PONTIAN: Former armed forces veterans could serve as instructors or in other roles in the National Service Training Programme (PLKN), says Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
Ahmad, who is also a member of the National Veterans Council, said veterans not only had experience in the military field but also specific skills that they could pass on at the programme, which will be held at selected military camps across the country.
“PLKN 3.0, which has been proposed to be conducted at military camps, will give veterans the opportunity to be deployed as instructors. Apart from that, 2,000 community ranger positions are also open to them.
“The government has also increased job opportunities for military and police veterans, Orang Asli and local communities when it announced that it would increase the number of community rangers,” he told reporters after the state-level Veteran Housing Initiative’s key handover ceremony in Ayer Baloi yesterday.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, when tabling Budget 2024 at the Dewan Rakyat, said the number of community ranger posts would be increased to 2,000 from the current 1,000 to strengthen enforcement in permanent forest reserve areas.
On Oct 9, the government agreed to reinstate the PLKN, which was abolished in 2018, but with a different method from before, with the youth being trained in military camps.
Referring to the Veteran Housing Initiative, Ahmad said since 2021, a total of 99 houses had been built with an allocation of RM6.5mil, while the government had spent more than RM8mil to repair 554 houses.
“The initiative to build and renovate veterans’ homes will continue to help veterans who are poor or have low incomes by providing them with a more conducive and comfortable place to live,” he said. — Bernama
