KUALA LUMPUR: The National Service Training Programme (PLKN), which was abolished in 2018, may be revived, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.
Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the ministry will present a proposal to Cabinet to reintroduce the programme aimed at instilling patriotism among the youth.
"Meanwhile, a total of 1,394 people hired as NS (National Service) trainers who were affected by the decision to stop the programme (by the previous government) have been hired on a one-year contract basis and placed in various agencies.
"This would allow the officers, hired for the 2019-2020 (term), to sustain themselves before securing (permanent) jobs," he said in his winding-up speech on 2021 Budget today.
PLKN, which was introduced in 2004, was abolished in 2018 and replaced with a youth leadership programme during the Pakatan Harapan administration.
On the national security front, Ismail said the government will build 19 more border posts in Sarawak and Sabah areas bordering Indonesia. The project will be carried out in three phases from next year.
"The Defence Ministry had drawn up an overall plan to add more border posts in East Malaysia since 2016, involving 20 new ones (15 in Sarawak and five in Sabah) built to deter illegal immigrants and cross-border criminals, as well as to balance out posts manned by the Indonesian army located along the border."
On a separate matter, Ismail Sabri said progress on works for Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) is 57.01 per cent as of Nov 1, compared to the original plan of 90.11 per cent by this time.
He said the six LCSs are at different stages of progress: LCS 1 (60.60 per cent completed), LCS 2 (48.09 per cent), LCS 3 (43.75 per cent), LCS 4 (36.49 per cent), LCS 5 (22.09 per cent), while LCS 6 has yet to begin construction.
He said the ministry has taken action on recommendations by the National Audit Department, with the RM80.64 million payment meant for the construction of the LCSs off-set as a late delivery penalty for the company responsible for the construction.
It was reported that the Defence Ministry receives a RM15.86 billion allocation under the 2021 Budget (1.8 per cent or RM280 million increase) compared with 2020 (RM15.58 billion), of which RM11.35 billion is for operation expenditure and another RM4.5 billion for development expenditure.