I refer to the Malaysiakini report NS trainees: safety, health main priorities .

I am dedicating this letter again to all the parents of Malaysia whose precious children will have to undergo the ‘deathly sentence’ of the National Service. I will present an analysis of the above letter written by the director-general of the National Service in response to mine .

I will present two main arguments with respect to the content of the letter and the manner or style of writing. Firstly, I wish to inform your readers that I am a professor of Architectural Theory and History at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. I have written more than twenty books and hundreds of articles and papers in order to change the Malaysian people’s mindset about safe housing, better communal spaces and the idea of a democratic architecture. I have supervised many post- graduate students on the thoughts, ideas and philosophy of architects and patrons. Thus, analysing writing is my career. So on with the analysis.

In so far as the content of the letter goes, there is only one information that is important and one information that was missing. The important information is that there is a medical unit with medical assistants (not doctors) and nurses. My contention is that this unit is similar to some kind of ‘military set up’. The point to remember here is that the national service trainees are NOT military personnel. The trainees are OUR children, pampered with warts and everything. The director-general should repeat this phrase every morning when he wakes up. The trainees are OUR precious children. They are NOT military personnel.

So I don’t care how you do it but I insist there must be a qualified doctor stationed there. I never agreed to this programme. I was never consulted on this programme. I am never told about the pedagogy and methods of instruction and types of exercises. I have been forced to give up my precious child to some military or para military personnel to do as they please. If I have to do that, then I demand two things. One, that there be a qualified doctor present. Secondly I want a full public inquiry or investigation on all the deaths that have occurred in order to establish if there was any carelessness on the part of the camps. The director-general’s letter never said anything about the procedures of investigation. Just said sorry and give some money. That’s it.

I wish to inform the director-general that there is a citizens group formed to hopefully make sure that there is no carelessness on the part of the camp. I am a religious person. I learn to accept fate or Qada’ and Qadar. But I will never accept a death without a proper investigation. The investigation team must consist of concerned parents like me. I volunteer my time and service. You do not have to pay me any allowance. I will come to wherever the investigation takes me using my own financial resources. I want to question the friends of all the trainees who have died and establish whether the trainees suffered for more than a week or less. If the trainees suddenly developed a fever and three days later dies, than that is considered as a sudden death and I will accept that. But my suspicion is that the trainees were all suffering more than three days and the ‘excellent’ medical units’ were incapable or had the wrong attitude to diagnose the medical conditions.

So the charge is gross negligence on the camp or inadequate facility by the government. Don’t try to push the blame on parents by saying our children should be checked first by ourselves as to their medical conditions. What nonsense. We never had any choice, sir. To try and insinuate that we, as parents, were negligent is such gall and arrogance that suggests a state of mind of a leadership who cares nothing for our children.

Next is the style of writing of the letter. The letter is written in a ‘brochure-like’ manner. I suspect it is either penned by a ‘flunky’ officer or a standard response by the director-general himself. The letter shows absolutely no compassion whatsoever. It’s just ‘business-as-usual’ to the camp officers. Neither the director-general nor the officer who probably wrote it showed any feelings of human emotion, which smacks of a militaristic response. I repeat. The national service trainees are NOT military personnel. They are our precious children. To give our children to a bunch of unfeeling people is a dangerous thing indeed. Twenty one deaths are more than enough as evidence.

When I teach my students I always treat them as my children and give them my knowledge and care. I have been successful because, simply, I care what happens to them. My writing is ‘unprofessionally’ laced with my concerns for children who have been killed by accidents or abductions and my pain at cultural violations in housing. My articles are laced with my disdain at monumental architecture that smacks of feudalism and not democracy which shows the arrogance of the country’s leadership. Basically, I care.

The Prophet Muhammad once showed deep concern for Bilal when the latter’s wife called him ‘son of a black slave’ which hurt his delicate feelings. The Prophet took time off from his political office to stand by Bilal’s door and softly told Bilal’s wife, ‘Bilal is of me, if he is hurt then I too share that feeling’. The Prophet cared. Once, a great leader of a tribe came to meet the Prophet to parley important political and personal issues but their conversation was interrupted by a small old lady who had some issues to complain to the Prophet. The Prophet stopped the conversation to hear the old lady out. The Prophet cared.

I think, Mr Director-General, you should try to contemplate these lessons from the Prophet. As I write the final words to this letter, my daughter came up and told me that when she was sick during the national service stint, she went to the medical unit. The person who attended her was the ‘Pengetua Kolej’ of UTM. He said she was not suffering anything serious and sent her off with some Panadol. Later I had her checked by a real doctor and she was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. So much for your excellent ‘medical assistants’, Mr. Director General.

Lastly I call for a public inquiry into all the national service deaths and that the members must include us concerned parents. The letter written by the director-general, in conclusion, gives me absolutely no faith in the writer as the head of the service.