The Anti-Bullying Bill 2025, which seeks to establish a dedicated mechanism for handling bullying complaints, was tabled for its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat today.
The Bill is designed to prevent and manage bullying incidents in educational institutions and other settings, while also providing for the creation of an Anti-Bullying Tribunal to raise awareness and promote preventive measures.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the Bill’s second reading is scheduled for Wednesday, December 3.
The legislation follows several high-profile bullying cases, including the death of Form 1 student Zara Qairina Mahathir of SMK Agama Tun Datu Mustapha in Sabah.
The Cabinet approved the draft of the Bill last week, after 12 town hall sessions held in September and October that involved 300 to 400 participants, including school principals, teachers, Parent-Teacher Associations, government agencies, children, and university students.
The Bill provides a comprehensive legal definition of bullying, covering physical, verbal, and online behaviour, ensuring clarity for educational institutions, enforcement bodies, parents, and the public.
It allows schools to use internal committees as the first line of prevention, detection, management, and reporting of bullying in a structured manner.
For unresolved cases, the Bill establishes a child-friendly Anti-Bullying Tribunal empowered to provide protection, counselling, and rehabilitation through a non-adversarial process.
The framework focuses on prevention, victim protection, and offender rehabilitation, using restorative and inclusive principles to support children’s emotional and moral development.
Additionally, the Bill strengthens alternative dispute resolution, including restorative mediation, ensuring parental involvement and ongoing support for both victims and perpetrators.
