Speaking during a surprise visit to a secondary school in Bukit Baru today, he explained that sometimes strict measures are necessary for the greater good. “This is a new approach—sometimes we must be cruel to be kind,” he added. The visit and inspections follow directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) for the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) to increase their presence in schools to curb youth criminal activities.
Dzulkhairi emphasized that the inspections focus on prevention, education, and enforcement to ensure schools remain safe, and he hopes the collaboration with the Ministry of Education (KPM) continues.
“Starting today, we will conduct continuous inspections at around 336 schools in Melaka. Mobile phones will also be checked to ensure they do not contain prohibited content, especially pornography, and that such items are not brought into school,” he said.
He added that their studies indicate that most youth crimes originate at home and cannot be blamed solely on schools. “According to our research, issues begin at home, so parents must play a role in ensuring children do not bring prohibited items to school. They need to monitor social life, including mobile phone usage. Teachers alone cannot monitor all students—some may slip through,” he explained, noting that the school visited has 1,500 students and 78 teachers.
During the inspections, only minor violations were found, such as students carrying chewing tobacco leaves and mobile phones. “Phones will be checked for prohibited content. Today we visited four schools, and three others were handled by district police chiefs. This will continue indefinitely. This is not about taking over school supervision but ensuring regular surprise inspections,” he said.
The schedule for school inspections will be determined by district police chiefs and heads of the Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department.
Meanwhile, statistics show a significant decrease in youth crime in Melaka for ages 13 to 17 from January to September this year compared to the same period last year. A total of 68 cases were recorded this year versus 91 last year across Melaka Tengah, Alor Gajah, and Jasin districts.
Melaka Tengah had the highest number of cases with 44, down from 62 last year. Of these, 24 involved violent crimes and 20 involved property crimes. The most reported offenses were under Sections 324/325/326 of the Penal Code, involving causing injury with a weapon or dangerous object.
Alor Gajah showed a slight increase from 17 to 18 cases, mostly property crimes (11 cases). Jasin saw a significant drop from 12 cases last year to only six this year, with violent crimes slightly up but property crimes sharply decreasing.
