Six MRSM students expelled over bullying incident in Melaka, says MARA chairman
He said the decision followed a disciplinary committee meeting and investigation that confirmed the students' involvement, adding that no appeals will be entertained to ensure the action serves as a lesson to others.
'Mara will not compromise on bullying for any reason. No excuse can justify such behaviour. How severe the bullying comes second. If you touch (bully), you go,' he said.
He was speaking to reporters after attending the Hulu Terengganu Umno Division Meeting 2025 in Jenagor here.
Asyraf said he had received numerous social media alerts about the incident since Saturday and immediately ordered MARA's management to submit a report, which confirmed the case.
Meanwhile, he said MARA is recruiting hostel wardens under a pilot project for MRSM Besut in Terengganu and MRSM Balik Pulau in Penang starting August, with three male and three female wardens to be appointed at each campus.
The initiative will later be expanded to 57 other MRSM nationwide if successful, he added. — Bernama

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Free Malaysia Today
5 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
2 Turkish nationals missing after yacht capsizes off Terengganu
Terengganu maritime director Hamiludin Che Awang said the yacht, Daisy, was bound for Pattani, Thailand. (Facebook pic) KUALA TERENGGANU : Two Turkish nationals are missing after a sailing yacht capsized in stormy waters near Pulau Yu on Tuesday, while another was rescued after drifting at sea for 25 hours. Terengganu maritime director Hamiludin Che Awang said the yacht, Daisy, had departed Pulau Tioman, Pahang, bound for Pattani, Thailand, when it overturned about 30 nautical miles from Pulau Yu. 'One victim, Ates Demiroren, was rescued by a local tugboat crew, while the yacht's captain and another man remain unaccounted for,' he said in a statement tonight. A search and rescue operation was activated at 3pm today, with patrol vessel Perkasa 48 deployed to the site. Those with information are urged to contact the Terengganu maritime operations centre at 013-7464357. Kuala Terengganu police chief Azli Noor said the men aboard the yacht were on a cross-continent voyage from Malaysia to Turkey. He also identified the yacht captain as Ahmed Volkan Ata and the missing crew member as Eser Demirkol. He said before the incident, Ahmed brought the Daisy from Port Jackson Bay, Sydney, Australia and docked in Kuantan Port, Pahang, where he met up with the other two crew members, from Krabi, Thailand, and Singapore. 'On July 28, at 5pm, the Daisy started its voyage for the first checkpoint at Pattani Port, Thailand,' he said in a statement. He also said Ates is reported to be in a weak condition and is being treated at Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital.

Malay Mail
10 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Turkish national still missing off Pulau Yu, may have gone down with yacht, says maritime chief
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — A Turkish national who remains missing after a yacht capsized off Pulau Yu, Kuala Terengganu, last Tuesday is believed to have gone down with the vessel, Utusan Malaysia reported. According to Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director-general Admiral Datuk Mohd Rosli Abdullah, initial investigations suggest Eser Demirkol, 52, was asleep during the incident and was unable to escape in time. 'Two of the victims managed to jump into the sea, but the missing individual is believed to have still been inside the yacht when it sank,' he was quoted as saying at a press conference after the Malaysian Maritime 2025 Media Day programme at the Sultan Ahmad Shah Maritime Academy (AMSAS) in Kuantan today. The two individuals who jumped into the sea — yacht captain Ahmet Volkan Ata, 52, and Ates Demiroren, 42 — were later rescued. Utusan Malaysia also reported that no new leads have emerged so far regarding the missing person or the yacht, but search and rescue (SAR) operations are ongoing. The current search area spans 7.89 square nautical miles, and efforts are expected to continue over the next few days depending on weather and sea conditions. The incident, which took place about 30 nautical miles off Pulau Yu, on July 29 involved three Turkish nationals who were sailing from Pulau Tioman to Pattani, Thailand, when their yacht sank due to rough weather.


The Star
17 hours ago
- The Star
Bullying is not a rite of passage, say educators
PETALING JAYA: Bullying in schools should never be condoned, as it is a crime and not a tradition to be passed on, say educators. Recent cases, such as that of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir, have sparked concerns that school authorities tend to turn a blind eye to bullying and believe it's all part of peer play. Zara Qairina fell to her death from her hostel building at SMA Tun Datu Mustafa in Papar, Sabah, on July 16 and police have just completed the probe into her case for alleged bullying. While Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) has a zero-tolerance policy for bullying in its junior science colleges (MRSM), counselling teachers from secondary schools said that there are already standard operating procedures set by the Education Ministry to deal with bullying. 'At Mara, we have zero-tolerance for bullying. My tagline is: 'You Touch, You Go',' said Mara chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki. Mara has a pilot project to hire retired army and police personnel as full-time wardens in selected MRSMs, starting with MRSM Besut and Balik Pulau on Aug 15, to help ease the burden of teachers in hostels, he added. Mara is also reinforcing its value-based education through a framework that shapes how students live, lead and interact. Every student also gets regular check-ins with teachers and counsellors and all cases must be investigated urgently and transparently, Asyraf said. 'Communities must reject the notion that bullying is a 'rite of passage'. If a child is afraid to sleep in a dormitory, then we have failed. Not just as educators, but as a society,' Asyraf added. Dyana, a secondary school counselling teacher in a northern state, said that there are five actions that need to be taken within 24 hours of a bullying case. 'We first contact the parents or guardians of the students involved – both the perpetrator and the victim,' said Dyana, who has been a teacher for 22 years. The students involved are then sent to a government clinic or hospital for examination to assess if they have sustained any physical injuries or emotional distress. 'We must then record the bullying misconduct in the Student Discipline Management System (SSDM),' she said before an initial report is made in accordance with an Education Ministry circular on student discipline Issues. The initial report is sent to the district education office, the state education department and the Education Ministry, said Dyana, a pseudonym as teachers are not allowed to speak to the media. If the victim's parents neglect the child's condition, the Child Act 2001 empowers the principal to report the matter to the Social Welfare Department for further action, she said. Another teacher in Selangor said that the characteristics of a bully include the desire to dominate and control others, and lack of empathy. 'Sometimes it is a way to cope with their own emotional or mental distress,' said the teacher, Rajini (not her real name), who has served in a secondary school for the past decade. 'Family and environmental issues can also turn someone into a bully. They usually have poor social skills, lack social interaction and are usually short-tempered and rule-breakers.' Bully victims often also have family issues, forcing them to humiliate themselves in order to be accepted by their peers. 'Pressure to be accepted by their peers may also cause someone to either become a bully or a victim, for fear of being isolated or ostracised,' she added.