Malaysian National Service - History

History

The national service program was first proposed in late 2002, brought to committee the following year, and was finally brought to action in 2004. Initially it was thought that all youths of a certain age would be drafted but later the numbers were restricted due to lack of resources. The program was also initially planned as a 2-year program, which was later reduced to a year, and then six months, and to its present three-month length. The issue of conscription has always been a sensitive political issue in Malaysia because of the ethnic divisions of the country. The rationale for National Service was to bond the youth of Malaysia together and create a Malaysian nation, as the problem of racial polarization was found to pervade educational institutions in Malaysia.

Read more about this topic:  Malaysian National Service

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    Properly speaking, history is nothing but the crimes and misfortunes of the human race.
    Pierre Bayle (1647–1706)

    It’s nice to be a part of history but people should get it right. I may not be perfect, but I’m bloody close.
    John Lydon (formerly Johnny Rotten)

    All things are moral. That soul, which within us is a sentiment, outside of us is a law. We feel its inspiration; out there in history we can see its fatal strength.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)