I refer to the letter NS a reflection of education system's failure and 'Mega-schools' could do the job of NS .

I was among the 100,000 trainees who were selected for the National Service programme for the year 2007. First of all, I would disagree if anyone were to ask me whether it is a waste of time spending three months completing my service stint. However, contrary to most of the trainees, I do not think that I greatly benefitted from the programme either.

The reason behind this is because it is a matter of opportunity cost. The programme was not a superb one. Hence, there is a probability for me to gain more if I were to spend the three months studying or working. In spite of that, I am glad that I was selected because it provided me a chance to unravel the jigsaw of pluralism in Malaysia’s society and to voice out my personal views regarding the programme.

In my humble opinion, this programme has succeeded in attaining some of the objectives namely, developing positive values, volunteerism, confidence among the teenagers. However, it has certainly failed to achieve its main objectives – to instil patriotism and promote racial unity. It is a frail attempt to inculcate these virtues in such a short period of three months. I would not deny that there may be some in whom these values were planted, but it failed in most. I am a living example here.

It is a total fabrication if I were to say that I am a more patriotic person after completing from my NS service. Frankly, I am still the same old person who loves my country. Furthermore, I was saddened because inter-racial friendship merely existed superficially among most of the trainees. Ask any trainee and it would be undeniable that most of them are still inclined to mix with their own race. True inter-racial ties which were built during the NS training are a rarity.

The problem further revolves around another issue. For 2008, only 110,000 out of 484,909 were selected for the programme. Does it imply that for every year, only 20% of our teenagers are required to foster patriotism and racial unity? I am totally bewildered. Why have our respected members of parliament or any of the authorities not noticed such an issue? I think that the government should consider revamping the education system instead if they are seriously committed to sowing the seeds of such virtues.

'Mega-schools' may be the answer to this, but all costs must be taken into serious consideration because such schools may incur huge administrative burdens and deprive students of a teacher's attention. The NS trainees are at least 18 years old though I think that it is a bit too late to change their mindset. If they only had friends of their own race for their past 18 years, would you think they would foster close friendship with people of other races abruptly?

Regarding the compelling issues of healthcare and death in NS training camps, personally, I think that most parties have neglected the most important cause – peer pressure. Teenagers nowadays hold a very low self-esteem of themselves and are very image-conscious. This causes them to hide their health problems until it has become severe. They are living in a very large community there.

So, it is a social imperative for them to endure every illness in order to prevent themselves from being regarded as trouble-makers and from being ostracised by their peers. Hence, measures such as bringing them to hospitals when it is too late to prevent deaths don’t work.

The problem of such health cases is further hastened by poor nutrition in the NS camps. The main cause of the problem is the failure of relevant parties to ensure that the caterers comply with the health and nutrition requirements. For those camps which are plagued with the plight of food poisoning, I personally think that it could be eradicated if the trainers were to be compelled to have the same meals together with the trainees, as what my camp practised.

This is to prevent the caterers from being negligent with regards to the hygiene of the food. Spot-checks should also be conducted frequently. Specific guidelines about the types of food that should be served must be established to ensure that NS trainees are provided with adequate nutrition and a balanced diet.

I would also like to call for a review of the time slots for physical activities. I am wondering why the government is ignorant on this issue. Even a kindergarten boy can tell that it is totally illogical for physical activities to be conducted in the hot afternoon sun when temperatures could reach up to 35°C during dry spells. This certainly exposes the trainees to a higher risk of health problems. The problem is further escalated with the inclusion of water activities which increases the exposure of trainees to conditions which spread diseases easily.

Finally, I seriously hope that the government would review the firearms training. In my opinion, I think this it is only a gimmick to please teenagers such as me. The objective of instilling discipline and responsibility through the training is a complete farce as it merely provided a few minutes’ surge of adrenalin into my bloodstream at the cost of hard-earned taxpayer’s money. I think the money could be allocated elsewhere in a more constructive way such as better accommodations or facilities for NS trainees.

Besides, although many may disagree, I believe such firearms training it leads to violent behaviour as it unintentionally gives teenagers a subliminal impression that conflicts could be solved by violence if necessary. We are living in the 21st century now and I think that it is always more important to educate teenagers that the main priority towards solving conflicts is always by solving it peacefully.

I am not against the NS programme, but I am certainly disheartened by the grievances of trainees and their parents. Nevertheless, I applaud the arduous effort of individuals from the National Service Council and National Service Department who are serious in campaigning for the welfare of the trainees.

However, there is much that still could be done. Previously, attention has been focused specifically on this programme with the advent of deaths of the trainees. This is not enough as there are many other issues that are needed to be contemplated, not only to compensate for the failings of this programme but also to fulfill its main objectives. I hope that all Malaysians would be more rational and attentive towards such issues to ensure a brighter future for our country.