Former students of Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology have called for the immediate resignation of the heads of student counselling services and the student affairs department, saying the university provided inadequate and ineffective services to students with mental health problems.
The group, comprising former leaders of the TAR UMT student representative council, also called for the establishment of a 24-hour suicide helpline and a zero-tolerance policy on bullying and harassment, with transparent disciplinary action.
They accused the university of providing “inadequate, inaccessible and ineffective” services to students, saying “webinars do not stop suicides, especially due to bullying. Only by punishing bullies and holding enablers accountable can lives be saved”.
They said the university management must implement active, not passive mechanisms.
“Outreach is not a simple email sent to students or a social media post saying ‘we care about you’. Instead of asking students to come look for you, go to them, change your methods,” they said in a statement.
The group’s statement comes a day after two TAR UMT students died in two separate incidents within 24 hours of each other at a condominium in Taman Melati, Kuala Lumpur.
Berita Harian reported that a 22-year-old female student was found dead at 6.45am in a back lane; she is believed to have fallen from the 22nd floor. At 8.30pm, a 21-year-old male student of the university was found dead at the building.
The alumni group accused the management of limiting its responses to “reactive statements” and said “the next tragedy is just a matter of time” if the system continued to be “in this state of failure”.
Calling for accountability and change, the group said it would not be silenced.
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