Attendance at PLKN 3.0 compulsory for selected 18-year-olds

KUALA LUMPUR: Attendance at the later two series of the National Service Training Programme (PLKN) 3.0 this year will be compulsory for the 18-year-olds who are picked as participants, said the National Service Training Department.

Unlike the volunteer trainees in the first series that started last month, participants of the second and third batches will be randomly selected and screened, said the department’s director Mej-Jen Datuk Ya’cob Samiran.

“Attendance at the two later series this year will be compulsory for those chosen unless they are granted exemptions,” he said, adding that these participants will be called up in April and August.

PLKN 3.0 kicked off on Jan 12 with 142 volunteer trainees aged 18 to 25, who included 44 females.

For the second and third series, a total of over 1,000 participants from across the country are scheduled to take part from May 11 to June 24 and Sept 7 to Oct 21, respectively.

Trainees for the two series will be informed via mail and telephone, Mejar-Jen Ya’cob said when met after a media briefing.

“They will receive a letter and we will call them personally to confirm. They will then have to respond to the letter to acknowledge their attendance.

“Those seeking exemptions must also respond to the letter,” he said, adding that just like in the past, exemptions will be granted for reasons including illness or a participant being overseas.

According to the National Service Training Act, those who receive exemptions to their attendance will have to complete the course at a later date, Mej-Jen Ya’cob noted.

For the upcoming sessions’ 1,000 participants, they will be split into two groups of about 500 each. Male and female trainees will be trained separately at different facilities.

In each batch, trainees will spend 45 days at either the 515th Territorial Army Regiment Camp in Kuala Lumpur or the 505th Territorial Army Regiment Camp in Pekan, Pahang.

Funds will be provided to trainees to travel to their camps and they will be covered by insurance for 51 days, Mej-Jen Ya’cob said.

This year’s three batches, which are being called the pilot series, will be used to test, refine and improve the training modules for later years, he added.

About 70% of PLKN 3.0 will contain basic military modules such as navigation, marching and personal arms training.

The remaining 30% is devoted to civics or nation-building subjects including Malaysian history, its political system and the multicultural diversity within society.

The Defence Ministry had stated that the military training component is aimed at instilling discipline, physical resilience and inculcating basic knowledge about national security.

“The civic modules intend to strengthen national identity and foster a deeper understanding of Malaysia’s constitutional framework, multicultural heritage and civic responsibilities,” the ministry had said.

When PLKN 3.0 goes full steam ahead next year, it will be conducted in four series per year at 13 territorial army camps nationwide.

Mej-Jen Ya’cob explained that for next year, training at these camps will involve between 10,000 and 25,000 trainees who turn 18 in 2026.

The priority will be for young adults who don’t continue their studies at tertiary education institutions.

“Public universities and colleges, meanwhile, will conduct their own version of PLKN, which is similar to the ones at the army camps but with less time devoted to military courses.”

In the years ahead, the aim is to train about 100,000 young adults per year at more than 40 facilities nationwide – including military camps as well as public universities, colleges and polytechnics.