All 81 NS centres to hold mock polls next year

All 81 National Service Centres will hold mock elections next year to educate trainees and to expose them to the process of democratic elections as practised by the country now.

National Service (NS) Department director-general Abdul Hadi Awang Kecil said the decision was made after a simulation exercise was carried out at 14 new NS centres which had a positive effect on the trainees in practising and understanding democracy.

He said the mock election process carried out at the NS camps would be managed by the Election Commission, which would decide on the regulations and symbols of parties contesting in the NS elections.

"In the elections next year, all 15,000 trainees will be involved in the simulation from the dissolution (of parliament) to campaigning, nomination of candidates, polling and counting of votes," he told reporters during a visit to the new Saujana Impian NS Camp in Jabi, Besut yesterday.

According to him, the election process was also found in the civics module for NS trainees which would be adapted for elections at the centres.

Abdul Hadi also corrected the misunderstanding of certain groups on the statement of National Service Council chairperson Tiki Lafe who recently announced that trainees at all NS camps would be allowed to be active in politics during the entire three-month training from 2013.

He said what Tiki meant was that trainees were only allowed to be active in politics internally in the camps as they would be infringing regulations if they were allowed to be involved in external party politics as they were still under 18 years old.

He hoped political parties would not miscontrue the matter and capitalise on it by involving NS trainees in the coming general election campaign.

Abdul Hadi (centre in photo) also said another national service programme for remote areas involving Orang Asli settlements, Chinese villages and Indian communities in the estates as well as in Sabah and Sarawak was being planned for next year.

He said the programme would involve NS commandants, officers and trainers disseminating information to these isolated communities in the National Service programme.

In another development, Abdul Hadi said the contracts of 11 NS camp operators throughout the country have been terminated for infringing regulations.

He said apart from not being able to fulfil the conditions of the contract, there were some with court cases, thus forcing NS to terminate their services.

According to him, the Saujana Impian NS Camp was built as a new camp to replace the Agro Camp in Setiu.

The camp which can accommodate 257 trainees, was built at a cost of RM12 million including infrastructure which exceeds minimum camp standards and has covered tracks for trainee activities.

- Bernama