KUALA LUMPUR: Former operators of the National Service Training Programme camps have been facing financial constraints and were blacklisted after facing difficulties managing the camps after the initial programme had been abolished.
Association of Former NS Camp Operators (PKBPPKN) president, Mohd Rawi Mohd Arof, said 57 operators lost their jobs after they were informed about the abolishment of the programme a month prior to its abolishment.
"The capital investment was significant and only a few camps are still operating, turned into motivation camps, resorts or driving institutions," he told Berita Harian yesterday.
Since the camps take up a huge area normally covering between 8ha to 12ha, Rawi highlighted the monthly expenses of administering the camps, including staff salaries, which required the operators to fork out between tens of thousands of ringgit and hundreds of thousands of ringgit.
He said the costs needed to manage the camps was tens of thousands of ringgit per month including the employees' salaries.
"When the NS training programme was postponed for a year in 2015, we had insufficient funds to maintain thhe camps despite the government's assistance . Operators had to use their own funds for maintenance.
"At that time, they promised to start the NS programme again. Now, how are we gonna manage the camp?" he added.
Rawi said many operators were blacklisted by banks due to loan defaults, with 20 per cent of the 57 former operators having their companies listed under the Malaysian Department of Insolvency (MDI) and they were delisted from the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).
When talking about the conversion of NS training camps to other businesses such as resorts or accommodations, Rawi said such ventures were challenging because most camps were located in rural areas with unique landscapes.
" Permission issues also arise as the camps are rented from the government or specific landowners. Some landowners refuse to change the land status, such as a camp in Pahang, where the state government does not want to damage the lake and forest reserve within the campsite.
"There were also camps that have been offered to be satellite prisons as its location is near the prison, but the offer was declined by the operator because another RM2 million to RM3 million is needed to modify the camp according to the Prisons Department requirements," he said.