Govt to table Anti-Bullying Bill on Dec 1

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will table its much-anticipated Anti-Bullying Bill in the Dewan Rakyat on Dec 1, after the draft law received Cabinet approval on Nov 21, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said lawmakers would receive a detailed briefing after the first reading, covering the bill’s committee structure, the powers of a proposed Anti-Bullying Tribunal and its implementation mechanisms.

She said the bill establishes a fully civil framework focused on prevention, victim protection and rehabilitation of perpetrators, with an emphasis on restorative and inclusive approaches aimed at strengthening children’s emotional wellbeing and social conduct.

The draft law, she said, formally defines bullying for the first time in Malaysia, covering physical, verbal and online acts.

A uniform definition would provide consistent reference points for schools, enforcement agencies, parents and the wider public, Azalina added.

“This approach ensures that parents also play an important role, and that both the victim and the perpetrator receive the long-term support they need,” she said in a written parliamentary reply on Tuesday (Nov 25).

Azalina explained that the bill grants education institutions clear autonomy to use in-house committees as the first line of prevention, tasked with detecting, managing and reporting bullying cases in a structured and coordinated manner.

Cases that cannot be resolved at the institutional level will be escalated to the Anti-Bullying Tribunal, which will offer remedies including protection, counselling and rehabilitation through non-adversarial, child-friendly processes.

Azalina said the government held extensive consultations, including presenting the bill to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Women, Children and Community Development on Nov 19.

A drafting workshop on Oct 9 also brought together agencies such as the Education Ministry, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the police, while 12 town hall sessions between September and October involved up to 400 participants each, including principals, teachers, parent-teacher associations and students from higher education institutions.