Mixed reaction to NS 10 years on

PETALING JAYA: After 10 years with over 750,000 school-leavers having undergone the National Service (NS) and the government spending some RM5.5 billion, some 20% of Malaysians are still unsure whether the programme has attained its objective of fostering closer racial rapport and instilling patriotism and national unity among the young.
For many, the 20% may not be the right figure as it was only concluded following a research conducted by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) on some 61,950 respondents of whom 80% said they were satisfied with the programme.
While there are mixed feelings on the NS, its training department director-general Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil said ever since the programme was initiated, improvement had been made, including developing new modules that would benefit trainees from all races in terms of working together, understanding each other well, attaining new skills and most importantly learning the concept of doing things as a team.
"I must say that in the last 10 years, we have made many improvements for the betterment of the programme while retaining its main objective of enhancing patriotism and national integration," he said.
Hadi Awang did not agree with the notion that the programme has not shown significant result in achieving its objective of fostering national integration.
"We should not asked for the opinion of one or two persons and accept it as the general view of Malaysians.
"A proper study should be conducted by those who keep lambasting us if they really believe that their opinion represent the voice of the majority in the country," he said.
He said the public should not compare the NS programme with the national service of Singapore or South Korea.
"What other countries have is semi-military training and our objective is totally different (from theirs). We did receive suggestions to increase the training period and make it compulsory for every citizen, but for now it does not apply with our version (of NS)," he said.
Implemented in 2004, NS trainees are selected on a random basis with the objective to mould a society that is peaceful, harmonious and united without considering race and religion through the spirit of patriotism, enhancing national integration, building positive personalities through the implanting of honourable values and to accentuate the spirit of volunteerism in our society.
In urging parents, guardians and schools to give support to the NS programme, Hadi Awang gave an assurance that all proactive measures have been put in place for the trainees' safety and security at the 80 camps.