Channel NewsAsia - 1 hour 11
minutes ago
MP Dr Neo to
raise issue of school bullying in Parliament
SINGAPORE: One child had been kicked in the stomach while another
was kicked in the chest and ribs, but the school principal had put
it down to "thoughtless pranks".
The incident happened as far as back as 2003, and since then Member
of Parliament (MP) Dr Lily Neo, has read about more and more
reports in the media of bullying in school.
Now, she has had enough. When Parliament sits on Monday, Dr Neo is
not going to be content with just submitting a question for oral or
written answer, for which the Speaker moves proceedings along
fairly quickly to get through the list of MPs questions in 90
minutes.
The MP for Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency has filed
a motion of adjournment so that she has 20 minutes to go in depth
into the bullying issue.
"When I file a motion to speak, its on an issue that I feel very
strongly about," Dr Neo told TODAY.
Raising a motion of adjournment to speak about a particular issue
is not done often in Parliament. There were none last year or in
2006, and only one in 2005, from then Nominated MP Ong Soh Khim,
who spoke on Singapores national research and development
thrusts.
However, Dr Neo believes bullying in school is an issue of critical
concern.
"If you look at the media, there have been a lot of reports of
cases of bullying, and my feeling is that it seems to be
increasing," she said.
"Research also shows that bullying has harmful psychological impact
on the victims, and I think this is one area that really needs to
be looked into."
She has also read surveys done by local nongovernmental
organisations on the incidence of bullying. For instance, a survey
released by the Singapore Childrens Society last September
revealed that one in five primary school children in Singapore was
a victim of bullying.
She is also concerned about cyber bullying, which takes place
through the Internet and other interactive devices.
"Where it used to be a oneonone thing between the bully and the
victim, its become something seen by hundreds on the Internet and
the extent of the damage is huge," she said.
Dr Neo, who is also the chairman of the Government Parliamentary
Committee for Education, would like to see Singapore schools take a
harder stance against bullying, the way schools in the United
Kingdom and Australia have by implementing strict rules and
regulations specific to bullying.
Elsewhere, state legislators in Missouri, United States, are trying
to pass a law against online bullying following the suicide of a
13yearold girl who had received cruel messages on MySpace.
She thought she was communicating with a 16yearold boy when it
was really the mother of a girl she knew, who was using a fake
online profile, according to media reports. Missouri prosecutors
are still not able to pursue any criminal charges.
"In Singapore, it seems that bullying has been dismissed as part
and parcel of growing up, and I think we have to go beyond that,"
she said.
"I think the situation is urgent enough to be looked at now,
instead of waiting for even more cases to come up."
Dr Neo, who has filed at least eight adjournment motions and
members motions on topics ranging from the increasing demands of
an aging population to more funding for preventive healthcare
measures said she will also make recommendations on how to proceed
with the issue of bullying when she speaks on Monday.
She told TODAY: "If I ask a question, I can only ask two or three
sentences, and sometimes a topic deserves more. In such cases, I
usually do research so that I can really elaborate on certain
areas." TODAY/sh
