ministry owes parents and the public clear answers: What happened? What action was taken? Were warning signs missed? And, most importantly, what has changed to prevent a recurrence?” he said.
He noted that the ministry’s responsibility should extend beyond cooperating with police investigations to supporting affected families and examining whether lessons from previous incidents had been acted upon.
“Parents send their children to school trusting the system to keep them safe. When tragedy strikes, families suffer an unimaginable loss. The least they deserve is timely support, clear communication and an institution prepared to take responsibility,” Ong stressed.
He further called for previous cases involving bullying, serious injuries and student deaths to be reviewed, including whether recommendations arising from those cases had been implemented.
“If recommendations were made, were they implemented? If weaknesses were identified, who was responsible for addressing them?” he said.
Call for comprehensive safety review
Ong said a comprehensive review should cover bullying complaints, boarding-school management, student psychological support, teacher and warden training, emergency reporting procedures and accessible channels for students seeking immediate protection.
He said serious incidents could involve warning signs, complaints or other failures before they escalate, making it important for schools to have mechanisms capable of identifying and responding to risks.
“We cannot allow each tragedy to become tomorrow’s forgotten headline. If the cycle remains tragedy, public outrage, a ministry statement and eventual silence, then the system has learnt nothing,” he said.
The Education Ministry already has several school-safety and student-protection measures in place. In July 2026, it issued new Guidelines for the Management of Safe Schools and a Student Protection Policy for schools under the ministry.
The ministry has also maintained specific guidelines for managing bullying misconduct, introduced in 2023, while a 2026 anti-bullying campaign has sought to strengthen efforts to create safer and more inclusive learning environments.
Against that backdrop, Ong said the challenge was ensuring existing policies translated into effective prevention and protection at school level.
“The Education Ministry’s responsibility extends beyond explaining tragedies after they occur. Its real test is whether it can prevent the next one,” he remarked.
“Children cannot be made to pay the price for institutional failure. Parents deserve more than assurances. They deserve accountability. And every child deserves to come home safely.” ‒ Oct 8, 2026
Main image: Utusan Sarawak
