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DAP calls for the suspension of the entire national service training programme until it could be incident-free or the authorities are prepared to be fully transparent and accountable and allow MPs and SAs free access to the national service training centres to allay the anxieties and fears of the parents about the safety and welfare of their children Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Penang, Saturday): DAP calls for the suspension of the entire national service training programme until it could be incident-free or the authorities are prepared to be fully transparent and accountable and allow MPs and SAs free access to the national service training centres to allay the anxieties and fears of the parents about the safety and welfare of their children. The spate of fights, sexual harassment and breakdown of discipline in national service training camps in various parts of the country is an increasing cause of concern, sleepless nights and loss of appetite of parents – and it is just not acceptable for the Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak or any member of the National Service Training Council to dismiss them as “teething problems” which should not be blown out of proportion. It is clear that the national service training programme involving 85,000 18-year-olds in three batches this year had been rushed without adequate planning and preparation – despite repeated warnings by DAP leaders, particularly the DAP MP for Batu Gajah, Fong Po Kuan, that such an “indecent haste” to launch the national service training programme without adequate time for the fullest public consultation, discussion and planning will lead to many serious problems. DAP calls on the new Cabinet to take the bold decision on Wednesday to suspend the entire national service training programme until it could be incident-free or the authorities are prepared to be fully transparent and accountable to allow parents immediate information, access and communication with their children if grave problems of fights, sexual harassment and breakdown of discipline occur – such as allowing MPs and State Assembly members full and free access into the national service training camps to allay the anxieties and fears of the parents about the safety and welfare of their children. DAP MPs and State Assembly representatives propose to visit the various national service training centres next week onwards and I call on Najib to send a clear message to all national service training centre authorities to fully co-operate with DAP MPs and State Assembly members to restore public confidence in the programme. I myself will start with a visit to a national service training centre on Monday. * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman & Member of Parliament for Ipoh Timor |