-By Lee Mun Yew
In 2023, the minister of defence announced in the parliament that the national service program PLKN will be reintroduced to shape the next generations with stronger self-esteem and patriotism. But some arguments made by the public audience that they can just join the territorial army and some factors contributed to their point of views.
First of all, the territorial army was based on real-life military training in respective military camps. The training syllabus was taken from the regular forces syllabus, which includes compass marching, map orientation, basic firearms and shooting training, and jungle survival. This allows the trainees to experience a real military lifestyle and also a regimental experience that the outside world cannot provide. The real military training is not like the national service PLKN even though they were similar, PLKN were conducted in privately owned training camps and the activities are like summer camps. The territorial army training is more robust and tough, classes were also based on real-life military knowledge, skills and military ethics.
Second, the territorial army provides sufficient human resources that the Malaysian Armed Forces can mobilize at any time as all trainees and members of the territorial army were registered as reserve forces of the military (Roshila, 2019). These members can be mobilized to provide support during wartime and peacetime for disaster relief and assist regular forces in operations. In 2020, the territorial army members were mobilized to assist the regular forces and the police in conducting operations all over Malaysia such as law enforcement, roadblock and patrol during the pandemic of COVID-19 (Salleh, 2021).
On the other hand, joining the territorial army helps to shape strong mental and physical capabilities (Abdullah, 2017) and the identity of the nation, all trainees who undergo military training in the territorial army have to take an oath to be loyal to the country and the king. This makes the trainee pick up some commitments towards the nation which is their responsibility to defend the nation from all threats and enemies regardless of foreign and domestic. With such loyalty, trainees can go through tough military training, especially their fitness. The fitness training was also known as physical training or PT in short which is a vigorous exercise that tests the mental limit of a trainee. Trainee has to push their limit during the training for a solid one-hour non-stop exercise. Not to mention that every quarter of the year, all members of the territorial army have to go through basic fitness tests and it requires all members to discipline their self in diet and exercise to pass the test so that they can be promoted to a higher rank.
Another benefit of joining the territorial army is that it shapes the strong characteristics and volunteerism of a person (Mustafa, 2020). The territorial army recruited volunteers to join the reserve force without drafting and all trainees volunteered to join, this has started their growth of volunteerism. During the training, there will be extra work that requires the trainees to volunteer to help and at the same time the spirit of brotherhood and comradeship grows thus shaping the value of teamwork. Discipline (Rafi, 2014) is essential and crucial for trainees to attend parades, classes especially on timing, if not, trainees will receive punishment from the coaches, with a strong impact from the training, members of the reserve force regardless of whether active or ex-members were highly disciplined and always on time which is a key value that is required in all fields. We can conclude that the strong characteristics of a person can be shaped by the implementation of these good values in the training of the territorial army.
Abdullah, (2017), Jangan berlaku buli dalam latihan askar wataniah, Bernama, https://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/askar-wataniah-diperkasa-jadi-lebih-bersepadu-tangkas-dalam-atm-446163
Mohd Rafi, (2014), Askar Wataniah Bentuk Disiplin, BHOnline, http://aunilo.uum.edu.my/Find/Record/my.ump.umpir.10106
Mustafa, (2020), Askar wataniahperkasa jati diri warganegara, Berita Harian, https://www.bharian.com.my/rencana/lain-lain/2020/10/747109/askar-wataniah-perkasa-jati-diri-warganegara
Roshila, (2019), Peranan askar wataniah penting sebagai barisan kedua, Sinar Harian, https://www.sinarharian.com.my/article/29109/edisi/sabah-sarawak/peranan-askar-wataniah-penting-sebagai-barisan-kedua#google_vignette
Salleh, (2021), Anggota Askar Wataniah bantu Ops Penawar, Kosmo, https://www.kosmo.com.my/2021/01/26/anggota-askar-wataniah-bantu-ops-penawar/