Malaysian govt blames social media after fatal stabbing of schoolgirl shocks nation

PM Anwar urges tighter controls on online content amid cases of violence against girls

- Hazlin Hassan Malaysia Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian authorities have cited social media as the main factor behind a 14-year-old boy’s alleged fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old female student at a school on Oct 14, which has shocked the nation.

Selangor police on Oct 15 said the two students at SMK Bandar Utama Damansara 4 had no contact with each other before the stabbing, while Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for tighter controls on online content amid several cases of violence against girls at schools in the past few months.

“It is believed that emotional impulses and the influence of social media have been identified as factors that may have led the suspect to behave in such a manner,” Selangor police chief Shazeli Kahar told a press conference.

Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Anwar said he would instruct his ministers to consider stricter measures on the use of social media at the next Cabinet meeting.

“The responsibility, of course, goes back to parents and schools, but almost all of these issues stem from the (unchecked) use of mobile phones and social media,” he told reporters after attending the Finance Ministry’s monthly assembly on Oct 15.

Clinical psychologist Dr Jochebed Isaacs told The Straits Times that parents are not monitoring the quality and duration of the social media content their children are exposed to.

“(Electronic) devices were never meant to be put in the hands of children without parental guidance... Even adults have so many mental health issues with comparison, toxicity (and) bullying,” she said.