Senate passes a landmark anti-bullying law for under-18s and two skills development bills, mandating action on all reports and expanding training finance.
KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Negara passed the landmark Anti-Bullying Bill 2025 today, creating a legal mandate for ministries to implement comprehensive guidelines in educational institutions for students under 18.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the law applies to the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, the Ministry of Defence, and the Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development.
“This is a good approach because, from now on, no primary, secondary, or private school can claim they were unaware of having this responsibility,” she said during the winding-up debate.
The bill was passed by a majority vote after being debated by 27 senators.
Azalina clarified that the bill legally requires institutions to accept all bullying reports, including isolated incidents.
“Failing to act on any report, however minor, constitutes a violation,” she emphasised.
The Senate also passed the National Skills Development (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Skills Development Fund (Amendment) Bill 2025 under the Ministry of Human Resources.
Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad said the skills amendments would not cause an overlap with existing academic qualifications.
“We have held engagement sessions to ensure there is no overlap in skills recognition,” he said.
He stated the amendments aim for compatibility and represent a national transformation towards a more inclusive skills training system.
Abdul Rahman added that national skills training is based on the National Occupational Skills Standard developed from real industry job analyses.
Assessments of graduate employability use graduate tracer studies and Social Security Organisation contribution data.
The Skills Development Fund (Amendment) Bill aims to expand the financing scope of the Skills Development Fund Corporation.
Key amendments include broadening the scope for skills training loans to other programmes recognised by the Department of Skills Development.
The changes also strengthen governance through more transparent approval and management processes for financial assistance.
The Dewan Negara sitting resumes tomorrow.
