‘HAVE PANEL TO STUDY STUDENT DELIQUENCY’
Lam Thye says it will allow authorities to gauge issue’s seriousness
MALAYSIA Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) senior vicechairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye is urging the Education Ministry to set up a committee to study and report on delinquency among schoolchildren.
Lee cited the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015, which revealed that about 4.2 million Malaysians aged 16 and above suffered from mental problems, which might be a factor behind student delinquency.
“The study (will) enable the authorities to gauge the seriousness of student delinquency and their involvement in drugs, crime and other social issues.
“Besides drug abuse, other social problems involving students — like truancy, smoking, bullying and gangsterism — must be taken into account.
“There is an emerging pattern of aggressive behaviour among youth, but unfortunately, there is insufficient data on how serious it is,” he said.
Lee said although much was written about youth delinquency, there was no clear data on how serious the problem was and its implications for the future.
“In many instances, school heads and the administration sweep problems under the carpet to protect the good name of their school. (But) the problem of school delinquency has existed (for a long time).
“Violence among young people has been happening for a long time, but it is rising now, partly due to wide media coverage,” he said.
He said child and youth psychology experts had revealed that children lacked positive adult role models, and tended to emulate aggressive behaviour, including that of their parents and the community they live in, or imitate what they saw on social media.
“Many parents are busy with work, and leave their children to the maids (or their own devices) and consequently, the children are influenced by negative peer pressure,” he said.
He said it would be appropriate to set up the committee to study the problem and had it analysed so that the authorities could identify the causes, examine the contributing factors and produce solutions to address youth delinquency.
“The committee should comprise experts in their fields who can comprehend the situation and produce solutions.
“The outcome of the study could be used by the committee to propose actions to be taken to safeguard the interests of students, and also look into the weaknesses of our education system, particularly with regard to school management.
“The committee should examine and review the Education Act 1996 (Act 550) and other regulations to determine whether they are relevant and can meet challenges in student delinquency.”