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| Malaysia Kicks Off National Service Call-Up |
| 2004-02-17 |
| More than 28,000 youths from different ethnic groups reported yesterday for Malaysia’s first national service call-up aimed at boosting patriotism and racial integration. Uh oh They are from among some 85,000 teenagers who have been chosen at random from Malaysia’s more than 480,000 girls and boys born in 1986 for three-month stints in 41 camps around the country. Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also defense minister, said there was no political agenda behind the program, but the main opposition Islamic Party has charged that it is aimed at indoctrinating Muslim youths to support the ruling coalition. "We object! Indoctrinating youths is our job!" The government says the objective of the 500-million-ringgit ($132 million) pilot program is to build a generation of self-confident, patriotic youths with noble values and develop multiracial harmony and unity. Now where have we heard that phrase before? The trainees and some 4,000 camp instructors have been picked to mirror the country’s ethnic make-up, officials say. Muslim Malays account for some 60 percent of Malaysia’s 25 million people, while ethnic-Chinese make up some 26 percent and Indians eight percent. The program does not involve weapons handling but physical training includes unarmed military-style exercises such as basic self-defense and jungle survival skills. Recruits will be given paramilitary-style uniforms along with boots and berets, but will also undergo community service and classes on patriotism, nation-building and character-building.Boy Scouts or Hitler Youth? |
| Posted by:Steve |