KUALA LUMPUR: The emergence of seven teenagers as prime suspects in the deadly Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school blaze is the symptom of a serious defect in Malaysian society.
Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) senior vice-chairman, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, said Malaysians need to step out of their “bubbles” and discard their “denial syndrome”, as violence among teenagers is actually very alarming.
He said confirmation by police that the early morning blaze was indeed a revenge arson attack shocked the nation; and more questions arose when it was revealed that some of the suspects are as young as 11 years old.
“The fact that the suspects had allegedly planned the crime, including bringing two gas cylinders from the ground floor to the third floor of the tahfiz building, had also baffled us.
“Whatever the reasons given, what the suspects did is unacceptable because their alleged act had claimed the lives of 21 students and two teachers,” he said in a statement today.
Lee said action should also be taken against the parents who had allowed their children to be out late at night, causing them to be involved in crime, as provided under the Child Act (Amendment) 2016 or the Penal Code.
“Where are their parents? Do they know where their children are all the time, especially at night?” he asked.
Lee said the fact that all of the suspects are school dropouts, with some also involved in drug abuse and crimes, shows the severity of the social problems some of the country’s youths are involved in.
“Violent acts such as bullying among youth and students are increasingly widespread and should be taken seriously by the authorities, schools, parents and other stakeholders.
“Most underage offenders commit crimes due to negative peer influence, lack of parental guidance, bad influence on the Internet and the influence of gangsterism,” he said, adding that violence committed by teenagers are occurring at much higher rates compared to the past.
“Violence among students and teenagers needs to be stopped, as the culture is becoming increasingly rampant in our society,” he said.
Lee stressed that the issue is a societal one and requires support from all parties, especially the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and all levels of society, including parents and psychologists.
The mental health aspect should be given focus, as it may also be one of the major causes of violence, he said, adding that the National Health and Morbidity Survey of 2015 showed that about 4.2 million Malaysians aged 16 and above, or 29.2 per cent of the population, suffer from various mental problems.
“More alarmingly, the mental health problem also involves students, because the ratio has risen from one in every 10 in 2011, to one in five in 2016,” Lee said.
He called on parents and teachers to encourage their children and students to obtain proper medical check-ups at hospital to ensure that they are free of mental health problems.
With the arrest of the seven teenagers, police believe that they have solved the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school fire incident.
The suspects had intended to burn down the school in an act of revenge over a name-calling incident with several tahfiz students a few days prior to the incident.
Out of the seven suspects, five tested positive for ganja, two have a criminal record for rioting and vehicle theft – and all are school dropouts.
The police managed to identify the suspects through CCTV recordings that were provided by the Muslim Consumers Association, whose office is located beside the school.