When the National Service programme was up and running, I was totally gung-ho for my sons to go but they were not called up. I requested their teachers to put them in but I was told it was not them who put in the names. I was also informed that the students were chosen at random.

In addition to that I was also informed that only ‘nerds’ get to go. The active sporty type don’t. My ‘nerdy’ number didn’t get to go. And my active sporty type was not chosen either. I really don’t understand the system!

How I wished they could’ve gone for NS. Never mind their college for a while etc. but it would be good for them with all the principles and objectives of NS nicely written out – I was impressed.

However, then my impression turned to horror. The stories told of the NS facilities. The stories of NS bullying by NS trainees personally told to me. The incompetent trainers. The food. I no longer regretted but also wished there was no NS to begin with because of the deaths of the students and the many things that were overlooked by those in authority.

Talking about statistics, think of the uniforms for the NS trainees. The shoes and socks. The caps. The training equipment. The facilities. The transport and total logistics involved. The food supplies. The utensils and equipment plus cutlery etc. The trainers. The stationery involved. The Advertising and Promotions such as TV clips, press ads etc. Others which I have not mentioned.

The amount of money involved is in the millions and who gets the tender for these? You just ask yourselves - isn’t it a money-making machine disguised? Hopefully it is not. But it would be good to know who got the tenders and who owned those companies.

There are two many issues not explored or not carefully thought out but are nevertheless decided and implemented in NS and then only when things happen, we cry out loud. Nothing has happened yet concerning the young kids handling weapons, guns to shoot – I am not for that at all because kids should be thought to revere life and not to take it away. They should have a healthy fear of weapons.

Kids being kids, we don’t want US-type high school shootings on our Malaysian soil and then cry foul because of some dumb decision to let them practice with real weaponry. Please take a look at the objectives of NS in the first place. Where does it say, teach kids how to use guns?

I really hope the NS authorities will be wise and see that since NS has not achieved its purposes, it probably must be stopped immediately or revamped it in order to make it serve its original purposes. If not, ai yah , close it. It is spending too much of the rakyat ’s money. It is making a few ministers richer.