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The report that our vulnerable youth in their formative years are now being coached on how to use firearms at national service camps is not only incomprehensible but worrying too.

What does our nation need from our young? Able bodied, well-rounded and caring citizens with a positive mindset to meet emerging challenges of the future or fighting fit civilians with savory knowledge and experimental experience in arms handling?

Surely, the very reason of initiating the national service was to prepare the next generation of the country's human capital who will be able to bring the nation successfully to greater heights of social well-being, political stability and economic success.

But why firearms training now? Is this not for those who would have opted to join the country's police and defence forces? Are we anticipating the legalising of firearms ownership in the future for the public or are we toying with the idea of making all youths being prepared for a future military build-up? Silly as the questions may appear these are truly worrying symptoms.

One wonders what would the country be facing in the future if the youths who attended these arms training in national camps fail to be become good citizens later. Would we then not have unleashed another new phenomena typical of Malaysia's reactive crime battle that we read about everyday in the media.

As it is, it appears that firearms are all too common and seemingly easily available these days, reading from the number of gun-totting criminals who even have started shooting civilians at home frontages and traffic light junctions.

Whether the authorities call it 'kelas tembak' or re-word it 'latihan penggunaan senjata ringan' let us not be fooled. It still involves exposing our vulnerable and adjusting youth to handling arms.

Worst, the short training in arms handling could very likely leave a forlorn penchant for the power and excitement that comes with merely learning to shoot. So instead of teaching our youths about the merits of self image, reputation management, communication excellence, discipline and positive attitudes, we are now also wanting them to experiment with the power of the barrel.

To say that it is being well received by the trainees is another folly. The authorities should know that the amount of Hollywood and Bollywood crime on the silver screen has enshrined the power of the gun as a symbol of dominance, conjuring wild imaginations of supremacy. This will always appeal to our young and more so at that age where they are feeling their way into life and society.

It would be more farsighted if the authorities continued to pursue introducing effective programmes that will be highly successful in instilling in our youth the virtues of discipline, commitment and honour. It will be equally far more beneficial if our youths graduate from these training camps as highly motivated individuals who appreciate the strength of teamwork and progress and fully understand the merits of transparency and accountability.

Better still if they come out of these training feeling an aversion for corruption and not a false sense of gun power.

The national service camps must go back to its fundamentals. Let us not try to make warriors out of our youth. Leave the training of fighters for those who enroll for a career in defence.

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