KUALA LUMPUR – When a kind of national service was introduced in Malaysia in 2002, it was different from most other countries – it was not a reservist force, not every person who was eligible was part of it, and it was not for the defence of the country.
The purpose was national unity, to help build solidarity between and within the races by bringing people around the age of 18 into a boot camp. Even in that limited attempt, it was a failure and it was finally aborted in 2018.
But what if it can be revived, not in its original form, but in a format that actually provides service to the community in which these students live?
What if they were put together to handle and at least alleviate real-life problems? Like teaching indigenous people or tackling environmental issues.
Would that not give them all a common sense of purpose and allow them to put their brains and efforts together to deal with some issue to help make it better? Wouldn’t that give them a sense of purpose and togetherness while achieving something meaningful?
That’s what this short video clip is about. It examines just that idea. Do tell us what you think by emailing us at [email protected].
Brought to you by advocacy and research group Sekhar Institute together with the Good Capitalism Forum, which promotes responsible social capitalism and Malaysia’s hottest news portal, The Vibes. – The Vibes, May 16, 2021
