My Longkang

Pic courtesy of www.barnados.org.uk

It was reported in the Borneo Post Feb 21st edition that the RMAF ( Royal Malaysian Air Force ) has set up a board of inquiry to investigate a ’severe’ case of ragging. Mohd Nazim who is the alleged victim in this case was ordered to splash water from a drain on his face, place his head into a rubbish bin, drink his own vomit, immerse himself into a filthy drain besides other physical abuse.

For Mohd Nazim, it apparently had been going on for some time. This culture has been going on for some time in the country but has been largely neglected by the media. The victims are largely silent due to worries over retaliation by the seniors or afraid of losing their places in the educational institutions they are in.

Many many years ago, I have heard tales where males have their ……. tied by a string to a ceiling fan and the fan turned on, a case where a guy was stripped naked and forced to stand on top of a dining hall table weathering haunts from the seniors or even cases where a guy has to use his ….. to destroy a half a watermelon or face being assaulted by the seniors, hair cropped super-short or physically abused.

Such acts are meant to humiliate the new-comer. The original motive was to orientate the new-comers to a new environment as well as to generate better public relations between the juniors and the seniors. Many educational institutions have proper orientation programs closely monitored by the institution’s authorities.

However in the face of abuse by certain quarters, it is time for the educational authorities to act. Ragging is just a lame excuse to bully and this practice has long been abused by the seniors. Certain blogger friends of mine have voiced their condemnation of ragging.

Ragging basically works on the principle that the seniors are entrenched in a certain institution, familiar with the ways and norms of the place and have a group of friends who support them. The juniors feel isolated , intimidated and physically threatened especially those who live in hostels and in an enclosed environment with their ‘tormentors’. I still feel grateful to an Indian senior who saved me from a potentially very embarrassing situation where I was asked to act out a ‘porn clip’ for the amusement of my seniors but this guy came in and shouted and abused me and dragged me off to face ‘cruel punishment’. It was just a ruse to get me out of my predicament. Thank you, brother.

This culture has to be stopped and uprooted from our shores. It is an imported tradition and should be uprooted from our shores once and for all.

Air force cadets suspended in ragging probe
Abused trainee visits camp with cops