KOTA TINGGI: Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) will enhance safety measures at its Military Training Academy (ALK) to address and curb bullying and abuse among cadets.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said this initiative is part of the measures to prevent a recurrence of bullying cases involving cadets.
"We will not compromise on any bullying activities and will take stern and appropriate action to curb such incidents at UPNM," he added.
Mohamed Khaled - who is also the Kota Tinggi MP – said this during a press conference after officiating a Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) community programme at Felda Bukit Aping Timur on Sunday (Dec 8).
He said measures to combat bullying include carrying out frequent roll calls involving cadets at the university.
"We will frequently conduct roll calls and install more closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs). If there is a fight or bullying involving cadets, we will adjust roll calls according to the situation," he said, adding that the university will also increase the number of wardens at the academy.
On Thursday (Dec 5), Mohamed Khaled said the ministry will make every effort to stop bullying and the culture of abuse at UPNM immediately.
He said this aligns with the decree of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, who instructed all parties to take action to end 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 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.
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.
They welcomed 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," they said in a statement.
The Armed Forces further stated that they conducted 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 monitoring mechanisms such as the installation of 21 new CCTVs at the living quarters have been implemented," they said.
The Armed Forces also said that patrols by trainers have been increased, especially after 11pm, and that a request for additional manpower has been made to manage the current workload and ensure that monitoring is conducted more systematically.
