A heart-wrenching tale of Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain.
It is a story about a group of students who were supposed to go to university, gain knowledge and graduate as army officers or professional figures.
It is also a story about a parents’ dream to see their child achieve success but only to be crushed by an unnecessary incident.
Influenced by the culture of ragging and bullying, the group’s actions had gotten out of hand and led to the tragic murder that shocked the nation.
Zulfarhan, who is a Universiti Pertahanan Malaysia (UPNM) marine cadet, died due to severe injuries after being viciously tortured by the group.
They had ‘ironed’ his whole body using a steam iron. Zulfarhan was only 21-years old when it happened in 2017.
The truth behind his death was revealed, dragging 18 of his peers who were so callous to torment him to death.
Nobody could forget the heart-breaking video that had gone viral of Zulfarhan’s father in a prostrate position and crying outside the court when the judge declared that the 18 accused needed to enter their defence on charges for murdering and injuring their varsity mate.
After a long four-year wait, justice for the death of the engineering student prevailed on Tuesday.
The High Court yesterday found the group guilty of culpable homicide.
The tragic death of Zulfarhan should be a lesson to all Malaysians to end the any forms of bullying or ragging in educational institutes.
Male students especially needs to put a stop to the toxic masculinity culture in schools or any higher education institutes just for the sake flexing their strengths and superiority among their peers.
What is certain today is the fact that Zulfarhan’s tragic ending is a reminder to all be it the educational institutions, leaders, educators, students, parents and even the society at large on how dangerous the ragging culture truly is.
This is a prelude to the new English portal Sinar Daily, which is set to go live in December! Stay tuned as more comprehensive and interesting content awaits you!