KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wants Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin to ensure that there are no more bullying cases at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM).
He said that the country was shocked by the fatal bullying incident involving UPNM students and such an act should not have happened.
“Datuk Seri Khaled, UPNM is under the Defence Ministry, ensure bullying doesn’t happen again in UPNM,” the UMNO president said during his speech at the close of the 2024 UMNO General Assembly here today in reference to the six former UPNM students who were sentenced to death for the murder of Navy Cadet Officer Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain by the Appeals Court on July 23.
He added that bullying cases, including physical bullying cases in schools and universities, along with cyberbullying cases, occur at a rate of 10 cases daily according to data from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
“ Cyberbullying issues, Rajeswary Apphu or Esha’s suicide. On March 29, a vocational college student, aged 17, was beaten to death in a dormitory room,” he said.
Meanwhile, in other developments, Ahmad Zahid, who is also National Disaster Management Committee chairman, instructed the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) to go to Slim River, Perak immediately to help with the reconstruction of four bridges that collapsed due to floods.
“Yesterday it flooded in Slim River, I ordered the Civil Defence Force, NADMA and the state disaster management committee to go and assist in the repairs of four collapsed bridges and help flood victims as soon as possible,” he said.
Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad had said today that a bailey bridge would be built as a temporary replacement for the Slim Village Bridge at Jalan Slim River-Behrang Hulu that collapsed due to a water surge yesterday evening.
Two other bridges, smaller ones connecting village roads, Kampung Pasir Bridge and Kampung Sg Muda Bridge, also collapsed, he added.
