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THE mother of a 22-year-old soldier who died during training has firmly rejected speculation that her son was the victim of bullying or abuse, urging the public not to tarnish the reputation of the Malaysian Armed Forces.
S Usha, 52, said a post-mortem examination found no physical injuries on the body of her eldest child, Trooper K Indiran, dismissing allegations circulating on social media that he had been assaulted.
“This is not a case of bullying. Do not tarnish the Armed Forces,” she said when met at her home in Taman Sri Nibong.
“I also thought it was a bullying case. But when the post-mortem was done, there was none. At first I was angry because the Armed Forces did not contact me and inform me earlier. When I found out he was already in critical condition in hospital, as a mother all kinds of assumptions crossed my mind.
“I received all sorts of information that went viral here and there. Do not smear the name of the Armed Forces because it is simply not true. Indiran was not bullied, beaten or injured. My son’s body was intact, his physical condition was good.”
Indiran collapsed while attending a course at the First Regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps at Kem Batu 10 in Kuantan on Wednesday.
His body arrived at the family home at 1.45am and will be accorded full military honours at noon before being laid to rest beside his father at the Batu Lanchang Hindu cemetery at about 3pm.
Usha described her son’s death as shocking and difficult to accept, saying he had been physically fit and had shown no signs of health problems.
She recalled him as a responsible and cheerful young man who was close to his family and who would call her every morning before beginning his daily routine.
Indiran had been determined to follow in the footsteps of his late father, Major C Kayamboo of the Royal Malaysian Air Force, who was killed in a Beechcraft B200T crash at Butterworth Air Base in 2016.
“When he felt things were a bit difficult, he would complain, and I told him it was all right, let’s just come home. But he did not want to,” she said.
“During his six months of training last year he was interviewed and said he wanted to be like his late father, to study further and take certain courses to become a pilot.
“My late husband also went through tough training. The Armed Forces are even tougher. That is normal. He did tell me the training was hard, but any uniformed unit is tough. In the end he succeeded in becoming a soldier. He was supposed to come home on leave this March.”
Usha admitted she now feels conflicted about the prospect of her other children joining the security forces, particularly her third child, 17-year-old Sarvien, who is studying at a Royal Malaysia Police MARA Junior Science College in Kulim, Kedah.
“It’s 50-50,” she said. “Because this is the second tragedy in my life. The trauma is there. If he wants to join, I cannot say anything. With Indiran, I once told him not to become a soldier, but he wanted to.
“If you ask me what I want now, I want my son back. But that cannot be. Now what we must do is let him go peacefully.”
The family has called for restraint online as they prepare to bid farewell to a young serviceman they say died honourably while pursuing his ambition to serve the nation. - February 21, 2026