KUALA LUMPUR: The Defence Ministry will make every effort to stop bullying and the culture of abuse at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) immediately, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
The Defence Minister said it is in line with the decree of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, who instructed all parties to take action in putting an end to the unhealthy culture.
“We abide by His Majesty’s decree. It is very clear.
“As for the ministry, we have outlined our plan in Parliament to improve all aspects.
“In fact, we have taken stern action against cadets of the Military Training Academy (ALK) UPNM who were involved in various cases previously.
“We also feel that the action taken will be a good deterrent for all cadet officers,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Mohamed Khaled said the punishments for the ALK cadet officers send a clear message that bullying is not tolerated.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces said steps have been taken to address bullying cases at UPNM.
“We welcome the concern on the issue by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim.
“His Majesty’s decree clearly shows that bullying cases cannot be allowed to occur as it not only affects student unity but also besmirches the reputation of this higher education institution and the Armed Forces in general,” it said in a statement.
It further stated that the Armed Forces carried out thorough investigations and disciplinary actions in such cases, collaborating with enforcement agencies like the police.
“Awareness programmes were also conducted to prevent more incidents from occurring within the cadet body and that monitoring mechanisms such as the installation of 21 new CCTVs at the living quarters have been implemented,” it said.
The Armed Forces also said that patrols by trainers have been increased, especially after 11pm, and that a request to add manpower has been made to manage the current workload and ensure that monitoring is being conducted in a more systematic fashion.
