PUTRAJAYA, Oct 17 — The government could increase police presence, allow teachers to conduct frequent spot checks, and tighten rules on social media use for youths as it seeks to address concerns about the recent series of violent incidents in schools involving students.

Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the proposals were among those discussed at today’s Cabinet meeting. 

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also gave instructions that a special committee be formed to study the emerging occurrence, Fahmi told reporters at the weekly post-Cabinet press conference here.

“The Cabinet did discuss the recent spate of violence in schools, and the prime minister asked about a few things. We touched on the use of smartphones, and there were proposals for police presence at schools, so KDN (the Home Affairs Ministry) will issue a statement about this soon,” he said.

“As for the Education Ministry, a directive will be given to schools to conduct weekly spot checks, meaning it could be at any time within a week. There was also discussion about raising the age limit for social media use to 16 from the current proposal of 13 years’ old, similar to Australia’s approach,” the minister added.

Fahmi previously suggested that the government could compel platforms to adopt an age verification system — the electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) system. The system is already being used for e-wallet services provided by local firms.

Putrajaya is set to raise the matter again at a meeting with some of the world’s top social media and e-commerce platform providers in Singapore next week, Fahmi said.

Malaysia has seen rising cases of crime and bullying in schools.

On Oct 14, 16-year-old Yap Shing Xuen died after she was allegedly stabbed by a 14-year-old schoolmate at a public school in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya.

The government previously expressed its intention to regulate social media use, citing widespread internet-based scams and “socially negative contents” that includes child pornography.

Fahmi suggested the ekyc system is one of the best options to limit the age for social media use, which would require age verification using official identification documents like MyKad, passports or digital ID.