Zarrah Morden
Published: Aug 16, 2025 8:10 AM
Updated: 5:43 PM
Summary
- While talking about bullying in schools, Rafizi Ramli slams Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek for being defensive whenever he brought it up during cabinet meetings.
- He says his son was a victim of bullying in school, as was his wife.
- He also asks Umno Youth chief Akmal Saleh how long the latter intends to carry out stunts such as the protest against the Penang store owner who held the national flag upside down.
With bullying issues constantly in the headlines, former economy minister Rafizi Ramli slammed Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek’s past response whenever he brought it up in cabinet meetings.
The Pandan MP said he repeatedly raised the issue of bullying in schools within the past year.
“But Fadhlina’s response was just like that - we are all good, we have everything,” he said during the latest episode of his podcast last night.
He said her defensive attitude must change as the Education Ministry is one of the few ministries that is part of the frontline in dealing with Malaysians.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek
The issue came up amid discussions about the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir in Sabah.
The 13-year-old reportedly died after she was believed to have fallen from the third floor of a dormitory building in the early morning of July 17.
She is thought to be a victim of bullying.
Her family has raised doubts about the circumstances of her death and alleged attempts to silence the case.
Commenting further, Rafizi said that whenever he brought the issue of bullying up during cabinet meetings, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim would usually back him.
“To be fair to Anwar, he always agreed and continued what I said about bullying because there are similarities between his grandchildren and my son.
“Our children are the children of high-profile politicians that a portion of Malaysians definitely do not like.
“So they (the children) are subjected to all kinds of comments,” he said.
Rafizi explained that he has a vested interest in bullying as his 12-year-old son, who is his only child, has experienced bullying in schools.
His wife also experienced it when she was in a boarding school, he added.
Flag issue
Besides that, Rafizi touched on the latest flag blunder, lambasting Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh for “bullying” the “uncle”.
“How long more does Akmal want to carry out stunts like this - bringing people to bully and frighten this uncle?” he asked.
The 13-year-old reportedly died after she was believed to have fallen from the third floor of a dormitory building in the early morning of July 17.
She is thought to be a victim of bullying.
Her family has raised doubts about the circumstances of her death and alleged attempts to silence the case.
Commenting further, Rafizi said that whenever he brought the issue of bullying up during cabinet meetings, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim would usually back him.
“To be fair to Anwar, he always agreed and continued what I said about bullying because there are similarities between his grandchildren and my son.
“Our children are the children of high-profile politicians that a portion of Malaysians definitely do not like.
“So they (the children) are subjected to all kinds of comments,” he said.
Rafizi explained that he has a vested interest in bullying as his 12-year-old son, who is his only child, has experienced bullying in schools.
His wife also experienced it when she was in a boarding school, he added.
Flag issue
Besides that, Rafizi touched on the latest flag blunder, lambasting Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh for “bullying” the “uncle”.
“How long more does Akmal want to carry out stunts like this - bringing people to bully and frighten this uncle?” he asked.
He was responding to the protest Akmal organised on Thursday (Aug 14) against hardware store owner Pang Chin Tian in Penang, after the businessperson was caught on video hanging the national flag upside-down.
Rafizi said the person who took the video should have let Pang know of his mistake instead of turning the incident into viral content.
“You already can see it’s upside down, just go and let the uncle know,” he said.
In an earlier video, before the protest was held, Rafizi had said, “If I were a citizen, especially a non-Malay, and had made the effort into putting up a flag as my way of expressing love for the country, if I’m always targeted by Umno Youth, next time I’d rather not put up any flag at all.”
Ampang MP Rodziah Ismail, a guest on the podcast, weighed in, saying such actions were borne of ill intent.
After the incident went viral on social media, Pang claimed that he was measuring the length of an iron pole while hanging the national flag and did not notice that it was upside down.
Pang had since been investigated and arrested by the police.
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Fadhlina Sidek is the PH's version of Doraemon 😂😂😂
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