KUALA LUMPUR – Junior cadet officers from National Defence University (UPNM) have been separated from their seniors to curb bullying incidents at the higher education institute, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin (Kota Tinggi-BN).
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, Khaled said the first-year cadet officers have been placed at Bukit Putera under the full supervision of trainers since April this year.
“This is considering how this group (juniors) are often made targets (of bullying),” the minister said in response to a question from Bersatu MP Nordin Ahmad Ismail (Lumut-PN) on the ministry’s efforts to put a stop to bullying incidents in UPNM.
Khaled did not detail the specifics of the separation measure.
It was recently reported that a first-year UPNM student, aged 19, suffered fractured ribs and spinal injuries after he was stomped on by a third-year senior student following roll call near the university’s field in Sg Besi.
While the incident is said to have happened on October 21, Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said a report was only lodged on November 8.
Meanwhile, Khaled also listed several other prevention mechanisms undertaken to prevent bullying incidents, including regular physical examinations conducted on UPNM’s Military Training Academy (ALK) cadet officers to detect any injuries related to abusive activities.
He added that exclusive meetings between cadet officers and top officials of ALK-UPNM will be held to provide students a space where they can provide information on wrongdoings without fear.
This step, he said, is aimed at overcoming the issue of cadet officers refusing to report incidents of alleged bullying.
Besides that, he reiterated that cadet officers found guilty of abusive behaviour will be terminated from the university, adding that seven CCT units have been installed at the university’s residential blocks since February last year.
Trainers, who are required to attend and pass a disciplinary course, have also been instructed to conduct rounds at cadet officers’ living quarters after 11.59pm every night.
The Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) had also increased the staffing of officers and Other Ranks (LLP) assigned to ALK-UPNM and added trainers to increase monitoring of cadet officers.
Previously, a fourth-year cadet officer from ALK-UPNM was charged with causing hurt to his junior using a hot steam iron at 11.45pm on October 22.
Amirul Iskandar Norhanizan, 22, pled not guilty when charged in the Sessions Court on November 8 under Section 324 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous means.
The victim, second-year Muhammad Salman Mohd Saiful Surash, 20, suffered second-degree burns.
In 2017, the nation was left stunned by the tragic death of UPNM cadet officer Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, who died after being beaten and tortured with a steam iron pressed to most parts of his body several times.
Six former UPNM students were convicted of his murder, with the appellate court overturning the high court’s reduced charge for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, instead imposing the death sentence. – November 14, 2024