THE long-awaited amendment to the National Service Act, changing the penalty for dodgers from jail time to community service, will be tabled at the next parliamentary session this month.

National Service Training Department director-general Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil says steps are being taken to ensure that there are no more deaths among trainees.

National Service Training Department director-general Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil said the change was supposed to be tabled at the end of the recently concluded sitting, but had to be delayed because of time constraints.

The change was initially announced in October 2006, and was supposed to be introduced in Parliament in December that year

It was mooted after a public outcry over the jailing of service dodger Ahmad Harizal Ahmad Fauzi in May 2005.

Abdul Hadi, the department's fourth director-general, said the new and more lenient penalty was being introduced as the original punishment imposed on shirkers was too harsh.
"It will be brought up at the next session, which begins on June 23."

Now, errant trainees face a jail term of up to six months or a fine of up to RM3,000.

He declined to go into the details of the plan, which he said was being introduced by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, as it had yet to be tabled in Parliament.

However, he was glad that the number of volunteers had been increasing over the past few years.

"It is heartening to see that the number of volunteers has gone up from 920 last year to about 1,200 this year."

Even better is the fact that the number of NS dodgers is dropping every year.

He said sometimes those labelled as dodgers were not actually avoiding their call-up but had not replied to the call-up letter.

"Some of them have gone to university. Others have changed addresses and we have not received the return-to-sender letters.

"We hope all selected youth will fill in the call-up form and return it to us.

"There are exceptions in the case of those who want a postponement or exemption. For example, those with contagious diseases, are disabled or have been recruited by the police and the army are exempted.

"But you have to reply to the letter we sent out so that we do not classify you as dodgers."

He also outlined new initiatives to improve camp operations and cut down on deaths, which stand at 16, that have afflicted the programme over the past four years.

One of them is changing the format of the health-screening forms.

"We will remove the conditional eligibility option, which means a trainee is eligible but cannot do strenuous exercise, from the form.

"This is because it makes it difficult for camp commandants to handle things when it comes to physical activities."

He added that the part where trainees had to declare pre-existing illnesses would be expanded.

"Right now, they either choose 'yes' or 'no' answers when quizzed about any illnesses. We will include 'not sure' so that medical staff can investigate further to find out if they have health problems."

Another step is to have health screenings during the trainees' first two weeks of training.

"Trainees will be screened by our medical staff based on their declarations and, if necessary, be asked to see a doctor."

There are plans to create 120 new positions for full-time hospital assistants and nurses in the 84 camps.

He said the medical personnel would be directly attached to the NS Training Department, marking the first time each camp would have its own medical staff.

"When NS began in 2004, only two armed forces medical personnel were seconded to the camps.

"From the beginning of this year, we have been having Health Ministry staff attached to the camps. Having our own medical staff round the clock will be better."

However, he said it would take time to recruit the personnel and added that the earliest it could happen would be next year.

Also, the 4000-odd trainers are being trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency medical treatment.

He said a two-day seminar would be held this month to brief medical personnel at camps on a standardised plan of action in the event of medical emergencies.

"We need to have a standard operating procedure for admitting sick trainees to hospital immediately."

Previously, there was a 48-hour waiting period before trainees who were ill would be referred to a hospital.

He said the inspectorate division, which was formed early this year, would visit the 84 camps around the country and report on improvements that needed to be made. They have inspected 36.

"We are being more stringent now and if the camps don't follow our requirements, we will take action, including shutting them down.

"We have a minimum standard of compliance for things like the training facilities, the quality of water, the cleanliness of kitchens and food.

"These steps are being taken to ensure there are no more deaths in the camps, in line with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's statement recently."

He said the new approach had been decided at the National Service Training Council meeting last Tuesday.