School stabbing: A parent’s shock and reflection

School stabbing: A parent’s shock and reflection



Thursday, 16 Oct 2025 8:28 AM MYTBy Alwyn Lau


OCTOBER 16 — When I first read about the school stabbing, the first thing I noticed was that the school was in Bandar Utama.

My daughter studied at a school in that neighbourhood for about three years, but did that tragedy occur in her school? If I’m not mistaken there are four secondary schools there.

Then I saw the news photo of the policeman standing in the school dewan and, yes, the venue looked very familiar. But maybe other schools had similar looking halls?

I decided to quit speculating and just ask my daughter if she had heard about a stabbing incident from her friends in her former school. To my horror, it was true.


That really was her former school.


I’ve waited outside that school for more than an hour every evening for three years. I’ve walked in and out of that school many times, even right through the very courtyard where the policeman stood.

I’ve even stopped to chat with the ice-cream vendor and some parents. I’ve watched as hundreds of happy kids streamed out into the parking lot a few seconds after the school’s bell rang.


As always, a place or setting is peaceful, fun and joyous — until it isn’t. Our communities are well-ordered and safe and nurturing — until an incident like this one unexpectedly occurs.

I can’t imagine how I would feel if my daughter was still there. One thing about government secondary schools: They don’t allow students to bring phones.

So I absolutely feel for parents of Form 4 girls who read about the news online last Tuesday. They can’t call their child to ask if they’re okay, plus I reckon the school’s phones were ringing non-stop, so I’m betting many of them rushed to the school in a state of panic.

The tragedy at this school will inevitably force some serious reflection. It has already triggered a host of angry voices. People want answers but, sadly, it appears that many people have already made up their minds.



Authorities are seen at a school in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya October 14, 2025, after a schoolgirl was stabbed by her schoolmate. — Bernama pic



Within a few hours of the news breaking, shouts of misogyny and parental irresponsibility flooded social media. I’ve lost count of the number of times I saw “Boys must learn to accept rejection!” and “Today girls can’t even say No without danger!” pop up online.

I honestly wish people would just stop shouting. Quit the speculative outrage.

Better to go home and hug your kids than pontificate about a situation we know zilch about. I mean, if screaming and lambasting could solve problems we’d be living in Utopia.

As always, there’s the veneer of victim-blaming (eg, “What exactly did she say when she rejected him?”) which, I hope for the sake of our country’s soul, can be forcefully rejected immediately.

My two cents is to start from what’s undeniable i.e. that the BU knife attack reflects a desperate mental health crisis among our teenagers. They are hurt, they are being wounded-up, they are being told lies, they are being pressured — they are breaking.

We need our country’s best psychologists, counsellors and spiritual leaders and social workers to come to the fore and absolutely work this problem. Right now. As a parent, I’d demand nothing less.

As many have pointed out, our schools have been the site of much violence, bullying and heartache of late. So many incidents within such a short time.

Something has to be done. Our communities need to heal.