Opposition Leader Abdul Hadi Awang said today that PAS supported the National Service Training Bill 2003 but wanted the government to meet a few pre-conditions first. Among them, that the proposed bill, when it becomes law, will not be abused.

"No doubt we too wish to defend the country, as we too are patriotic, not just the government," he said.

However, Hadi declined to elaborate on the party's suggestions to 'improve' the proposed bill saying that he would address the issues in Parliament.

Beginning next February, the government will implement a three-month compulsory national service programme for 18-year-olds. To begin with, only 100,000 young men and women out of an eligible 480,000 will be selected for the scheme.

Plans to propose a National Service Training Bill 2003 will be tabled at the next Dewan Rakyat session which begins tomorrow.

Questions raised

DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang provided a different take on the national service proposal by questioning why the bill is being rushed through Parliament for implementation next year without giving MPs time to study the plan.

He added that this was especially problematic when the four Cabinet sub-committee reports for the programme - the curriculum, logistics, finance and the law - have not been made public and remained an official secret.

In a statement to the press, Lim questioned whether 18-year-olds can succeed in fostering national unity and patriotism after the three-month national service, when 11 years of education - at 24 times the cost of the proposed national service programme - seemed to have failed in these same objectives.

"What is the 'national unity' and 'patriotism' which will be fostered in the programme? Is patriotism equated to blind loyalty to the Barisan Nasional government, as distinct from the Malaysian nation?" he asked.

He also said that the proposed national service programme should not be named thus as the plan is meant to promote national unity, and not for national defence.

Consensus on 'patriotism' first

Lim argued that in a country where there has not been consensus on the meaning of 'patriotism', the government should think twice before spending RM500 million in fostering the notion.

He said this is in reference to a statement last month by Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Kadir Sheikh Fadzir who questioned the loyalty and patriotism of Chinese Malaysians by equating patriotism with the flying and waving of the Malaysian flag.

The DAP chief further warned against the use of random computer selection to select the 100,000 youth for recruitment into the scheme, as this may create new openings for corruption, malpractices and abuses of power.