PARLIAMENT | The cabinet will make a final decision to cancel or revive the National Service Training Programme (NS), said Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu.
He said while the Pakatan Harapan manifesto stated that the programme should be scrapped because it led to wastage and failed to meet its objectives, studies by local universities had rated the NS in a positive manner.
After listening to feedback from stakeholders, Mohamad said the ministry had formed a committee to look into reviving the programme.
He added that the findings would be submitted to the cabinet as soon as possible.
However, the minister stressed that if the programme is to be continued, the government would ensure that all the holes are plugged.
“The total cost for the operation of NS since it started in 2004 is RM8.43 billion.This is horrible," he said during the Minister's Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat this morning.
Mohamad said approximately 83 percent of the cost went towards the rental of the camps.
Conceived in 2003, the NS was initially made mandatory for teenagers aged 18 in randomly selected batches.
However, it courted a number of controversies including the nature of the training as well as the deaths of several recruits.
It was converted into a volunteer programme in 2017 under the revamped National Service Training Programme (PLKN 2.0).
[More to follow] - Mkini
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