{
  "id": 17159375,
  "title": "Police should focus on threats to students, not truancy, say experts",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/police-should-focus-on-threats-to-students-not-truancy-say-experts",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-30T01:25:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/10/30/police-should-focus-on-threats-to-students-not-truancy-say-experts"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia academic Effendi Ewan Matore argues that the Kuala Lumpur police should not be tasked with monitoring students who skip school. Effendi contends that schools and the social welfare department should take the lead in addressing the reasons behind truancy, including poverty, learning difficulties, and family problems. He cautions that the police lack the necessary expertise in education, social work, and policy tools to tackle these root causes. Meanwhile, Suhaiza Hanim Zailani from Universiti Malaya’s Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies supports profiling students who skip school, but only when there are threats like gang activity or substance abuse. She insists that the focus should be on identifying the underlying issues causing absenteeism and providing appropriate assistance, rather than treating students as potential offenders. Suhaiza emphasizes that privacy must be protected and that addressing the underlying causes of truancy is crucial for long-term success.",
  "summary": "They say schools and welfare agencies should take the lead in addressing absenteeism and helping students return to class.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}