KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 16 -- Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek has sought to downplay her ministry's top officer's remark suggesting that bullying and sexual harassment cases in schools were long overlooked.

During questioning in the Dewan Rakyat today by backbencher Howard Lee (Harapan-Ipoh Timor), Fadhlina moved to "clarify" Education director-general Mohd Azam Ahmad's October 14 statement, according to Malaysiakini.

"When (Azam) said 'swept under the carpet,' he didn't mean that cases were being covered up.

"(Instead), he was stressing that there have been incidents in schools that were known or reported to relevant parties - whether teachers, school administrators, counsellors, or the district or state education officers - but were see...