Saturday, June 26, 2010-I am sadden by the death of Mohamed Naim Mustaqim Mohamed Sobri, a 16 year old student of the Royal Military College (RMC) in Sg. Besi, Kuala Lumpur, reportedly from being bullied and physically abused by his seniors on Wednesday, 24th June. I could feel the ordeal that Mohamed Naim had to suffer that caused him his life, and the shock and disbelief that his parents have to endure at the loss of their beloved son.
Now, nothing can bring back Mohamed Naim, but this unfortunate incident brings to question the need to seriously review the relevancy of RMC as a secondary boarding institution established in the early 50’s whose charter is ‘to prepare young Malaysians to take their places as officers in the Armed Forces of the Federation, in the higher divisions of the Public Service and as leaders in the professional, commercial and industrial life of the country’
No doubt, the Boys Wing as it was previously known have produced a number of luminaries in all sectors of the Malaysian society, and it will continue to do so in keeping with the charter of RMC. But with the establishment of many other secondary boarding institution; both private and public, the stated charter for which RMC was established has somewhat been ‘diluted’. And to now say that only the cream of the country’s secondary students are taken into RMC may no longer be true.
The Boys Wing that we know of in the past has been a stiff competitor of academic excellence and sports to the likes of MCKK, STAR and probably VI. Today, with the rise of MRSM and other controlled public schools, there are now greater choices for secondary school students to be recruited into the best schools, besides other private institutions that offer similar academic and sporting facilities par excellence. In other words, RMC has now lost its competitiveness and attractiveness as one of the country’s best secondary boarding school, and is now made worse by the unfortunate death of Mohamed Naim.
Many questions will be asked into the causes of this unfortunate incident and hopefully nothing will be left unturned. For those involved, they will have to accept their fate but more importantly, RMC will have to device means and measures to avoid a similar incident from occurring, if RMC is desirous of remaining relevant and true to its charter.
CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION
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