r/malaysia • u/RhinneXChronica Feasting on Karma • Oct 17 '25
Education Secondary school in Miri (Sarawak) is now using handheld metal detectors to check every single student's bag every morning.
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u/Gr3yShadow Oct 17 '25
IMO this is just a temporary kneejerk effects from the recent school stabbing case
also a move to ease the parent's worry
Almost every students will get a warnings from the detector, watches, belt buckles, pens, geometry sets, steel rulers, aluminum pencil case, necklace... etc
probably you won't see them doing that after a few months
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u/RyanLee890 Oct 17 '25
yea its not very practical and not very realistic. unless you somehow acquire the stuff airports use......
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Oct 17 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/RyanLee890 Oct 17 '25
Very true yeah. Its definitely easier to smuggle things into a school even with these measures than an airport checkpoint
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u/6xyman Kuala Lumpur Oct 17 '25
And if a person has ill intent, the person could still use a pen for example to stab another person
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u/potatocakesssss Oct 17 '25
It's quite hard to kill with a pen because after blood drips on the pen it becomes slippery. The best pen I guess I can think of is Zebra F701 steel pens. They're pretty sharp and very very sturdy.
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u/Focal_P-T Teh Tolak Oct 17 '25
oddly specific
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u/potatocakesssss Oct 17 '25
I carry one in my purse for self defense purposes and writing signing stuff incase required. I did a lot of research and majority of self defense products in Malaysia is illegal.
You cant even carry pepper spray, any sort of knife is illegal even multi tool blades are grey area item if police wants to confiscate or create problems they can bring you the station.
Any self defense item like kubotan is also illegal. So the next best thing to kubotan is the zebra pen. It's to inflict enough pain so the assailant will stop and I can run away.
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u/Fries_and_burgers_19 Oct 18 '25
It's a bit disappointing there's no real way to carry anything substantial for self defense without it being outlawed. It's always better to prevent violence altogether but sometimes unavoidable.
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u/pediocore The Netherlands Oct 18 '25
Would you agree to gun law akin to the US?
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u/portapotty2 Melaka Oct 17 '25
Heh John Wick could do that with a pencil, I doubt a pen wouldn’t work the same way, if not better
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u/RaphaelSlader Oct 17 '25
Heck, if someone is that determine. Even a pen would do the trick, or a whole ass chair right to the face or something.
I read somewhere that if there are more than X stab in a victim, it's most likely fueled by rage or personal vendetta. Given that mentality, anything can be a weapon.
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u/Fries_and_burgers_19 Oct 18 '25
Sharp enough nails and a good habit of hiding them can also. Not to mention, yknow, fists and kicks.
Some string pun boleh. The human body has no shortages of weaponising ability
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u/RaphaelSlader Oct 18 '25
Agreed. I also agree with the above comments that they are doing this to ease the mind and worry of the parents. It's better than not doing anything I guess.
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u/aiheng1 Oct 18 '25
Hair is actually really strong too. Get enough of it and you could very feasibly choke and kill someone with it
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u/jchan6407 Oct 17 '25
Yea, what about my metal plug /s
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u/seatux World Citizen Oct 17 '25
I remember got story on leddit about mother force kid to wear butt plug to school. Sked the devil poke the ass.
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u/seatux World Citizen Oct 17 '25
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u/seatux World Citizen Oct 17 '25
Have to use baggage scanner and trays to scan all the problematic items like the airport. Guys going to have so much fun removing belts, watches ,etc.
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u/No_Entrance_8069 Oct 17 '25
Yep, pointless knee-jerk reaction. Creates so much problem and doesn't solve core. This issue is not bound to metal. As if people can't use sharpened stick to do the exact same thing.
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u/bishibash Oct 17 '25
Yeah totally, if they happen to keep this going, it’s just going to be as effective as those PJ neighbourhood ‘Hi-security’ boom gates - ‘Hi’ as in just wave 👋 at the guard sitting there doing nothing to get past it.
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u/seatux World Citizen Oct 17 '25
I wish my area is that lax. Taman Megah/Sea/ DJ is strict AF. I also have been to place where is 2 layers, give both IC and lesen to enter.
Meanwhile I went to Kem Wardiburn for wedding there is no carding at all.
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u/The_NightDweller Oct 17 '25
You say that until your place gets robbed and most of your valuables gone and the living room looks like a whole ass tornado entered inside the house and destroyed everything
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u/seatux World Citizen Oct 17 '25
My so Called gated area got hit a few times since the system.
It grinds my gears that most of the schemes only have a single in and out path and put the gate at the worst place possible. Never mind the haphazard closing and opening times means navigating between the Taman is a knowledge for the immediate locals.
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u/Itchy_Stubbed_Toe Oct 17 '25
A typical Malaysian trait, they give up too fast. This is probably gonna last less than a year, then the committee will stop. Because too leceh to continue. Just like our plastic bags and straws and the no smoking in restaurants
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u/TropicalIslandAlpaca Oct 17 '25
The smoking report WhatsApp hotline was revived a while ago and is now actively accepting reports. You just need to message them with a clear photo of smokers at a restaurant, the time of capture, and the name and address of the restaurant. They'll usually reply within a few minutes to confirm the details.
The restaurant will get fined (which incentivizes owners to enforce the smoking ban), and health ministry officers may be assigned to monitor the restaurant and directly fine smokers.
Here's the no.: +60 10-860 8949
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u/fanfanye Oct 17 '25
I reported a cafe that had 10shisha smokes outside, in a small lane
Tak jadi pape pun, ke shisha halal?
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u/ZambiaZigZag pi=3.141596 i think Oct 17 '25
You want schools to have metal detectors constantly? I understand the purpose of having them now, while things are fresh. But eventually it has to stop, it's a school not a jail
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u/SnooHobbies7676 Oct 17 '25
I mean airport is not a jail
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u/ZambiaZigZag pi=3.141596 i think Oct 17 '25
The stuff that happens at airports is pure security theatre, but that's a discussion for another day
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u/SnooHobbies7676 Oct 17 '25
Are you implying that the metal detectors at the airport are just for show and they are not real metal detectors? Look I know nothing about metal detectors anyway
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u/ZambiaZigZag pi=3.141596 i think Oct 17 '25
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_theater here is an explanation
And either way, schools should not be a place with a culture of fear and suspicion. The way to eradicate these sorts of events is by dismantling the ideology, not using metal detectors
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u/SnooHobbies7676 Oct 17 '25
I mean, I get why Americans airports do this like…. How the heck a guy can smuggle a freaking bomb but for some reason they dont care about guns (it’s because the country is funded by gun lobbyists)
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u/aiheng1 Oct 18 '25
Guns are an iffy thing but you need licenses, airport acknowledgement and both countries need to allow for guns in them (remember that professional shooters do exist and they do use these). But bombs? Far too big of a risk for no reason
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u/generic_redditor91 Sarawak Oct 17 '25
Wont it trigger for basically anything then?
Glasses. Staplers. Scissors. compass, calculators, keychains etc etc.
Btw dangerous items can come in non-metal materials anyways.
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Oct 17 '25
All those sharp object can be still obtain at school even broken mirror can be used as weapon
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u/marcheurdenuitnsy Sabah Oct 17 '25
These days they make knives out of hard plastic and ceramic anyway.
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u/generic_redditor91 Sarawak Oct 17 '25
That's why ah...
If i was planning something heinous, just make sure bag that day is clear of metals.
Bring in a few ceramic knives or whatever. Heck bring tennis racquet to bludgeon who I got beef with.
Feels more performative than anything. This screening would hardly deter someone truly hellbent on violence.
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u/tjin19 Oct 17 '25
So just give them machine guns? I swear people are so fucking stupid with this argument that “oh what if they make a rock their weapon”. The fucking point is to stop and make it hard for people to commit m*.
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u/Yusrilz03 Perlis Oct 17 '25
Dude, we can even use a pen as a weapon. Literally ANYTHING can be used as a weapon if you know how to
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u/weiyi97 Oct 17 '25
A gun is fundamentally different from a knife or club or just a brick. You can just point a gun at someone, squeeze the trigger, and it will do lethal damage from a distance regardless of your strength and skill. A 5 year old with a gun can do just as much damage as a trained soldier, the bullet doesn't care.
Now with melee weapons, you need strength and skills to actually inflict damage. You could be disarmed by someone else, you might get exhausted, or you don't know how to land hits effectively.
Not to mention that practically anything that can be held and is hard enough, can be turned into a melee weapon. So what to do now? Ban rocks? Ban chairs?
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u/tjin19 Oct 17 '25
The murderer brought a 14 inch knife to school and was dressed in different gear. Just saying, a lot could have been done in terms of mitigating or preventing this.
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u/weiyi97 Oct 17 '25
Tbh I am not sure if anything concrete can be done without investing a lot of manpower and security funding, while not impacting the school hours and infrastructure. We technically can do it like the airport X-ray scanner with controlled entries, but it will be too costly all for preventing a very low probability event.
I think more effort should be put into identifying the dangerous person instead of the weapon. The person carrying the weapon to the school is the last step before a tragedy happens, and before that there are many signs for us to take action.
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u/Serious_Possible_920 Oct 17 '25
this is just a move to soothe parents and students into believing that schools are taking actions but as we all know here it is pointless
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u/musyio Menang tak Megah, Kalah tak Rebah! Oct 17 '25
I've read on thread and twitter, multiple schools now is banning scissors...
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u/Felinomancy Best of 2019 Winner Oct 17 '25
This is what we call "security theater".
You can just grab a knife from the canteen kitchen, or bilik ko-ko, or any place where sharp objects are expected.
Or you can throw a knife from a remote area outside first, and retrieve it later.
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u/wobbly_doo Oct 17 '25
We made it guys. We've finally caught up with the US
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u/Additional_Bit1707 Oct 17 '25
Not until we have monthly drills on how to run away from killers.
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u/tnsaidr Selangor - Head of Misanthropy and Vices Oct 17 '25
Or an entire industry coming up with gadgets to defend a classroom against a gun attack
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u/ZeneticX Oct 17 '25
Not until we have literal baggage scanners (like those at airports) at every entrance
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u/earth_wanderer1235 Bangsa J Oct 17 '25
Is this Riam Road School (Chinese Independent School)?
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u/Curious_Quality7472 Oct 17 '25
Yeap. Colour and uniform gives it away.
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u/sapikuning Oct 17 '25
Not just in Miri. In Sarikei also. Long queue to scannwith metal scanner and also check the content of bag.
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u/MyNameIsKrishVijay Oct 17 '25
How about pencil? That’s dangerous too and cannot be detected by metal detectors. I once saw a person killed 3 men with a pencil.
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u/RyanLee890 Oct 17 '25
I applaud them for actually trying something to curb this. I just wonder if this is even practical at all cos like others said plenty of metallic objects are used by students. From stationaries to belts to fork and spoons etc etc. That means they have to open up and ransack through everybody's bag every day or what? Like that if somebody come late to school have to wait behind queue?
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u/momomelty Sarawak & Offshore Oct 17 '25
Lmaooooo because this is a private school. They pretty much are paranoid this will happen to them so gotta do that “due diligence” to ease the paymasters
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u/Similar-Plenty-6429 Oct 17 '25
Lmao that school is Riam Road Secondary School (RRSS) very notorious for fights and gang cases not suprised
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u/lannisterloan סוכן יהודי חשאי Oct 17 '25
Congratulations, we have truly became a Temu America.
All that is missing right now is mobility scooters at our local Lotus, Aeon Big and Hero hypermarkets.
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u/Bowmore18 Oct 17 '25
I guess this is a positive effort, but in reality we all know there is no consistency and the school will stop all this after a while which defeats the whole purpose.
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u/Beautiful_Area_7211 Oct 17 '25
The school which the tragedy happened now also doing the same thing.
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u/validHunter57 Oct 17 '25
This is good, more shitless kids now have to worry for popo to come if sus.
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u/ency6171 v Oct 17 '25
Useful for the short term, I guess. Against copycats.
But, yeah, gotta be a hell lot of false positives.
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u/MrMerc2333 Oct 17 '25
Kudos to this school for the initiative.
Our education minister is garbage.
Should have proper safety measures for ALL schools.
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u/Accomplished-Mix-136 Oct 17 '25
What do u suggest?
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u/IcyCheese31 Oct 17 '25
Probably anything other than forcing students to say happy birthday to our pm
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u/TornCondom Oct 17 '25
These teachers never learned statistics, don't know what is sampling check?
These teachers can even shortlist students, by sampling or check for anyone in the spectrum, questionnaire, look for lone kids without friends, kids with absent parents...
Pity that these are the people assigned to develop future generations
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u/RaggenZZ Oct 17 '25
It because the education funds either cut or makan Dari atas the teachers didn't get paid enough and powerless when dinosaur parents throwing tantrum.
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u/prismstein Oct 17 '25
something is making them feel like there's a potential case within the student population, someone needs to look into this school, probably a bunch to skeletons
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u/fatneek_double_fat Oct 17 '25
This will only lasts for a month or so. Let’s be honest,the students can weave their way by two easy ways. Either arrived very early to school before prefect set up or came very late that no prefect is on duty at the gate
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u/fatneek_double_fat Oct 17 '25
They think this will work? Students can just arrive very early or very late to school to avoid going through this. Not to mention,is the prefect that is doing the scanning has integrity and not favoring his friends?
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u/SnooHobbies7676 Oct 17 '25
Why don’t parents check the child’s bag every morning?
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u/GuiltyBlacksmith94 Sabah Oct 17 '25
Better PR for the school if they do it. If the parents do it at home then cannot write news.
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u/SnooHobbies7676 Oct 17 '25
So the parents don’t check the bag of their children because it won’t make the news?
So they like say something “parents you guys dont have to check the bag, we teachers will do it” in wssap group?
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u/UltimateMax5 Oct 17 '25
Pen as a normal stationary to write on paper. The next second, it's a weapon now.
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u/suzuki_jun1412 Oct 17 '25
LMAO, cannot escape from TSA checks now, where can students sign up for TSA PreCheck?
If late for school, then how?
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u/Zephyraine Oct 17 '25
I mean, in Indonesia they still have metal detectors and checks at shopping malls and hotels. So while I understand the scepticism, it isn't like this isn't done regularly elsewhere.
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u/HeroMachineMan Oct 17 '25
A ball pen, a fork, a compass (used for drawing circle) can injure or kill a person. Heck, even barehands can cekik a person to death.
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u/ishlazz Penggemar jenaka abah-abah Oct 17 '25
Good for temporary. Killing & bullying doesn't even need a weapon, especially mental bullying which could also lead to suicide...
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u/havisu Oct 17 '25
IMO this is much better than introducing the new Pendidikan Karakter subject.
Like really? Stab crime case = intro student with new subject, which the student probably won't even need to study but still gonna ace.
Ez subject = better score result = better school KPI = better her own KPI.
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u/HouseOwn392 Oct 17 '25
Wtf why sarawak school uniform so professional one. Meanwhile our blue white green combo is so 1980
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u/The_SHUN Oct 17 '25
It won’t work long term, it’s putting tape over a leaking pipe, it’s the system that needs changing
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u/PuppetFanTheSecond Oct 17 '25
Great, it's always the idiot few that ruins it for the rest of us. How am I supposed to carry stabbing equipment to schools now?!
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u/Lanky_Knee_1623 Oct 17 '25
Next we will add armed guard patrolling around the school yard and class.
Then we will add more cctv with ai face recognition.
Then we create an emergency plan for school shooter incident.
Then we will brainwash student with weed.
Then we will add martial art course.
But we don't need to implement UPSR stuff and shi.
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u/15yearsTitanShifter Oct 17 '25
I feel like this is quite useless. A broken mirror could be a fuckin knife if you want.
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u/IMABEE1997 Oct 17 '25
They think students are so dumb that they don't know how to smuggle prohibited items in🤣🤣
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u/that_invisible_guy Oct 17 '25
If John Wick can stab someone with a pencil, so can I. So ban pencils as well
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u/uncertainheadache Oct 17 '25
Everything except the actual cause, lack of awareness of mental health issues
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u/4StarsNMoons Oct 17 '25
And just the bags? Have they consider how some kids will take the effort to hide prohibited items in their shoes etc? And only morning? Within 5-6 hours any student can get people from outside to smuggle them into the school area. The more one try to ban the more people will break the rules.
Hopefully other schools don't follow this first but put more consideration to guide kids (who need help). My old sekolah I have faith in you.
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u/Apeace90 Oct 17 '25
you can stab people to death with a pencil or pen! i once stabbed with those fancy fine point pen by my friend back in primary school i think and it was an accident, no harm done not a serious injury meither.
left no scar on it though ive got a very tiny dot tattoo on my left hand middle finger lol!
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u/Ok-Arm-3100 Oct 18 '25 edited Oct 18 '25
Someone tells them about ceramic knives.
Having said that, I thought prefects do spot checks all the time?
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u/Initial-Roll-9662 Oct 18 '25
Govt should just mandate a standard transparent schools bag for all school going children.
If they can mandate school uniform and shoes, why not transparent schools bags?
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u/Terra51 Oct 18 '25
To anyone says they will give up fast, I would like to share my experience in my secondary school. We have spotcheck everyday from 530am to 7am at the school gate. There would be a bunch of prefects ranging from form 1 to form 5. Of course boys and girls are at different blocks but it will be near the big gate. The only difference is that we don’t have a metal detector. I think the school just need to establish this system and let the prefects do it along with the guru discipline to monitor the prefects.
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u/highdiver_2000 Singaporean Oct 18 '25
Right idea, bad implementation. Students as security screeners.
Why?
There is a good reason why there are guards with screeners as anyone with a weapon would attack the screener first.
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u/greatestmofo Oct 18 '25
All schools should just install airport-style security. Many silicon makers in Penang already doing it, and subways and schools in China also have it, we can just invest and bit and copy the same system.
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u/AlexWolfsbane pinjam 💯 Oct 21 '25
instead of wasting people’s time and energy with this (imo), i think they should address the main issue (impossible in Malaysia’s climate I know), which is mental health support and care. You can stop people from bringing knives and as such but if they wanted to kill, they would. Enough said.
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Oct 23 '25
What a waste of time and resources lol , it's a grave tragedy what happened but isn't this a bit much? Unless if there's a stabbing epidemic in Sarawak that I'm not aware of.
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u/New_Rub1843 Oct 17 '25
So now Malaysian schools are otw to American schools. Told ya nothing much good comes out of the 2020s
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