Of bullying and military training

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…