KUALA LUMPUR, 4 February- The cost of implementing the National Service Training Program (PLKN) 3.0 is lower than the previous PLKN series, with an estimated cost of RM2,000 per trainee.
Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the PLKN 1.0 had an annual cost of RM565 million for 71,300 participants, while PLKN 2.0 cost RM361 million for 20,000 participants.
"For PLKN 3.0, the annual cost is RM200 million, yet it benefits over 100,000 participants, as the programme is now held not only at Territorial Army Regiment camps under the Malaysian Armed Forces but also in universities and polytechnics," he said.
"The cost per trainee in PLKN 1.0 was RM7,900, in PLKN 2.0 it was RM18,000, while for PLKN 3.0, it is only RM2,000," he said during the question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat.
He was responding to a question from Muar Member of Parliament, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who claimed the cost of training PLKN 3.0 participants is high.
Mohamed Khaled also said the ministry would carry out evaluation to ensure the effectiveness of PLKN 3.0, which will involve various parties.