KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 37,621 members of the Reserve Officer Training Unit (Palapes) have been commissioned as Palapes cadet officers, covering the land, air and sea services, to date.
Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said that the response to Palapes has been very encouraging, such that it was able to maintain the achievement of 50 per cent participation from the amount allocated, based on the Territorial Army Strategic Plan 2022-2030.
“The plan targets 1,000 individuals for each year of recruitment of Palapes in public universities,” he said at a question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said this in his reply to a question from Nordin Ahmad Ismail (PN-Lumut), who asked about the response to the Palapes programme in public universities.
Adly said that currently, 20 public universities have established Palapes, with the land force in 19 public universities, while the sea and air forces involve 11 and nine public universities respectively.
Touching on the allowances and benefits offered to Palapes and the Territorial Army Regiment cadet officers, Adly said that the Defence Ministry is reassessing the matter.
“We are currently evaluating Palapes and Territorial Army Regiment, whether in the form of incentives provided or other aspects in terms of welfare, because they have to provide 240 hours a year to meet training requirements, apart from ensuring that they remain as territorial army personnel,” he said.
He also said that the re-evaluation of the matter was to appreciate the role played by the security personnel who safeguard the security and sovereignty of the country. - Bernama
