BULLYING at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia's (UPNM) Military Training Academy has deservedly received a royal rebuke from His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.
Three incidents of bullying is a crying ignominy for the academy, UPNM and, by extension, the education system. In the first incident, albeit in 2017, cadet officer Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain was tortured to death by several seniors.
Based on the court's ruling in July, 18 senior cadets were involved, with six being sentenced to death, while the rest received prison terms.
Seven years is a long enough time for the institutions to put in place mechanisms to address bullying.
The recent two incidents of bullying show they didn't. We have a right to ask why. Being the first reported case of bullying, it may have been dismissed as a rare case.
Be not so quick, we say. It is the first reported case, not the first case. Even an accused involved in the bullying of Zulfarhan admitted it to be a part of the culture there.
Study after study shows that such denial is the biggest hurdle to curbing bullying. Just because it was the first case reported, it doesn't mean bullying is rare. Many such in humane acts go unreported.
It is the responsibility of those who run such institutions to have the skills to detect cases of bullying. From trainers to wardens, to everybody in between should be so skilled.
The recent two bullying incidents prove that such savage acts are not only not rare, but are part of an institutionalised culture in our educational system.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, speaking to UPNM students on Nov 1 and referring to no particular case, gave two reasons why it has be come so: bullying is tolerated, nay accepted.
We join him in saying that such tolerance and acceptance is sickening, wherever that happens.
Zulfarhan's death in 2017 should have woken up those running the training academy from the deep slumber they seem to be in.
UPNM has to be vigilant, too, as it houses the 957 cadet officers being trained by the academy, in addition to the 3,243 students of its own.
Reputation has a way of being damaged by association. Malaysia's reputation, too, risks being tainted. As Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir has suggested, a review of the entire education system at military-linked institutions is called for.
There is a purpose to education, which is to impart knowledge and build character.
We are good at the first, but miserable at the second. What good is a cadet officer who excels at knowledge but is of bad character?
It is dangerous to send such an officer to the battlefield to defend the nation. A cadet officer who can't obey the rules of the military academy is unlikely to follow the rules of war.
Yes, even wars have rules. Sending such officers to the battlefield will only ruin the reputation of the nation.
Just as a review of the institutions is important, so is accountability of those tasked with ensuring the safety of the students.
Whether they tolerated, accepted or looked the other way, they must all be held accountable for the bullying that occurred.
Where there is accountability, there will be no bullying.