NS volunteer brigade to be launched in February

 

GEORGE TOWN: The National Service (NS) Training Programme Volunteer Brigade, aimed at carrying out voluntary work, is expected to be launched in February next year.

NS Training Department director-general Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil said the volunteer brigade, announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recently, was currently in the discussion stage.

"We have discussed with the defence ministry, and if all works out well, the brigade would be launched in February next year," he told reporters after visiting the White Resort NS training programme camp in Balik Pulau here Wednesday.

He said the brigade's function was to assist in times of natural disaster, such as flood, landslide or fire.

Last Friday, when launching the Kami Anak 1Malaysia assembly at the Bukit Jalil Hockey Stadium, Najib announced that the Government would be setting up the volunteer brigade which would involve 500,000 former NS trainees.

Abdul Hadi said the volunteer brigade would be based at 81 camps nationwide. He said, since it was implemented in 2004, the NS training programme had trained more than 580,000.

The latest batch, the 2011 Group 3, would comprise 18,000 trainees nationwide.