KUALA LUMPUR: The father of National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, who was murdered by fellow cadets seven years ago regrets that bullying has resurfaced at the institution.
Zulkarnain Idros, 60, said he thought that the tragedy involving his son in 2017 would be the last incident to ever happen.
He believed the latest incident proved that whatever action previously taken by the university's administration did not leave any impact on the students.
However, he applauded the officer who reported what happened after noticing the cadet's injury during a routine inspection. He said such an act had prevented the cadet from facing a worse situation.
"I commend the officer's actions; that was a step taken to detect issues early.
"Otherwise, we would have not known about it as it (bullying) could have continued much longer, possibly worsening the situation," Zulkarnain told the New Straits Times.
He said the police should intervene by investigating the incident because the only possible outcome from any internal investigation conducted by UPNM would see the perpetrators being expelled instead of facing criminal punishments.
Thus, he urged the government to introduce an Anti-Bullying Act to combat such cases at levels of society from school to the civil service as this would pevent other cases.
"Bullying includes cyberbullying, from physical to mental aspect, and these can fall under the Anti-bullying Act.
"It encompasses bullying in schools, public services and social media. If (the law is enacted), we should be grateful. It is one way to prevent it (bullying) early on."
Zulkarnain also advised any institutions handling bullying incidents not to hide the cases just to prevent them from tarnishing the institution's name.
He said those who conceal bullying incidents should be held accountable for them under any new law.
"If we hide it, I am afraid it will smoulder like fire under the ashes.
People would think that a certain institution is good. But eventually, this thing (a bullying case) will explode.
"It is better for us to face the bad things (having the institute's image be tarnished due to bullying ) now, so in the end, we can achieve something good," Zulkarnain said.
It was reported on Wednesday that a second-year cadet officer at the Military Training Academy (ALK), UPNM, Sungai Besi was believed to have recently become a victim of bullying and abuse.
According to sources, it is understood that the victim, an engineering student, was allegedly bullied by a senior student.
The armed forces have confirmed that an investigation has been launched into the case and it was conducted by the Military Training Academy at the university.
Previously, in 2017, the country was shocked by Zulfarhan's tragic death, a UPNM cadet officer who died from being bullied, beaten, and tortured, with most of his body repeatedly pressed with a steam iron.
Following this, six former UPNM students were sentenced to death by hanging by the Court of Appeal on July 23 for the murder of Zulfarhan.