Main agenda for NS when it first proposed in 2001 was to bridge the cultural, racial and religious divide. A question that I would like to ask is what can be done in 3 months when 13 years of public schooling failed?? Can 3 months work miracles? Can 3 months change the perception and thinking of our youths today?

After 3 years of the programme, NS continues to be known as for all the wrong reasons. The data system which randomly picks out 17 year olds has resulted in mothers of newborns, sole breadwinner of the family and sickly teens been drafted. The absence of a pre-requisite thorough check up and on-camp doctors-which is a must in other countries with a more-well-thought NS programmes such as Singapore, Korea, Denmark, Germany has resulted in the selection of unfit trainees and probably even death of at least two of them. The present requirement for submitting a health declaration is insufficient as only a qualified physician would be able to spot it out. For example, if I have asthma, ya I know I have it, but I won’t know how severe it is or how much exercise I can only do in order to keep my illness in control. Placing the wrong person at the wrong position would cause hell lot of trouble. When Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili was selected s the committee chairman, he placed financial considerations above health and safety of the trainees when he indicated that spending RM 35 on each trainee for medical check-up before that start the programme is going to cost the government RM 3.5 million a year for 100,000 trainees. However, funnily the government did not deem it too much to spend RM 17 million on a football tournament (our local football cup) which brings little or no benefit to the country.

Apart from that, it is impossible for us not to consider that the NS programme is also an excellent business opportunity. From transport providers to suppliers of food, uniforms, linen and beds, corporate trainers and resort owners. NS Training Council chairman Tan Sri Lee Nam Thye said that from his investigations, he revealed that some of the camps where food was lacking in quality and quantity. The caterers are paid a huge sum of money per trainee for 6 meals. But what did the trainee gets? Where did the money goes to?

The committee owes all this to fellow trainees and more to come to ensure that all these kinks are ironed out so that our youths get the best out of this programme and be benefited by it rather than a place for them to waste 3 months before they venture out into the world to pursue their studies and careers. We want them to come out and learn something from it and be a better citizen of Malaysia (if that’s what you think this 3 months programme and draw out from out youth) rather than them coming out from it saying that they have just wasted 3 months of their life in there.