How many lives will have to be sacrificed before Malaysian parents will finally wake up and tell the government they elected to stop this mind-boggling stupid National Service programme that benefit only the organisers? Do right-thinking parents still want to continue lining the bank accounts of these organisers (cronies of the powers-that-be) with hard-earned taxpayers’ money and worry whether their children will survive the camp or return home in a body bag?

At the time of writing, I am grieving - grieving with parents who have lost their children in our so-called National Service ‘death camps’.

And for crying out loud, these kids didn't go to war. They were not expected to sacrifice their lives for their country. They were not in the armed forces either. They were attending National Service camps that were not even military in nature. So how did they die? And why wasn't anything done to ensure that these deaths do not occur again? Who is responsible for this? Who in the government we elect has the right to determine whose child lives or dies in these camps? Why hasn't anyone been prosecuted yet for this?

The Malaysian National Service programme has been in operation for quite a few years now, but I, for one, have absolutely no clue whatsoever what it is designed for and how attendees of these camps are measured after their participation. On the onset, the National Service looks like a big scam benefitting the organisers with absolutely no intrinsic value attached to its programmes. Of course, the wonderful Umno-led government would make us to believe that it has its values, and we should keep sending our children to these camps. I say not.

No more. Again, enough is enough. The 20 unfortunate kids would have been alive today if they did not attend National Service. This absolutely worthless programme took their young lives. They died for nothing. Their parents could not even be proud of the fact that they gave their lives for their country. Many of their parents, I believe, are still grappling with their loss - a needless loss they will not be able to comprehend in their lifetime. And for what? After a lifetime of working hard to support their families and paying taxes to support a government that would, in turn, take the lives of their children?

Malaysians are no longer going to take this kind of atrocity lying down. Heads have to roll. The people responsible for this fracas must be arrested, prosecuted and incarcerated. There are no two ways about this. Malaysians have taken too much nonsese for far too long. And where lives are involved, there should be no compromise. The government should not be good only at hauling innocent citizens to jail on the pretext of sedition and national security. The deaths at these National Service camps are a far bigger and more pressing issue to look into.

The deputy prime minister, supposedly the creator of this utterly meaningless programme must take full responsibility for this. The honourable thing for him to do is resign from all his positions in the government for this shameful, deplorable and unforgivable act of gross negligence. And.the National Service programme must be scrapped with immediate effect.

That's not all. I would also like to know how many of our ministers' children have participated in these National Service camps and what they would have done if their children were the ones that perished in these camps. They won't feel the pain if their own flesh and blood are not the sacrificial lambs, would they?