KUALA LUMPUR: Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) Military Training Academy (ALK) will have a 50% increase in trainers to tackle the recent rise in bullying cases, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
The Defence Minister stated that the armed forces have increased military officers at ALK from 31 to 48.
The number of military personnel of various ranks deployed as trainers has also risen to 182 from the previous 124.
"With these changes, each trainer will focus on monitoring just 20 cadets, reducing their workload."
"These new trainers must pass the Lembaga Pemilihan dan Penempatan Jurulatih course and have no prior disciplinary issues," he explained during the Minister's Question Time on Thursday (Nov 14).
The service period for UPNM trainers will be limited to four years to ensure optimum performance.
Cadets will be divided into smaller groups, from the current four battalions (up to 320 cadets) to eight companies (150 cadets each), to facilitate better organisation and management.
"Each company will have an officer on duty daily to monitor the cadets more closely."
"Duty trainers are instructed to patrol cadet quarters after 11.59pm every night."
"Cadets will also undergo regular physical inspections to detect any signs of abuse," he added.
Exclusive meetings between cadets and UPNM ALK leadership will provide a safe environment for reporting potential abuse cases without fear of retaliation.
The ministry is also considering additional CCTV cameras around cadet blocks to monitor suspicious activities.
Mohamed Khaled was responding to Royal Malaysian Navy Commander (Rtd) Nordin Ahmad Ismail (PN-Lumut), who asked about measures to end bullying at UPNM.
This follows reports of two bullying cases involving ALK cadets, both of whom suffered significant injuries.
