MARA recruits military veterans as hostel wardens to curb bullying

Datuk Rubiah Wang

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, June 11: Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) has begun recruiting military veterans as full-time hostel wardens at its residential educational institutions as part of efforts to strengthen discipline and curb bullying among students.

Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Wang said the move is in line with MARA’s zero-tolerance policy towards bullying across its educational institutions, including MARA Junior Science Colleges (MRSM) and MARA Higher Education Institutions (IPMA).

Speaking to reporters at MRSM Kuching yesterday (June 10), she said appointing dedicated wardens would allow hostel management and student welfare monitoring to be carried out more effectively, without burdening teaching staff with additional responsibilities.

“Our full-time wardens are now being recruited from among military veterans who have extensive experience in discipline and managing students in residential settings,” she was quoted as saying by TVS.

Rubiah stressed that although bullying cases reported in MARA institutions remain relatively low and isolated, the agency is committed to preventing such incidents from occurring.

“Even though the number of cases is small, MARA takes the issue seriously. We are strengthening preventive measures to ensure bullying culture is completely eradicated from our institutions,” she added.

Apart from deploying military veterans as hostel wardens, MARA is also conducting awareness programmes to educate students on the legal and psychological consequences of bullying.

The agency is further enhancing its monitoring mechanisms to identify disciplinary issues at an early stage and prevent them from escalating, while encouraging greater involvement from parents in monitoring students’ behaviour.

Rubiah said the combined efforts are aimed at creating a safer and more conducive learning environment for all students. — DayakDaily