PETALING JAYA: The National Service Training Programme (PLKN) may be deferred until the age of 35, giving secondary school students the opportunity to continue their tertiary studies without any disruptions. For Azalia Azman, this option to postpone PLKN would be advantageous as she is determined to begin her university studies early. “I want to pursue studies in the medical field so I want to start studying as soon as possible. I am afraid that if I join PLKN and receive a study offer, it would disrupt my focus on SPM and entrance into university. It is great if I can just defer instead of panicking, and I have about a decade after school to worry about PLKN,” said the boarding school student, who is planning to apply to both local and international universities. However, Azalia, 15, hopes that choosing a specific field of study would grant her full exemption from PLKN. “If I serve in the public sector, hopefully the government can consider exempting me, but I can only hope that I get into university first and then become a surgeon as planned,” she said.
Nur Hidayah Amin, another secondary student, mentioned that many of her friends would prefer to defer PLKN in order to “escape” the training. The 15-year-old suggested that the government, teachers, or parents should educate young people properly about what PLKN entails. “I read online that everyone is terrified of joining PLKN, but I saw some of those who went to the training had a great time. It’s confusing for me, since I am already intimidated going into Form Four next year, and then facing SPM, and now PLKN. Perhaps someone older providing us with some wisdom would be reassuring for me to consider joining PLKN,” she said, adding that she has been reading personal anecdotes about PLKN on social media. Nur Hidayah also stated that the training should give students the option to volunteer instead of being forced to participate. “We now have online resources to research about things, so if something is not great, not many are willing to join the program,” she said.
Form Four student, Danish Saifuddin, believes that PLKN would be a great opportunity to spend his free time while waiting for offers from tertiary institutions after SPM. He thinks that spending 45 days with his peers from other states might provide him with valuable experience before going off to university.
