Malaysian police to increase patrols in schools under ‘omnipresence’ strategy to curb juvenile crime, says Home Minister

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian authorities will roll out a new strategy to strengthen their presence in schools, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said on Saturday (Oct 18) following a string of major crimes reported in the country’s educational institutions recently. 

The move comes in response to a Cabinet directive for the Home Affairs ministry, through the Royal Malaysia Police, to enhance police presence on school grounds as part of broader efforts to curb rising juvenile crime, Saifuddin said. 

“We need to enhance patrols under the concept of ‘omnipresence’, which means ensuring the police are visibly present at schools,” he told reporters on Saturday, as reported by state news agency Bernama. 

This was also among the measures mentioned by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday.

Anwar had also said that his Cabinet is considering a ban on smartphones for students under 16, as well as plans to improve educational content to promote moral and ethical values. 

The government’s focus on school safety follows the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old girl at a school in Petaling Jaya on Oct 14 by a fellow schoolmate, which sent shockwaves through the country. The case is being investigated as murder. 

Anwar said that the Cabinet has since held a meeting to address the issue of student discipline, which he acknowledged on Friday as a growing concern for both parents and the public. 

Beyond increasing police patrols, Saifuddin said that the police will also be required to introduce more creative programmes to raise awareness among students about criminal activities.

“This means the police must follow up with more frequent visits and have more direct engagement with schools. It should go beyond casual visits or brief stops,” Bernama reported him as saying.

He added that the police need to be “more creative” by conducting various engagement sessions, carrying out frequent and structured visits, conducting inspections and providing advisory services to all stakeholders. 

In a statement on Friday, Saifuddin also said that the Home Affairs ministry will work on strengthening the role of School Liaison Officers in guiding students on discipline and cybersecurity, alongside intensified safety awareness campaigns in collaboration with the Education Ministry and Parent-Teacher Associations.

“The Home Ministry supports a holistic approach that prioritises youth-friendly mental health support systems in schools and communities, with clear enforcement against device misuse, cyberbullying and digital exploitation,” he said on Friday. 

Meanwhile, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek has pledged to take full responsibility for the high-profile case involving the stabbing of Yap Shing Xuen on Tuesday, which she described as a “tragedy”. 

“My deputy and I take full responsibility for this incident. We will do better,” she wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday. 

The incident occurred at SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (4) in Petaling Jaya, located a short distance away from the popular 1 Utama Shopping Centre. A 14-year-old boy has been arrested. 

The Education Ministry is committed to implementing safety and well-being reforms across all educational institutions to prevent similar incidents from happening again, Fadhlina said. 

“The reform will be carried out together with the support of our teachers, parents and the community,” she said, adding that the student’s death has deeply affected educators nationwide. 

Bernama reported on Saturday that the police have recorded statements from 127 individuals, including the suspect’s friends, to assist with the investigation into Yap’s death. 

Petaling Jaya police chief Shamsudin Mamat said that the police are awaiting the full post-mortem report from its pathology department.

The full report could be obtained within a month or sooner, but could also take up to three months, he said.

Anwar on Friday also warned school principals that they must not hide any form of misconduct involving their students just to protect their schools’ reputation.

He noted that some school leaders have misplaced priorities as they are focused on preserving their institutions’ image, The Star reported.

Even as the Malaysian government announced various plans to tackle the issue of safety concerns in schools, local media reported on Friday that a 14-year-old boy was detained earlier this week for sexually assaulting a girl at a school in Sabak Bernam in Selangor.

According to Sabak Bernam district police chief Yusoff Ahmad, the incident - which involved a 15-year-old victim - allegedly took place during recess on Oct 13. 

Last week, four teenagers, including three secondary school students, were arrested on Sunday in Kedah for their alleged involvement in the gang rape of another student and the dissemination of pornographic materials.