When the Government first launched Khidmat Negara or National Service (thank God it's not called Servis Nasional), I must tell you that I was a critic. Harsh but honest.
I liked the whole idea, basically but I felt the Government's readiness did not match it's commitment. The programme itself was deficient in its design and content. Implementation left much to be desired.
Worse, facilites for recruits, in most instances, were so bad, due to, as we all found out, sub-standard contractors.
In short, it was generally poorly-run and administered. Some horror camp stories did not help better our perception of NS.
But we are all clever critics, aren't we?
It dawned on us all that National Service was here to stay. Deal with it.
Some people, of course, could not. Read HERE.
However, it was also clear that efforts were being made to improve the programme, including the facilities provided in the camps nationwide.
Over time, I believe, things improved.
My eldest, Adel Hakim was not selected for National Service after he finished school in 2007. He was pretty nonchalant about it.
Like "okay if I'm selected, okay if I'm not".
As for my youngest, Shaira who is in Form Five, the horror camp stories about abuse and death scared her no end.
I knew that there was always a chance that she would be selected, just as other students. So, I tried to mentally prepare her for that eventuality, telling her that things have improved and that it is a good programme where she'd meet lots of people. In short, that she would love it.
Yesterday, she called me to say that she had been selected. (No mention of where the camp will be, though).
She was not ecstatic. But not overly downcast.
"Tahniah. Anda di pilih......" -- said the message.
Why was she being congratulated for being selected to three months of physical training, she wondered?
Well, I said....because it would be just too bad if you weren't selected to join this damn good summer camp.
I know I will be in deep trouble if everything turns out otherwise.
Shaira is a little reticent and not prone to making friends. So, she'd have no choice but to make friends.
Besides, she'd come home, fit and trim. This seems to cheer her up a little.
I'm hoping that she'll really come to terms with the whole NS thing.
Meanwhile, Shaira is hoping, wishing, praying......that at least the camp toilets are clean.
25 comments:
PLKN sekadar tidak lebih dari tempat untuk mngumpul remaja ini 'do something better than do nothing' dan jika kita sudah mampu mendidik dan mengawal anak2 kita sejak kecil - ia tidak banyak membawa erti malah kadang2 jadi membazir.
Penat menghantar, melawat dan mengambil mereka, tambah kos perbelanjaan.
Lebih baik menghantar anak2 tempoh 3 bulan tersebut ke kelas tambahan english, komputer, jahitan, muzik atau apa apa lain kemahiran sebelum memasuki ipt atau persediaan masa hadapan.
Mungkin sesuai bagi anak2 yang kurng mendapat perhatian ibubapa, nakal, liar dan mempunyai rekod kurang baik di sekolah.
Sekolah harus diberi peranan memilih secara khusus mana mana pelajar wajar di hantar ke sana selain dari kaedah yang digunakan sekarang, tak tahu pulak apa kaedahnya, apakah pick and choose.
GOOD LUCK to Shaira!!I sure hope the toilets are up to her expectation....better prepare mentally not to expect much!
I was VERY nervous whilst waiting for the sms reply, and uttered a BIG 'Alhamdulillah' when it came back with "tidak dipilih"!! According to my son, he's in a 'sek. berasrama penuh' those who got selected were not happy with the news but those who did not get selected were somewhat disappointed.Disappointed that they can't be of 'service to the nation' or missing out on the experience.....? I'm not sure if their parents feel the same way, after all the incidents reported, year in, year out ever since it started.
Dengan kerana BABI--- DAP tikam belakang PAS
DAP sanggup tikam belakang PAS hanya kerana satu rumah lapah babi
Mula Mula Lim Guan Eng memecat Ahli Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai Johari Kassim yang dikenali sebagai seorang ahli majlis yang ikhlas bekerja keras untuk membersihkan MPSP yang dikatakan begitu kusut dengan pelbagai permasalahan.
Johari dipecat walaupun PKR Pulau Pinang memohon agar belau tidak dipecat kerana beliau seorang yang kuat bekerja. Malah TKM1 yang baru dilantik pun meminta agar johari tak dipecat...
Tak layan.. pecat juga... malah katanya kalau suka, boleh suruh PKR cuba lantik Johari semula... begitulah bongkaknya Lim Guan Eng dari parti Roket.
Kemudian dituduhnya, kaum India yang bakal kehilangan rumah mereka sebagai bodoh dan katanya Hidraf sudah menjadi boneka BN...
Eh wahh sedapnya mulut,
dulu masa nak kan sokongan Hindraf, langit dan bumi bulan dan bintang dijanjikan,
Penduduk Kampung Buah Pala a.k.a. High Chaparral yang marahkan Lim Guan Eng - jawab Lim Guan Eng: merekalah yang bodoh kerana tak ambil pampasan- sekarang nak susahkan aku pulak..Gambar oleh Star Online
Tak cukup dengan itu, DAP sanggup keluar dari pakatan Rakyat demi kerana rumah lapah babi YANG DIDIRIKAN SECARA HARAM di kedah dirobohkan. Ait satu rumah lapah babi punya pasal pun boleh tinggalkan pakatan... macamana ni... BACA RENCANA THE STAR DI PENGUHUJUNG POSTING INI
Bila PAS nak berbincang dengan Umno untuk satukan Melayu dia kata macam macam kat PAS, sampai ada yang suruh PAS keluar dari pakatan kerana khianat... NI DAP sorang kat kedah to tak Khianat Pakatan Rakyat ke.. or more specifically, tak khianat PAS ke?
DAP bukan sekadar memaki hamun pas tapi meninggalkan pakatan hanya kerana sebuah rumah lapah babi, apa agaknya reaksi mereka kalu PAS betul betul mahukan negara Islam
DAP begitu lantang menghina Haji Hadi Awang kerana mahukan orang Melayu dan Islam bersatu kononnya ia mengguris perasaan Cina dan bukan Melayu yang lain, tetapi di Kedah mereka tak hiraukan langsung perasaan orang Melayu. Yang peliknya Nik Aziz setuju cakap DAP pulak tu... entahlah
pikir pikirkanlah wahai orang Malaysia
Kak Ena,
oh dear....good luck to Shaira. She will make friends and she will never know, some of those friends will be her life long friends.
Since Kak is back in NST, why not conduct interviews of the families whose loved ones had died in one of these camps? (for improvement sake)
Really? Service to the country? It is a scam to enrich UMNO cronies. You do not have an inkling to what amounts to "service to the country". Killing youngsters and looting under the guise of NS is not service to the country. Period!
Nuraina,
If the programme is that great and young Malaysians learn each other's culture and are a happy united lot, WHY do only one-third of the 500,000 18-year-olds get to to go annually?
So the remaining two-thirds do no learn a thing? Isn't this very unhealthy/ It should be all or none.
Now we hear certain personalities are making a huge profit from the RM400 million expenditure annually.
Can't we use that amount of money for better programmes where all will benefit?
Anti-NS
Hi Kak Ena,
Please wish Shaira all the best and take care of herself there...gosh she's gonna miss home and you especially! Well...the toilet thing...guess she n co.will have to make sure it's clean and not wait for it to be cleaned!
Oh yes...I've been seeing Auntie Dib quite a lot lately. She n Auntie Lah helped to edit my translations for ayah's latest book - Sahabatku.
Well said, marmie. Well said... :)
DAP PLEASE GROW UP.
HAVE YOU GUYS FORGOTTEN JE VIRUS AT BKT PELANDOK.
WE THE CHINESE ARE THE DIRTIEST CREATURE AROUND.
TAKE A LOOK AT SEREMBAN MARKET AND OTHER PLACES OPERATED BY THE CHINESE. IT IS A REAL DISGUST. AMAT MEMALUKAN AND BEYOND CURE.
FOR ONCE I AGREED WITH PAS ON THIS ISSUE.
It might not be a perfect program but the NS is undoubtedly not a bad idea at all. NS is good especially in getting the youngsters to undergo some enjoyable strenuous physical challenges whilst mixing around freely with others to whom they have never met before. The longer it is going to stay, the better it is going be. Just keep on sending constructive comments as that is the only sure way to make the program much more able to meet parents expectations.
Anti-extremist
Tahniah Shaira
So Nuraina tell Shaira maybe dia boleh terjumpa dan terjadi kawan dengan anak Lebai yang nombor tiga - Afiqah namanya. Kem mana kita belum tahu lagi. Sama seperti Shaira, Afiqah ini pun takut-takut juga, al-maklum la duduk bawah ketiak ibu je. Anyway, kita bagi semangat pada mereka dan berdoa supaya tiada yang buruk berlaku.
Salam
Keupayaan minda bukanlah masalah besar bagi generasi Y untuk bersaing atas pentas terbuka. Cumanya dalam persekitaran yang dinamik dan mencabar generasi yang ini tidak dapat tidak perlu dibekalkan dengan nilai tambah (dalam bentuk daya saing, daya juang dan daya tahan).
Kurangnya ketahanan mental bukanlah sesuatu yang diperbesar-besarkan. Sebagai contohnya lihat dari segi modal insan. Baru saja sebulan atau dua bulan bekerja, ramai yang perlukan cuti itu dan ini atas alasan sudah lama tidak balik kampung. Menjengkelkan.
Ini secara tidak langsung menggambarkan kurangnya motivasi, komitmen padu dan ketahanan mental iaitu nilai yang perlu ada bagi seorang individu modal insan yang bukan saja mampu bersaing malah mampu bertahan dalam persekitaran yang bukan setakat mencabar malah ada yang ekstrem.
Oleh itu apa lagi program yang paling sesuai yang dapat meningkatkan daya tahan (mental dan fizikal) kalangan remaja/ji kalau bukan program seperti khidmat negara atau yang setaraf dengannya, yang sememangnya sukar diterapkan waima dalam mana-mana institusi keluarga sekalipun.
anti-perak
A TASTE OF SERVING THE NATION
It's always noble to serve one's own nation
Even though one needs to survive on new ration
Roughing it out together regardless of one's station
Since life at the camp may not be a bed of carnation
(C) Samuel Goh Kim Eng - 030709
http://MotivationInMotion.blogspot.com
Fri. 3rd July 2009.
Take a gue$$ who $upplied the trainee$ uniform$ etc year in year out? Big buck$ man.
Melayu bersatu, yang ni kita cakap NS, apa pulak awak cakap isu babi dan burukkan perhubungan cina-melayu? Bodoh betul.Awak tak suka Lim GE pergi marah dialah, jangan cetuskan huru hara ok!
During my `anti-everything' days, I had nothing but scorn for PLKN. Each and every negative bit of news was used as `evidence' of `how right I was'.
But over the past few years - especially from the end of 2005, and having seen a few visits by PLKN participants to the erm, Institute Gambang, I've become more appreciative and generally more sympathetic towards the government. However, the costs - now this is something I'm not happy with.
BTW, concerning the toilets - no need to hope... how clean does she and the rest want the toilets to be? because it is they who will be maintaining these.
P/S - If only you had seen our toilets at Gambang - you'd have thought they "were maintained by some Bangla workers". Yes, when *we* decided to make it so, it will be so.)
Anak saya tidak terpilih, tahniah juga!
Just read Rocky's post.
Congrats on your appointment as managing editor of NST. Your Dad would have very proud of you.
tell us again when the time selected for her was known, and if she on the third batch which will undoubtedly clashing with IPTA/IPTS intake, and you are telling her to miss out the first 2 month of college 'to serve the country'.
My little sister was 'picked' but she was also picked and left to attend a 1 year student exchange program in Kobe. Can't imagine the whole hassle we went thru to obtain a piece of 'surat pelepasan' and the threat of jail.
Nuraina, Congratulations on your appointment in NST as the Managing Editor.
I hope you will bring back the broadsheet and lift NST back to the level of its past glory and beyond. I used to enjoy reading your columns when you headed the political desk (if there was such a desk) earlier this decade.
Al-Fatihah for Al-Marhum Pak Samad. Insh'Allah he is smiling from Heaven.
Dear Ina,
Rasanya masih belum terlewat saya ucap tahniah di atas perlantikan Ina di NST. Hope you can make some good changes and lead back the paper back to the top.
Jangan melenting bila orang mengkritik, but take it as a challenge to prove them wrong.
At the same time, ikutlah resmi padi ya, semakin berisi semakin tunduk. I hope you stay the way you are, humble and sweet. tetapi kalau nak jadi bos, ada kalanya kena "garang" sikit kan? heh heh heh.
All the best to you!
Dear Nuraina,
I wish you much success as Managing Editor of NST, please accept my best wishes and congratulations.
This camp is out to make money for the organisers, nothing else. and Ena, you should listen to anakmelaka... let's see if the story sees light of day...
nstman
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