PLKN Has to be Scrapped

The national service programme (PLKN) is nothing short of an absolute failure.

Muhammad Fridaus Bin Hafiz

It can be regarded as a failure of the highest proportion. From trainee deaths to deplorable camp conditions to incompetent trainers, this programme ticks all the boxes.

As Malaysians, it is a disgrace and to a certain extent, shameful to have such a poorly-managed programme in our own backyard.

The selection process used for this programme is utterly unfair. By using random selection, it leads to the worst possible scenario. Individuals who are keen to join may be omitted and for those who are less enthusiastic about participating in this programme, they may be selected against their will. Is this the definition of fairness and equality in the eyes of the government?

Another contentious issue is the huge hole that this programme burns in the government’s pocket. To undertake this programme, the government will have to fork out up to RM 5 billion per year. Such an astronomical sum is extremely draining on the government’s already precarious financial position.

This programme does not seem to be able to yield the desired benefits. Instead of instilling positive values in the trainees, this programme seems to put trainees’ lives in jeopardy more than benefiting them.

Besides, there are also lingering doubts about how these funds are put to use. As revealed in the annual Auditor-general report, the government is extremely ‘generous’ when it comes to procurement of items. It is willing to pay up to multiple folds the market price of an item. Assuming that the spending efficiency is at 70%, up to RM 1.5 billion is being wasted each year. When multiplied by the 11 years that the programme has been in place, this results in up to RM 16.5 billion squandered in total. Such funds would have been enough to fund the MRT project in the Klang Valley with much to spare.

However, the most damaging negative repercussion of PLKN is the 22 deaths it has caused since its inception. Facts and figures do not lie. One life lost is already too much, what more 22? These deaths are an apt reflection of the lackadaisical attitude employed in running this programme. If the government is ill prepared to implement PLKN, why implement it in the first place? Why does it want to implement it in such an odd manner whereby some are selected but the rest are omitted?

Additionally, taking into account the other shambolic issues involving national service camps such as leptospirosis cases, instances where female trainees get pregnant and deplorable camp conditions, one cannot help but to wonder why this programme is still continued. Is this to serve the financial interest of a selected number of elitists? Or is it that this programme is used as a political tool to spread the ideologies of a particular political coalition?

As the need for government fiscal consolidation becomes more important, from a financial perspective, this fund zapping programme ought to be discontinued. The funds committed to PLKN would have been put into better use by using it for other more meaningful purposes such as improving public transportation or are distributed to the rakyat to help alleviate the impact of rising costs of living.

The government should not turn a blind eye on the criticisms levelled against PLKN. Such criticisms are made because PLKN is riddled with flaws and injustice. From the day this programme was mooted, it was already a failure in the making. Today, the families of the 22 trainees who lost their lives when undergoing this programme are bearing the irreparable scars and permanent trauma caused by PLKN.

There are bound to be a handful of detractors who will want this programme to remain for reasons best known to themselves. To these detractors, we should not discard the endless problems that are plaguing PLKN until today from day one. Lives lost are permanent.

To sum it up, the government should come to its senses and scrap PLKN for good. At least, a switch to optional participation will prove that the government has some rationale left in it. By doing so, it can lead to a win-win situation whereby those who are eager to participate can still do so and those who are disinterested in it will not be roped in forcefully. At the same time it can ease the financial burden on the government. If PLKN is being continued in its present form, then, it will not be surprising that more innocent lives will be lost and Malaysia will end up becoming a laughing stock of other countries.