A childhood without fear

A GIRL goes to school. Her family expects her to come home. That ordinary expectation should never become an act of faith. Ever.

Irene Sofiya Mohd Khairool Faisal, 16, was found dead at her school in Yong Peng on Oct 3, 2026. Police are investigating her death as murder.

Almost a year earlier, on Oct 14, 2025, another 16-year-old, Yap Shing Xuen, was fatally stabbed at her school in Bandar Utama.

Different cases, but the same painful question: how safe are our children where they should be learning and growing?

Their names deserve to outlast the news cycle. Each had a future that should have been theirs to discover. Their families cannot simply move on to the next headline.

Police data published by the Statistics Department recorded 56 female victims of intentional homicide in 2022, 56 in 2023 and 55 in 2024. That is 167 women and girls over three years, roughly one every week.

These figures count victims, not murder cases, and do not establish that every killing was gender-related. They show no increase across those years, but an unchanged death toll is hardly reassuring.

By August 2026, Malaysia had also recorded 5,278 reported domestic violence cases.

These cover domestic violence generally, not female victims alone. The problem extends far beyond fatal attacks.

School bullying figures require care too. The Education Ministry recorded 3,883 cases in 2022 and 7,681 in 2024, an increase of about 98%. However, its February 2026 parliamentary answer reported a lower total of 2,889 for 2025.

Better awareness and compliance had also contributed to increased recording. We cannot claim a continuous rise, or assume reporting changes mirror actual behaviour.

What we should ask instead: can children report threats without fearing retaliation? Do adults recognise intimidation before it becomes violence? Who follows up and checks that the child is safe?

CCTV helps, but prevention requires more.

The ministry provided RM3mil for cameras at 200 school hostels, completed in November 2025, and another RM5mil was approved for 333 boarding schools in 2026. Yet cameras at Irene Sofiya’s school did not cover the incident location. Coverage, maintenance, supervision and response all matter.

As a mother to both a girl and a boy, I worry about what we teach children about disappointment, rejection and entitlement. A child can be deeply loved without being told every desire must be fulfilled.

Confidence must include understanding that others have choices and boundaries.

Being rejected gives no one the right to threaten, humiliate or hurt another person. Jealousy is a feeling to manage, not permission to control.

A girl does not owe someone affection because he has shown interest. These lessons belong in everyday conversations, long before dating begins.

Resilience should help children cope with difficult feelings, respect others and seek help. Girls should never be expected to quietly endure mistreatment.

Parents must model emotional maturity by admitting mistakes, respecting boundaries and resolving disagreements without humiliation.

Support matters. The Health Ministry’s National Health and Morbidity Survey 2022 found that 26.9% of school-going adolescents aged 13 to 17 reported depression; 13.1% reported suicidal ideation in the preceding 12 months.

These findings underline the need for accessible help. They do not establish that depression causes violence. Distress and threatening behaviour both deserve attention, without confusing the two.

My children grew up playing computer games, but also taking part in sports and outdoor activities. Sports offers opportunities to practise teamwork, persistence and handling defeat – provided adults reinforce respect.

Winning a match is no substitute for learning to accept a no.

The World Health Organisation’s INSPIRE framework includes safe environments, parent support, education and life skills, effective laws and services for those affected by violence. Prevention needs families, schools and agencies working together.

In my work with asset owners and government agencies, I hear much about competitiveness, artificial intelligence and Malaysia’s future. Our children deserve the same seriousness.

The Statistics Department recorded a fertility rate of 1.6 children per woman in 2024, below the usual replacement benchmark of 2.1.

Concern about our future workforce should strengthen our commitment to their well-being today.

How are we investing? Do school safety budgets measure cameras purchased or risks addressed? Is counselling available when needed? Do institutions learn from complaints?

Prevention deserves funding, clear responsibilities and scrutiny of results. Faith matters to many Malaysian families.

Religious leaders and teachers can translate compassion, dignity and accountability into daily practice. Respect for women and girls includes their right to disagree and refuse and adults who act when they are threatened.

We can ban social media and computer games but that won’t stop the violence, we must examine what children learn about power and control through social media and computer games.

Let us teach our sons and daughters that disappointment can be survived, help can be sought, and another person’s life is never theirs to take.

That is a future worth investing in.