Kuala lumpur: A pilot project appointing Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) veterans as wardens at two Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM) campuses could be expanded nationwide, pending positive results from its six-month evaluation. Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said researchers from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) are currently assessing the project's effectiveness, with findings to be presented in a full report.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, if the independent evaluation shows promising outcomes, Asyraf Wajdi plans to prepare a proposal for the Deputy Prime Minister before presenting it to the Cabinet. He mentioned this during the Antibullying Town Hall session. The initiative, launched in August, is being piloted at MRSM Besut and MRSM Balik Pulau.

Asyraf stated that the programme aims not only to address bullying but also to ease teachers' workload, emphasizing that educators should not be burdened with warden duties outside academic hours. He explained that teachers cannot be expected to monitor students round-the-clock and noted that misconduct often occurs outside class time.

Also present at the session were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said and Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) Children's Commissioner Dr Farah Nini Dusuki. Asyraf also announced that MARA is developing a dedicated e-complaint portal to enable students to report bullying incidents directly. He added that while the public can use the platform for feedback, formal complaints would be handled confidentially, with whistleblower protection in place as part of the process.