HOW many more students need to suffer before we address the violence at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) with the seriousness it demands? Yet another young cadet is hospitalized with fractured ribs and a damaged spine, the latest victim of a culture that seems to blur the line between discipline and brutality.
Parents send their children to universities with dreams of seeing them graduate, not to visit them in hospital wards or, worse, at their gravesides. If UPNM cannot provide a safe environment, maybe it’s time we ask whether this institution should continue as it is.
The incident of cadet-on-cadet violence isn’t isolated. In 2017, a young cadet lost his life after being tortured with a steam iron. One shudders to think how many have gone unreported or swept under the rug, all in the name of “toughness” or “training.”
What’s at stake here is not just the physical well-being of these young people, but also the moral credibility of UPNM. This is a university, not a battlefield. There is a difference between building resilience and condoning violence. A twisted “tough love” mindset has no place in an academic environment and certainly not in one where lives are at stake. When does "toughness" become an excuse for brutality, turning cadets into victims rather than leaders?
This institution must ask itself hard questions. Are the students’ lives worth the traditions or outdated mindsets some might hold dear? If UPNM continues to be a breeding ground for unchecked violence, perhaps its future needs to be reconsidered. Moving students, staff, and resources to safer, more responsible institutions might be a drastic idea – but at this point, it feels like a reasonable one.
It’s not just about punishment or protocol. It’s about safety. It’s about instilling the values of leadership, discipline, and humanity in those who are expected to lead and protect the nation one day. Every student has the right to learn without fear of bodily harm, without fear of being “taught” resilience through physical pain. UPNM, and indeed any educational institution, should be held accountable for the environment they foster, and if that environment consistently puts students at risk, then serious change must follow.
The authorities must act decisively. They should implement and enforce strict zero-tolerance policies on bullying, overhaul disciplinary practices, and ensure that proper reporting channels are in place so incidents don’t go weeks without attention. Without such measures, we will continue to send our youth into a system that fails them, leaving them to suffer while those in power look the other way.
The lives of these young Malaysians should not be mere footnotes in another cycle of investigations and empty promises. Reform the system, break the culture of silence, and make UPNM a place that truly deserves the trust of parents and students. Until then, we are failing our future leaders in the worst possible way.
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