KUALA LUMPUR: Only youths who have completed their SPM examinations will be selected to undergo basic military training under the revived National Service Training Programme (PLKN), says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
Although the programme will be targeted at youths between 16 and 35, the Defence Minister gave an assurance that it would not impede students facing their SPM examinations.
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"Phase 1 will involve participation at school level, whereas Phase 2 will be after the schooling phase, that is after the SPM examinations," he said in a written reply to Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari (PH-Sungai Petani) in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Oct 31).
Mohamad said Phase 1 would involve Form Four students and be geared towards uniformed co-curricular activities such as police, firefighters and scouts.
"As such, the implementation will not involve Form Five students to allow them to prepare for the SPM examinations," he said.
Under the proposed revived PLKN, he said participants under Phase 2 will undergo 45 days of training, 90% of which will involve basic military training and the remainder, nation building.
Mohamad said 13 Territorial Army camps around the country, including the Police Training Centre (Pulapol) in Kuala Lumpur, will be used for Phase 2 PLKN training.
He said that the revived PLKN 3.0 will cost RM100mil a year compared to RM500mil for the former programme.
National Service was introduced in 2004 involving the random selection of youths who turn 18 for a compulsory three-month programme.
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It was halted in 2015 and reintroduced the following year with participation to be made optional by 2019.
However, it was scrapped in August 2018.
In 2021, the previous administration agreed that the defence minister would set up a special committee to study the possibility of reviving the programme with a new template.
No specific time frame was given for reintroducing the programme.
On Oct 9, Mohamad agreed with MPs' suggestion that the matter should be scrutinised by a Parliamentary Special Select Committee for further input.
