GOMBAK: The Defence Ministry has taken steps to prevent incidents of bullying at the National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) from ever happening again.
These measures came after the death of former navy cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain in 2017.
Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin also said today he believed the Higher Education Ministry would ensure these incidents did not happen again in universities.
He said UPNM was not under the complete control and supervision of the Defence Ministry.
"UPNM is a university under the Higher Education Ministry, but in terms of its relationship with the Defence Ministry, the campus is in our area and the Vice-Chancellor comes from us.
"So in this case, we also pay attention and communicate with the university management to ensure it does not happen again," he said after the Gombak Umno meeting.
Khaled said Zulfarhan's incident happened in 2017, and that there had been no similar incidents since then.
"This means that action has already been taken by the university."
Last Wednesday, the Court of Appeal sentenced six former UPNM cadets to death for the murder of navy cadet Zulfarhan seven years ago.
A three-member bench unanimously allowed the prosecution's appeal to reinstate a charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code and impose the death penalty.
The court set aside the previous 18-year jail sentence.
The six cadets are Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmudin Azahat, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali, who are all now 28 years old.