KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — The Addiction Medicine Association of Malaysia (AMAM) called today for regulation of all online games and platforms, following the fatal Bandar Utama (BU) school stabbing.
AMAM president Dr Steven Chow said unregulated gaming and screen use have created a new generation of behavioural addictions that alter brain chemistry and emotional regulation, likening it to opium.
“This is not a technology issue — it’s a mental health and societal emergency. If the government fails to act, we risk raising a generation that can no longer tell the difference between hurt in a game and hurt in real life,” Dr Chow said in a statement.
“For more than a decade we have been asking for regulations to limit IT access for children from one national conference after another.”
Yesterday, Selangor police chief Shazeli Kahar reportedly cited video games as a possible influence on a 14-year-old boy accused of stabbing his 16-year-old female schoolmate, Yap Shing Xuen, to death in their school in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, on October 14.
Police are also identifying which specific platform had the most significant influence on the suspect, admitting that “social media is vast”.
AMAM demanded four measures to curb “violent” games and online environments among children:
- Enforce age-rating and parental controls for all online games and platforms.
- Mandate warning labels for violent, sexual, or disturbing content.
- Introduce emotional resilience and digital literacy programmes in all educational institutions starting from pre-schools.
- Establish a national task force involving Health, Education, Communications, and Youth Ministries.
- Impose statutory limits on device functions, game time, and data access for minors, similar to China’s regulatory model.
China Press reported that two knives among three weapons seized from the suspect by police – an 18.5 cm mini Marine combat knife, a karambit (curved knife), and a 30 cm Marine combat knife – had references to two school shootings in the United States.
The mini Marine combat knife had the words “Sandy Hook 2012” and “Adam Lanza” inscribed on the blade, while the karambit had the name “Seung Hui Cho” written on it.
In 2012, Adam Lanza, aged 20, fatally shot 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, before taking his own life, described as one of the deadliest school shootings in US history with a death toll of 26.
The 2007 Virginia Tech shooting on the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, saw 23-year-old Seung-Hui Cho killing 32 people before taking his own life, among the deadliest mass shootings in US history.
In the US, tech platforms like messaging platform Discord, video-streaming site Twitch, and anonymous message board 4chan have come under scrutiny for connections to mass shootings. Discord was reportedly used by the suspects in the 2022 Highland Park parade shooting near Chicago and the Buffalo mass shooting in New York that same year.
The Star reported that a handwritten note found on the BU school stabbing suspect contained a message, “This world is fake. I have already won”. Police have seized the note and are investigating its contents.
The suspect’s alleged note, which is circulating online, contains gaming references like NPC (non-player character) and references to Death Note, a 2006 Japanese anime series that is banned in some countries because of its violent and graphic content.
A Death Note quote, “Soda boku ga kira da”, was cited, meaning “Yes, I am Kira”. Death Note is about a high schooler, Light Yagami, who discovers a book called “Death Note”. Once a person’s name is written in the book, they will die.
At first, Light writes the names of criminals in the book, but he then abuses his power to kill others to hide his identity, going by the alias Kira.
The BU school stabbing suspect’s alleged note also references the 2022 Uvalde school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 21 dead, including 19 children. The killer, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was killed by law enforcement officers during the mass shooting.
The names of the gunmen in the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, one of the most infamous school shootings in American history, were also written in the note: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
“Zero Day” was also mentioned by the suspect, referring to a fictional 2003 film inspired by the Columbine massacre that left 14 dead.
