Malaysian National Service The National Service Training Programme , or Program Latihan Khidmat Negara ( PLKN ) , is Malaysia ' s national service program . The conscripts are 17 - year - old youths that are selectively drafted . The three - month program , which started in December 2003 , began as way to encourage friendship between youths of certain ages from different races and ethnic groups and address concerns that the country ' s various races were becoming increasingly isolated from one another . History . The national service program was first proposed in late 2001 , brought to committee the following year , and was finally brought to action in 2003 . Initially it was thought that all youths of a certain age would be drafted but later the numbers were restricted due to lack of resources . The program was also initially planned as a 2 - year program , which was later reduced to a year , and then six months , and to its present three - month length . The issue of conscription has always been a sensitive political issue in Malaysia because of the ethnic divisions of the country . The rationale for National Service was to bond the youth of Malaysia together and create a Malaysian nation , as the problem of racial polarization was found to pervade educational institutions in Malaysia . Selection of conscripts . In late December 2003 , the names of 85 , 000 conscripts for the first National Service program was made public . The government announced that these youths were randomly selected out of the roughly 450 , 000 youths born in 1986 , through a computerized process . Conscripts are 18 years of age and picked from a national database that includes all citizens registered with a Malaysian ID card , whether born locally or overseas . Conscripts were informed of their participation in the program by mail at the address listed on their identification card . They are also able to check their status on the program ' s website , or by SMS . Lists of conscripts names and ID numbers are also published in major newspapers . Deserters and draft dodgers are subject to punishment of a fine of up to but not exceeding RM 3000 , and / or up to six months of jail . Deferrals to a later date are allowed . Exclusion from the program requires that the conscript fall under one of the following ten categories : Non selected civilians are also allowed to volunteer to enter the program after filling out certain forms in camps . Identity . The program has its own theme song and logo . Conscripts are issued two pairs each of three different types of uniforms : a class uniform , a sports uniform , and a combat uniform . The combat uniform ' s design is of blue camouflage stripes , made out of light blue , dark blue , white , and black . The general color scheme for the class and sports uniforms is blue , and black . Criticisms against trainees ' uniforms are apparent as blue clothes are easily spotted in jungles and verdant vegetation areas except the sky and water . Ranks in the National Service . Conscripts exhibiting promising leadership capabilities are promoted to rank - holders during the early course of the training . These rank - holders are entrusted with military officer - like responsibilities and authorizations throughout the remaining course of the training . The ranking system however differs slightly among camps throughout the country according to each camp commandant . Among the ranks available are : Other ranks ( varies from camp to camp , not all camps have the following officers ) : Modules . The program is split into 4 official modules : In the 2004 program , conscripts ( referred to as " trainees " or " Wira " for boys and " Wirawati " for girls ) spent 2 months in physical training camp , followed by a final month in a university setting . The program consisted of three separate , overlapping batches . The first batch of 24 , 000 began in mid - February and ended in the beginning of May , while the second and third batches began in March and ended in June . Trainees were divided among 79 training camps scattered all over the country . Each camp was supposed to contain a good mix of youth from different ethnic groups and locations . Budget and Spending . Trainees were initially given a RM300 allowance by the government . Beginning in January 2008 , this amount has been raised to RM150 / month , or RM450 total . Trainee allowances come in the form of a Sijil Simpanan Premium ( Premium Savings Certificate ) from Bank Simpanan Nasional , or an account with Bank Pertanian Malaysia . The accounts with Bank Pertanian Malaysia have been criticized for taking out RM 20 from each account , for processing and ATM card fees . According to Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop , RM2 . 37bil has been spent to finance the national service ( NS ) programme since it was introduced in 2004 . RM608 . 6mil was spent in 2004 , RM604 . 8mil in 2005 , RM588 . 2mil in 2006 and RM565mil in 2007 . Defence Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had said earlier that the programme would not exceed RM500mil a year . List of National Service Training Camps . There are many National Service training camps in every state in Malaysia except the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur , Labuan and Putrajaya . Initially , the program involved a two - month placement in a rural outdoor camp , followed by one month in an urban setting ( a university , or sport facility ) . Following university complaints of vandalism , the urban setting placement was discontinued after the 2004 program . The canvas tents in the outdoor camps that housed 10 trainees each were replaced with concrete dormitories that housed 20 trainees each . Presently , trainees are now housed at only one location throughout the duration of the program . Deployment . The program is staggered into several batches ( kumpulan ) over the year . Collectively , all batches in a year are known as a series . Batches are known as " Batch X , Series Y " . For example , the pilot batch in the pilot series would be referred to as Batch 1 Series 1 , while the second batch in the 2008 series would be Batch 2 Series 5 . In the 2007 program , 100 , 000 people will be selected out of the country ' s youths born in 1989 . They will be placed in 79 training camps , in three different batches . Each batch will undergo three months of training . However , the 2007 batches will not overlap , as with the previous year ' s . Instead , the three batches will span a total of nine months . Training of the first batch started on 1 January 2007 and will end at 11 March 2007 . There were delays for trainees from the East Coast due to severe flooding in the region . Including 2008 , a total of 339 , 186 youths have been assigned to National Service since beginning in 2004 . The program is run by Jabatan Latihan Khidmat Negara ( JLKN ) or National Service Department , a department under the Malaysian Ministry of Defence . Criticism . Despite progress towards ethnic harmony made in Malaysia in recent times it is clear that there are still problems . Outside the Human Rights Charter Contraventions , other problems are also as follows : After the 2004 pilot batch completed their National Service , the youth wing of the MCA ( Malaysian Chinese Association , Malaysia ' s largest ethnic Chinese party ) , on behalf of themselves and 8 other Chinese - based youth organizations , issued a memorandum to the National Service Training Council calling for more non - Malay trainers . They also criticised the lack of counsellors , imbalanced diet for the participants , poor communications among the various secretariats and no code of conduct for camp commandants or directors , trainers , facilitators and supervisors . Despite this somewhat diplomatic language it is clear that there is a problem with bullying by NCOs and Officers , a lack of cultural sensitivity by the Barisan political party affiliated organizers , and a reluctance to provide a proper diet for the mainly Buddhist Chinese Malaysians and Hindu Indian Malaysians . Other main controversy issues of Malaysian National Service include the selection system where the government computer database system picks up the trainees randomly without even knowing about their social status . Some cases include poor teenagers who need to work for their living and young mothers with newborn babies who were selected for the program , which are considered as inhumane . However , selected trainees for more recent sessions with special cases can send a letter of appeal to be exempted from the training and will usually be approved In 2005 , concerns were raised in Parliament that youth were being taught to use firearm s , namely M - 16 rifle s , in National Service . Deputy Prime Minister , Najib Razak , stated that this was merely a pilot project . However , Democratic Action Party Member of Parliament ( MP ) for the constituency of Batu Gajah , Perak , claimed that the Parliamentary Select Committee on Unity and National Service had not been informed of the project . The firearms module is presently an official module in the program . Trainees are required to submit a health status declaration form but are not required to seek qualified medical opinion in completing this declaration ( unlike , for example , United States Space Camp which requires qualified medical certification of health status ) . Trainees are required to complete a medical checkup before entering the program , which is provided for free at major government clinics . This medical checkup , however , is not reinforced . Despite of the numbers of fatalities and casualties among trainees , the government is still insisting to continue the program . Recently , Najib Razak had hinted that the program could be extended to 2 years , but he doubted that the parents would accept his proposal . Official reception . The program has been plagued with claims of poor management right from its inception . As of May 2008 , there have been a total of 16 trainee deaths . When pressured by more calls to suspend the program due to the 16th death , Najib responded that it was not feasible to stop the program since " many parties are involved " . National Service trainee fatalities . Summary . As of June 2008 , there have been 17 deaths since the programme started in 2004 , with 12 trainees dying in the camps and five more during breaks or within days of completing the program .