KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 31 -- The surge in bullying incidents across Malaysian schools last year, left many parents grappling with a fearful question: Is my child safe at school?

But there's an equally important question that often goes unasked: What if my child is the bully?

In November last year, then Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying said that bullying incidents at schools had spiked, with 4,994 cases recorded as of October 2023, compared to 3,887 cases in 2022.

National news agency Bernama reported her saying that the Ministry of Education (MoE) plans to increase the number of guidance and counselling teachers if cases of bullying at schools continue to persist and show a rising trend.

Whilst most discussions around bullying focus...