The Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement (TBH-ADA) urges the government to set up an inter-ministry committee led by the national human rights commission Suhakam to probe the numerous deaths stemming from the bullying and torture of cadet officers in the army and universities.
According to media reports, a cadet officer from the UiTM reserve officer training unit, Muhammad Amir Rusyaidi Muhammad Zaidi, died on 13 November, after the coach allegedly stepped on Amir’s chest and “rode like a horse”.
The police claimed Amir attended a fitness test, and he was punished with a push-up activity by a trainer for lagging behind in a running test. He collapsed after the push-ups.
However, this is not the first death of cadet officers in the army and university. In 2017, a navy cadet at the National Defence University, Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, was tortured and killed by six former students at the university.
A year later, another cadet officer, J Soosaimanicckam, died at the Lumut naval base after exercises. The officer in charge had refused to provide medical treatment when Soosaimanicckam suffered a chest pain.
While the authorities have taken all these cases seriously, the phenomenon of the acts of bullying and torture in public institutions is alarming. The government must take active steps to identify root causes and stamp out bullying and torture of cadet officers in the army and universities.
Young cadet officers join military training to contribute to defending their homeland from enemies. The government should treasure their noble ambition, provide remedies to the victims’ families and promise there would be no repeat of the acts of torture in public institutions again. One death is too many for the innocent and bright young people of Malaysia.
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To make sure no more cadets die in the hand of their peers or army officers like Muhammad Amir Rusyaidi Muhammad Zaidi, Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain and J Soosaimanicckam did, the “Madani” (civil and compassionate) government must operationalise its value, “compassion”, as the promotion of “human rights values” and a “zero-torture, zero-bullying culture”, with standard operating procedures for reporting, investigation, accountability and compensation to make sure there are no cover-ups. – TBH-ADA
Ng Yap Hwa is chairman of the Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement.
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