SIBU: The National Service Training Programme (PLKN) should be kept strictly to its original objective of inculcating patriotism among youths, rather than a place to train recruits in technical skills.
“I believe they should not ‘rojak’ PLKN as a place to train recruits in technical skills for work,” Assistant Minister of Youth Development and Asajaya assemblyman Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah told thesundaypost yesterday.
“PLKN was set up, I believe, to build patriotism among youths and for harmonious inter racial interaction among ethnic races in Malaysia.
“It was formulated then because the gap between the various racial ethnic groups seemed to be widening.
“They should keep PLKN strictly to these original objectives and don’t turn it into a vocational or technical college, or institution,” Abdul Karim said.
“There are many vocational and technical colleges around for this purpose. If they want to teach recruits certain human and life skills, do it, but it must not divert from its original objectives.”
He was asked about a Bernama report that PLKN 2.0, which starts in January next year, would see trainees who cannot enter university pick up useful work skills.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein reportedly said the ministry was transforming PLKN assisted by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit and the Youth and Sport Ministry.
Hishammuddin had said the emphasis was to give a second chance to PLKN trainees.
The Defence Minister was further reported to have said the ministry had made a transformation to the training dimension in recent months by getting companies to provide jobs – which is a novel approach to PLKN 2.0.
According to Hishammuddin, the eight weeks of training would be followed by training at skills institutes which would probably take a minimum of three months to a maximum of 24 months.
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