I am most distressed by Defence Minister Najib Razak’s answer and also that of his deputy regarding deaths in NS camps. Both men seem to have missed the point of concern of the parents entirely. It is not the statistics of death. It is not the comparison with other national service programmes. It is also not a concern whether trainees enjoy shooting things or not. It is none of these things.
The point is that the deaths are all suspected to be the caused by the negligence of the people in charge. We as Malaysians are all interested in our children understanding the importance of unity and patriotism for the country. We are also interested in children that have a strong character as well as a healthy physique. But what we abhor completely is Najib’s and his management team’s seemingly callous and negligent way of handling cases where our children fall sick.
If, as Lee Lam Thye says, there is a standing procedure of children who are sick for more than 24 hours to be sent to the hospital, then look at the three cases below and judge for yourself if the camp management can be charged for negligence:
Case 1: Afiq Zuhairi - Afiq Zuhairi reported to his NS camp’s medical centre on a Friday in April this year for fever and was treated by the assistant medical officer. On Monday, he again reported sick and was treated by the medical assistant and nurse at the camp. The next day, when his fever persisted, he was sent to the Tapah polyclinic and subsequently admitted to Tapah Hospital at 11am.
The NS trainee was initially placed in a normal ward. At 3pm, he was referred to the hospital’s intensive care unit before being transferred to Teluk Intan Hospital at 7pm. He died less than three hours later.
Case 2: Mohd. Rafi- According to the statement of claim filed at a High Court registry, Mohd Rafi had reported to the NS Cheneh Cemerlang camp in Kemaman on June 17 last year but had called home on Aug 24 complaining of fever and not being sent to any medical centre for treatment.
‘After a week (Aug 31), he called home again. By then the deceased had complained of fever and swelling in the legs due to a fall during training. He said he had not been sent for treatment and was only given painkillers by the staff in the camp,’ said the statement of claim.
A family member, Jubaidah, then contacted an officer in the camp to find out the exact situation but was scolded. The officer, she said, told her that her brother was well and the camp management would do the necessary if the situation demanded it.
"After that, my brother again called home stating that his condition had deteriorated. His vision had become more blurred by then and everything he saw seemed yellowish. ‘He was still not taken for treatment anywhere,’ she said.
Jubaidah said she called up the camp officer again and queried why her brother had been denied medical attention. She said that the officer still maintained that Mohd Rafi was well and did not need any treatment and forbade her from taking the deceased for treatment.
‘He called me again after that saying that he was vomiting and in great pain. He pleaded for me to go to him as soon as possible. It was only at 10pm that night (Aug 31) that he was sent to the Kemaman hospital,’ she said.
Case 3: Too Hui Min - National service (NS) trainee Too Hui Min ad complained of constipation for three days before she died and her family wants to know why camp officials did not take her to the hospital earlier. Her mother, Chin Kwee Choo, 52, said she was told by the Geo Kosmo NS Training Camp staff at Kuala Kubu Baru that her daughter had complained of constipation for several days.
‘But they said she only started to complain of pain when she went to the shooting range in Banting on Wednesday morning," she said, adding that even then the camp authorities should have taken her to the hospital at once. She said someone from the camp called her four times on Wednesday, with the first call at 8pm, to say that Hui Min was being taken to hospital, followed by another call at 9pm to say she was having problems urinating.
At 10pm Chin was told that her daughter would be warded and the final call, just before 11pm, was to tell her of Hui Min's death.
In all the three cases, there is enough to warrant an investigation and charge of negligence. I have repeatedly called for a simple public inquiry but the government seems to be deaf. The NS camp management is also silent. Only the Head of the Advisory Council, Lee Lam Thye has called for an inquiry.
I, Mohd. Tajuddin bin Mohd. Rasdi, citizen of Malaysia, call on the Malaysian citizens to support me in requesting for a royal commission to investigate all the deaths in the NS camps in order to establish whether there was gross negligence on the part of the camps’ management.
The objective of the royal commission should be simple; that is to seek out what was the Standing Procedure and if these were met or not in all the cases of death. The royal commission should interview three kinds of people and these are the parents of the deceased trainees, the friends of the deceased and the attending camp officials.
The members of the commission must include two personnel appointed by Malaysiakini to represent the parents of all the trainees in Malaysia. One of the personnel must be a doctor with a medical degree and who also is a parent. The other personnel could be any parent who has had his or her daughter or son undergo the National Service scheme.
I think this call is long overdue. If Najib still does not get it, well the people of Malaysia will not be a willing participant to this murderous programme any more.
