KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told Dewan Rakyat today that he personally supports caning as a method of disciplining students amid rising concerns over school violence and bullying.
But Anwar also acknowledged the opposition to it, saying he understood why some quarters protested caning.
The prime minister said he personally believes caning could be effective in dealing with mischievous students, but stressed that the method should be “highly regulated”.
“I’ve voiced this before, for me personally I support the idea of reinstating caning (as a disciplining method) but with strict conditions, like not allowing public caning,” the Tambun MP replied to a question by Jelutong MP RSN Rayer.
“Maybe you can cane the student’s hand, for example. This is not to say (teachers) can do whatever they want. I myself was a teacher and I think I have caned dozens of students, but on the palm of their hands,” he added.
The recent spate of violence and bullying cases has made parents worry about their children’s safety in schools, fuelling a heated public debate about how best to respond, with some calling for the reinstatement of caning as a disciplining method.
Children’s rights groups, including commissioners from the National Human Rights Commission, expressed scepticism about whether the method would yield any positive outcomes.
Suhakam Children’s commissioner Farah Nini Dusuki said there is a risk of causing severe harm if the person meting out the punishment was carried away by emotion or was careless, as she called for alternative measures.
At the policy level, Minister of Education Fadhlina Sidek announced several immediate measures, including installing CCTV cameras, increasing police presence and imposing an age limit on social media use.
On caning Anwar said there needs to be more discussion, taking into account views expressed by experts, including from Suhakam, before the government considers it as a policy-response to bullying cases.
On October 6, two teachers from SMJK Chung Hwa Confucian in Penang were charged with allegedly hitting the same student with a cane in two separate incidents two years ago.
The teachers, Choong Kean Beng and Lau Teik Hwa, both pleaded not guilty to charges under Section 324 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine, whipping, or any two of these punishments.
Commenting on the case in Parliament, Anwar suggested prosecutors could consider reducing the charge if the circumstances were deemed less severe, but stressed he has no power to comment since the case is now in court.
