Veteran lodges report on threat when invited to give talk to UPNM officers

 

Motivational speaker Qayyum Badaruddin at the Cheras police station after lodging a complaint on the incident. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: 

A motivational speaker, who is also a retired armed forces (MAF) officer, claimed he was threatened and abused by an MAF officer during a motivational talk programme at Dewan Tun Templer, Sungai Besi Camp, here on Friday.

Major (R) Qayyum Badaruddin, 56, claimed abusive words were hurled at him by an officer who is also a counsellor, believed to be from the counselling unit of the MAF headquarters when he was about to give a lecture to cadet officers of the Military Training Academy (ALK), National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM).

“My session should have started at 4pm but the officer’s session dragged on until 4.20pm. So, I asked when the session would end, because I needed to rush off for another appointment.

“The officer replied ‘you’re a busybody, I’ll punch you. If not satisfied, let’s settle outside’ even though the answer had nothing to do with my question.

“He acted in a harsh way by holding my neck and dragging me to the side while witnessed by about 200 cadet officers and other MAF officers,” he said when met at the Cheras police headquarters today.

Commenting further, Qayyum said the officer had also threatened to punch him as he was no longer a military officer in service.

“Even though I am no longer a military officer in service, I am an invited speaker. He should not have treated me like that. I want him to apologise because I represent tens of thousands of veterans.

“We don’t have to be treated like this because we have also done our part and till this day, I still contribute to raising the image of the military by giving lectures and writing books related to our forces,” he said.

Qayyum said since the incident, he had not been contacted or received any form of apology from the officer concerned or any other MAF officer.

Meanwhile, Cheras police chief Aidil Bolhassan confirmed receiving a report about the incident today and added that investigations were being carried out. - FMT