KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Gangsterism in schools needs to be viewed holistically with parents, teachers and authorities working together to prevent it from getting out of hand, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday. He said such problems were sometimes related to the environment surrounding students and schools.

"This is why we want all quarters to play a role in tackling this problem before it becomes an epidemic. For us, crime is crime and the punishment should be appropriate," he told reporters after meeting officers and athletes of the second Asian School Games at the Bukit Jalil Sports School, here, yesterday.

He said this when commenting on media reports on such trends in schools.

Also present was Director-General of Education Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, also urged police to increase patrols to prevent "suspicious" individuals from influencing or harming students.

The media had highlighted a few cases of gangsterism in schools this year including a secondary school in Gombak where there was bullying and suspected drug activities among students as well as an allegation of rape.

Another reported case of gangsterism involved 15-year-old Norizan Janal Abidin who filed a police report after being extorted by a group of bullies for two months in her school in Pekan, Pahang.

On sports in schools, Muhyiddin said the ministry wanted to enhance incentives to encourage students to get involved.

"This is so that they won't feel that sporting activities are a waste of time and do not benefit them," he said, adding that the ministry's sports division would be proposing non-monetary incentives to students. He also suggested that students who competed in international sporting events be given credits in their co-curriculum.