Malaysia’s Ministry of Education (KPM) has been urged to introduce home-based learning options for students identified as being at risk due to mental health issues, as part of a long-term strategy to prevent violent incidents in schools.
Crime analyst Kamal Affandi Hashim said allowing affected students to study from home through online or hybrid learning would be a more effective solution than simply tightening school security measures. He stressed that the root cause of such incidents lies in managing students with serious mental health challenges rather than focusing solely on physical security. As awareness of mental health continues to grow, experts believe preventive intervention is becoming increasingly important in creating a safer school environment.
Kamal made the remarks when commenting on the stabbing incident involving a 15-year-old student at a secondary school in Banting on 6 July. Earlier, he had appeared as a panellist during the Banteras Jenayah 33 segment at the 2026 Hi-Tea Day for the Selangor Muslimah Retirees Club (KPMS), held at Dewan Bunga Tanjung, Kelab Shah Alam, on Sunday.
He said parents and guardians should be given the flexibility to allow their children to continue learning from home if their mental condition makes it unsuitable for them to attend school physically.
“Malaysia already has the technology, and we successfully implemented Home-Based Teaching and Learning (PdPR) before. If parents notice behavioural changes or realise their child is not complying with treatment, they should have the option of allowing them to continue their education from home,” he said.
According to Kamal, isolating potential risks at an early stage is a better approach than exposing hundreds of students and teachers to a situation involving a single high-risk individual.
“Why should an entire school community bear the consequences when we can first reduce the risk by managing the individual appropriately?” he added.
He also argued that debates surrounding school fences, security guards or how weapons are brought onto school grounds would not resolve the issue if the underlying mental health concerns remain unaddressed.
“If it is not a knife, the perpetrator could use another object, even broken window glass, as a weapon. We should stop focusing only on the weapon and instead address the real issue, which is managing students with mental health disorders,” he said.
Kamal warned that discussions centred solely on strengthening school security could continue for decades without solving the real problem.
“If we keep talking only about security measures, I believe we will still be having the same conversation 20 years from now,” he said.
At the same time, he advised parents to pay closer attention to their children’s online shopping activities, warning that dangerous items, including weapons, are now easily accessible through e-commerce platforms. He noted that many parents focus on what is missing from their children’s rooms but overlook new items that suddenly appear.
“Most parents notice what has disappeared from their child’s room, but they rarely pay attention to what has been added,” he remarked.
Commenting on proposals to tighten regulations on online weapon sales, Kamal said stricter purchasing controls alone would not eliminate the problem. Instead, he stressed that parental supervision remains the most important line of defence.
“If they cannot buy a weapon online, there are still many other ways to obtain or use ordinary objects as weapons. That is why monitoring children at home is just as important as any regulation,” he added.
