Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has called for an urgent meeting with the 41 national service camp commandants to discuss the regulations that are imposed in the camps.

The meeting was called following the alleged rape of an 18-year-old trainee by a camp official in Marang, Terengganu.

Najib, who is also defence minister, told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that camp officials and trainees must adhere to strict rules, which included the separation of male and female trainees in the respective camps.

He added that trainees were also barred from leaving the camps without prior permission from the commandant.

On the Marang case, he said there was no record to show that the victim had left the camp with the 29-year-old trainer, whom she later accused of raping her.

The trainer was detained last Wednesday after the victim, who hailed from Kuala Lumpur, lodged a report with the Puchong police station.

She claimed that she was raped in the suspect's car on Feb 28 after asking him to give her a lift to the bank.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, described the incident as "despicable" and "unforgivable".

Separate camps

Meanwhile, Najib said he had personally directed the police to expedite investigations into the case and when pressed for more details, he replied: "We will wait for the results of the police investigation".

On the same note, he said camp commandants will be reminded tonight to strictly enforce the regulations to avoid a repeat of such incidents.

Najib also urged parents not to be worried and promised to ensure the safety of the 85,000 youths involved in the training-programme.

However, he said the small number of woman trainers posed a problem.

"So far only about 15 percent of trainers and facilitators are women and efforts are being made to get more," he added.

Asked if the intake for the next batch of trainees would be suspended following the many problems, Najib said a thorough and comprehensive study will have to be conducted first.

He added that in future there could be separate camps for the male and female trainees.