KUALA LUMPUR: The National Service Training Programme 3.0 should be studied more thoroughly before it is implemented, says the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC).
The committee's Nation Building, Education and Human Resources Development chairman Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah said that it has recommended that the government does not proceed with the third iteration of the controversial programme.
"If the government still wants to implement it, the committee is of the opinion that a deeper study must be conducted," he told reporters at the Parliament building here on Thursday (Dec 5).
He also said that the programme has had no clear objective or target since it was first implemented in 2004.
"The target and modules must be made based on military or semi-military training. The question is – do we really need it?" he asked.
Saifuddin said that the current modules were a mix of basic military and nationalism, with an emphasis on the former.
"However, parts of its content modules have nothing to do with basic military training," he said.
He added the module which incorporates TVET training and nationalism could be delivered via other programmes or existing educational institutions.
"Previous studies of the programme's versions 1.0 and 2.0 did not show long-term positive results among the trainees, rather, it was ineffective.
"The cost of implementing 1.0 and 2.0 was also very high," Saifuddin added.
It was previously reported that Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin had said that the revamped National Service programme, with a new concept and format, would be implemented in stages in June or July 2025.
The training programme will be divided into a pre-national training phase involving Form Four students implemented during co-curricular activities in schools, and its basic phase for those aged 17 and above.
The programme's basic phase, comprising 30% basic national service modules and 70% basic military training, will begin in April 2026 at 13 Territorial Army camps, 20 public universities and selected polytechnics nationwide.
