An Open Letter to National
Service Training Council on three decisions it should take at its first
meeting tomorrow to cut through the muddle of red tape, bureaucracy and
insensitivity caused by inadequate and haphazard planning and lack of
proper consultation in introducing the national service training programme
Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang
(Petaling Jaya,
Sunday): Tomorrow is the first meeting of the National
Service Training Council and I am issuing this Open Letter for the Council
to cut through the muddle of red tape, bureaucracy and insensitivity
caused by inadequate and haphazard planning and the lack of proper
consultation in introducing the national service training programme.
The muddle in the planning of national
service training programme has caused confusion not only among the ordinary
people and lowly civil service ranks, but also at the highest political
circles as illustrated by the proposal by the Education Minister, Tan Sri
Musa Mohamad suggesting a split two-session national service for next year’s
matriculation and Lower Six students who are in the second and third batches
of national service trainees, leaving the programme early and resume it in
2005, because of the clash of dates with the new academic year – which has
rightly caused general lambasting by the public because it is quite a
ridiculous idea.
At the minimum, the National Service
Training Council should announce the following three decisions after its
first meeting tomorrow:
- Exemption or automatic
deferment of students to avoid disruption of education or educational
plans, including (i) students who had attended remove class as well as
those from religious and Chinese Independent schools as they require an
additional year to complete their SPM or equivalent examinations; (iii)
those planning to further their studies overseas, such as preparing for
the South Australian and Western Australian matriculation examinations;
and (iii) next year’s matriculation and Lower Six students in the country
who are in the second and third batches of national service.
- Demonstrate a
progressive and IT-mindset by immediately accepting appeals for exemption
or exclusion from those selected on the basis of confirmation through
hotline, SMS or website, without having to wait for any official letter on
selection, which because of snail-mail problems, could cause two-to-four
week delays before the whole process is completed with final notification
of the outcomes of the appeal by the National Service Training
Department. Over 300,000 youths have used the SMS, costing over RM600,000
at RM2 per SMS, to check on the selection. What is the use of the SMS as
well as the purpose of the RM600,000 expenditures by the country’s
18-year-olds when the National Service Training Council is not prepared to
recognize them as official notification? The National Service Training
Council should ensure that the RM2 per SMS should be slashed to not more
than 50 sen each.
- Allow parents regular
and proper access and visits with their children undergoing national
training programme, as the announcement of no visits to and from their
parents for the 12 weeks’ programme have raised anxiety, alarm and even
fears among parents about the welfare of their children, particularly
those with daughters selected for the programme. It is the height of
insensitivity utterly callous of the concerns of parents about the welfare
of their 18-year-old sons and daughters for the imposition of a ban on
visits to and from parents for the trainees – especially as the government
has not reached a stage of service, efficiency and commitment as to earn
the total trust of the citizenry.
(14/12/2003)
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Lim Kit Siang, DAP National
Chairman
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