Syed Saddiq said RM8.43 billion was spent on PLKN back in 2004. Of that amount, 43% went to the rental of camps and not on curricular activities.

“This is too much for a 3-month programme,” he said in a Facebook post today adding that the government also had to pay for the camp rent all year round.

He also revealed that many camp owners received exorbitant rental payments because they had ties with the then ruling party.

At the Dewan Rakyat today, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob justified the reimplementation of the national service programme saying it had a positive effect in developing patriotism among teenagers.

Ismail said the Public Service Department (JPA) had also offered “soft landing” contracts to some 1,394 former officers who were placed in various agencies and ministries for a year from 2019 after the programme was abolished by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in 2018.

“The purpose of these appointments was to give the officers a chance to sustain themselves while looking for other employment.

While Syed Saddiq agreed with the soft landing contracts to help those who lost their jobs, he said the government should be more concerned with the current problems happening in the country instead of announcing expensive projects.

“Do not use the spirit of patriotism and love for the country as an excuse to divert the public’s attention from the problem of unemployment, retrenchment among young people and a total of 266 people committing suicide during the movement control order (MCO),” he said