PLKN - Doing no service to the countryPrime Minister Najib Tun Razak, the man behind the national service (NS) training programme, should end all cronyism related to NS and bury the programme for good.
Statistics show that as of June 2008, 17 deaths had taken place since NS’ inception in 2004. Twelve trainees died in the camps and five others died during breaks or within days of completing their training.
Between 2004 and 2008, a total of 339,186 youths had undergone NS training.
Just what is going on at these training camps? The rising number of deaths has alarmed parents who fear for the safety of their children.
More recently, on Feb 15 another death was reported, this time an 18-year-old trainee, Mohd Zulhaili Noraihan, at the Kem Wawasan Ovai in Papar, Kota Kinabalu. The camp personnel have been held responsible over the participant’s death, for their lackaidaisical attitude in providing medical aid.
Despite the repeated calls by various quarters for the NS programme to be terminated, Najib has been reluctant to do so because “many parties are involved”. It therefore is not shocking that Najib had made no effort to deal with this latest casualty. His silence shows his indifference to the problems that have befell and continue to traumatise the programme trainees.
Instead, Najib cleverly diverted attention from the recent death at the NS camp by announcing the reduction of toll rates at the New Pantai Expressway. By doing this, he made it obvious that the deaths of NS participants are the least of his concern and worry. Equally disinterested in taking up this case is Suhakam, Malaysia’s toothless human rights body.
The government had between 2004 and 2007 spent RM2.37 billion on the NS programme. In 2004, some RM608.6 million was spent, 2005 (RM604.8 million), 2006 (RM588.2 million) and 2007 (RM565 million). This despite Najib having said that the programme would not cost more than RM500 million a year.
As Najib has decided his priority is “people first, performance now”, can he then disclose which are those parties that have a stake in the NS programme and that too at the expense of the participants’ lives?
Najib, don’t gamble with trainees lives
In 2008, Najib had said the government would not terminate the NS programme just because 16 participants had died. He said these casualties represented 0.004% of the 339,186 trainees who had gone through the programme since 2004.
“Out of the figure, 11 trainees died in the camps while another five died outside the camps. Of the deaths reported in the camps, seven were due to illnesses and four due to accidents,” was all Najib could say. The latest death in 2008 was an 18-year- old girl in Perak after she complained of constipation.
Trying hard to sound reassuring, Najib added: “I would like to inform the House (Parliament) that the programme has been well-received by the rakyat despite the cases of death. The confidence of the rakyat shows through the applications to voluntarily take part in the programme which has increased from 929 applicants (2007) to 1,137 ( 2008 ).”
Last month, a Sikh trainee Basant Singh woke up horrified to see his long hair snipped while he was asleep at the training camp in Penang. No apology was tendered by the National Service and Training Department nor by Najib to the trainee, his family and the Sikh community.
And to think that the NS programme is aimed at developing positive characteristics among the younger generation through good values besides enhancing unity among the different races in the country.
What more must the participants endure during the three-month-long training at the various designated camps?
It is obvious that Malaysia’s NS camp is a failure in so many ways. When Basant Singh’s case was highlighted, Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor came to the defene of the NS. Now that one participant is dead due to the camp’s negligence, what other excuses does Rosmah have to defend this programme?
Since the NS’ inception in 2004, 16 participants have lost their lives. The National Service and Training Department which comes under the Defence Ministry has failed to solve the most basic of concern, that of hygiene at the training camps, resulting in cases of food poisoning being reported every year.
In January 2009, 155 NS trainees at the Teluk Rubish camp near Lumut suffered from food poisoning after a meal of chicken chop at the camp’s canteen. Incidences like this serve as a nightmare both to the trainees and their parents, with the latter spending sleepless nights pondering over their children’s safety at the training camps - MORE
Statistics show that as of June 2008, 17 deaths had taken place since NS’ inception in 2004. Twelve trainees died in the camps and five others died during breaks or within days of completing their training.
Between 2004 and 2008, a total of 339,186 youths had undergone NS training.
Just what is going on at these training camps? The rising number of deaths has alarmed parents who fear for the safety of their children.
More recently, on Feb 15 another death was reported, this time an 18-year-old trainee, Mohd Zulhaili Noraihan, at the Kem Wawasan Ovai in Papar, Kota Kinabalu. The camp personnel have been held responsible over the participant’s death, for their lackaidaisical attitude in providing medical aid.
Despite the repeated calls by various quarters for the NS programme to be terminated, Najib has been reluctant to do so because “many parties are involved”. It therefore is not shocking that Najib had made no effort to deal with this latest casualty. His silence shows his indifference to the problems that have befell and continue to traumatise the programme trainees.
Instead, Najib cleverly diverted attention from the recent death at the NS camp by announcing the reduction of toll rates at the New Pantai Expressway. By doing this, he made it obvious that the deaths of NS participants are the least of his concern and worry. Equally disinterested in taking up this case is Suhakam, Malaysia’s toothless human rights body.
The government had between 2004 and 2007 spent RM2.37 billion on the NS programme. In 2004, some RM608.6 million was spent, 2005 (RM604.8 million), 2006 (RM588.2 million) and 2007 (RM565 million). This despite Najib having said that the programme would not cost more than RM500 million a year.
As Najib has decided his priority is “people first, performance now”, can he then disclose which are those parties that have a stake in the NS programme and that too at the expense of the participants’ lives?
Najib, don’t gamble with trainees lives
In 2008, Najib had said the government would not terminate the NS programme just because 16 participants had died. He said these casualties represented 0.004% of the 339,186 trainees who had gone through the programme since 2004.
“Out of the figure, 11 trainees died in the camps while another five died outside the camps. Of the deaths reported in the camps, seven were due to illnesses and four due to accidents,” was all Najib could say. The latest death in 2008 was an 18-year- old girl in Perak after she complained of constipation.
Trying hard to sound reassuring, Najib added: “I would like to inform the House (Parliament) that the programme has been well-received by the rakyat despite the cases of death. The confidence of the rakyat shows through the applications to voluntarily take part in the programme which has increased from 929 applicants (2007) to 1,137 ( 2008 ).”
Last month, a Sikh trainee Basant Singh woke up horrified to see his long hair snipped while he was asleep at the training camp in Penang. No apology was tendered by the National Service and Training Department nor by Najib to the trainee, his family and the Sikh community.
And to think that the NS programme is aimed at developing positive characteristics among the younger generation through good values besides enhancing unity among the different races in the country.
What more must the participants endure during the three-month-long training at the various designated camps?
It is obvious that Malaysia’s NS camp is a failure in so many ways. When Basant Singh’s case was highlighted, Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor came to the defene of the NS. Now that one participant is dead due to the camp’s negligence, what other excuses does Rosmah have to defend this programme?
Since the NS’ inception in 2004, 16 participants have lost their lives. The National Service and Training Department which comes under the Defence Ministry has failed to solve the most basic of concern, that of hygiene at the training camps, resulting in cases of food poisoning being reported every year.
In January 2009, 155 NS trainees at the Teluk Rubish camp near Lumut suffered from food poisoning after a meal of chicken chop at the camp’s canteen. Incidences like this serve as a nightmare both to the trainees and their parents, with the latter spending sleepless nights pondering over their children’s safety at the training camps - MORE
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