KOTA BARU, Nov 6 — The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) expressed hope that the incident that befell the Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) cadet officer, the late Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, will not recur in the future, said its Deputy Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz.

He said the ministry regretted the incident and respected the decision made by the court.

"We at the ministry are very concerned with what happened to the late Zulfarhan. We (the ministry) have taken action and measures to ensure that such cases will not recur.

"The community has also been urged not to raise issues related to this case with certain allegations, because the court has made its decision, as there was a trial before any decision was made,” he told reporters after officiating the Kelantan state-level Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) award presentation ceremony today.

A total of 500 veterans of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF), who served or were involved in operations against the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) from 1969 to 1989, received the PJM award.

On Nov 2, the Kuala Lumpur High Court had sentenced six UPNM students to 18 years in prison after they were found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder of UPNM cadet officer Zulfarhan four years ago.

Meanwhile, in another development, Ikmal Hisham said the ministry was always working to improve the welfare and well-being of military veterans.

"The ministry has launched the Mindef 100 Day initiative which also involves the welfare of military veterans, among others, by introducing an online application, MyVeteran Mall (VMALL).

"This initiative is a collaboration with MIDC Technology Sdn Bhd for the provision of the VMALL digital platform, that enables entrepreneurs among our veterans to carry out business activities digitally,” he said.

He said that a total of 200 veteran entrepreneurs were targeted to register using the VMALL application, which was able to expand business networks and promotions for products and services globally.

"It is able to produce more creative and innovative veteran entrepreneurs to compete with others, by providing training and support to enable them to get involved in online business.

"The government is committed to safeguarding the welfare and well-being of military veterans. All actions and initiatives that have been and will be implemented by the government always take into account the needs of these veterans; they will not be marginalised from national development,” he said. — Bernama