Should Malaysia Ban Roblox? Or Should We… Maybe Just Parent Our Kids?
If you thought the country had run out of things to argue about, surprise — we’ve now arrived at the “Should we ban Roblox?” chapter of Malaysia’s collective internet meltdown.
It all started after a tragic and genuinely disturbing incident in Batu Pahat where a nine-year-old boy, after an obsessive streak on Roblox, allegedly attacked his six-year-old brother. The case is heartbreaking. Full stop. Nobody is debating that.
But the debate around it? Oh, that’s where the plot twist begins.
The Government: “Maybe We Ban Roblox?”
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Nancy Shukri announced that Malaysia is considering banning the platform. Not deciding — just thinking about it. Like when you say you’re “considering going to the gym” but your gym shoes haven’t moved from the same corner since 2019.
According to her, Malaysia will be watching how Australia regulates Roblox in December before making any moves. Because if there’s anything Malaysia loves more than a good committee meeting, it’s benchmarking other countries first.
But the concern is real:
The boy in the Batu Pahat case was reportedly “obsessively” playing Roblox, accumulating nearly a million points before his younger brother accidentally damaged the phone and wiped his progress. Police say the boy claimed he experienced hallucinations and thought he was being instructed to harm his family.
It’s horrific.
It’s tragic.
And it has understandably sparked a national conversation on game safety.
But then enters the other voice:
The Counterpoint: “Maybe the Real Problem Isn’t Roblox?”
Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan says banning Roblox is a “disproportionate measure” — which is politician-speak for:
“Let’s not overreact just because one kid lost his points and lost his mind.”
According to him, Roblox itself is safe.
What’s not safe is… children using their parents’ IC numbers to sign up for accounts, navigating the internet unsupervised, and having zero emotional regulation skills.
And Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil kind of agrees.
He points out that maybe — and this is wild, so stay with me — the issue might not be Roblox, but a child struggling with anger and impulse control.
Fahmi’s message to parents:
“Devices are not babysitters.”
A line that hits so hard it might as well be a national PSA.
So… Ban Roblox or Not?
Here’s the thing nobody wants to admit out loud:
Malaysia doesn’t have a Roblox problem.
Malaysia has a digital parenting problem.
We have kids clocking 6–8 hours of screen time a day, parents who use tablets as pacifiers, and a generation raised on algorithmic entertainment instead of boundaries.
Banning a platform addresses none of that.
It only moves the problem to the next app.
If not Roblox, then Minecraft.
If not Minecraft, then TikTok.
If not TikTok, then whatever new platform Gen Alpha invents tomorrow.
What we do need is:
- Age verification that actually works
- Digital literacy education in schools
- Parental controls that aren’t just decorative buttons
- Parents who check what their kids are doing, not just whether they’re quiet
Malaysia doesn’t need a ban.
Malaysia needs accountability — from platforms, from policymakers, and yes, from parents.
If we ban Roblox today because one child snapped, we may as well ban phones, tablets, YouTube, and the entire internet by next Thursday.
The real question shouldn’t be “Should Roblox go?”
It should be:
