KUALA LUMPUR: The authorities will not compel teenagers to attend national service and those who do not want to be at camps are welcome to leave, says Datuk Mohmed Asri Yusof.

The National Service Training Department director-general said trainees who had a change of heart while at the camps or those with health problems would not be forced to stay on.

“This is not the army. We do not want to torture them,” he said after flagging off buses ferrying trainees to their respective camps from Bangunan Zetro in Wangsa Maju yesterday.

Mohmed Asri said only interested volunteers would be selected for the revamped National Service Training Programme (PLKN) 2.0.

“Those applying through their schools are aware of this and now, we have more volunteers than places,” he said.

PLKN 2.0 is split into two phases for the volunteers. The first and mandatory phase will last eight weeks, involving modules aimed at promoting unity and providing life skills.

Under the second phase, trainees are given the option to get technical skills and on-the-job training with allowances.

Mohmed Asri said these trainees would be more marketable when they joined the workforce.

He said job placements and industrial training by the Malaysian Automotive Institute was the most popular option chosen by trainees.

Mohmed Asri said these trainees had the opportunity to get attachments to become mechanics, including in posh car companies.

“The institute has noticed that PLKN trainees are more focused and disciplined compared to others,” he said.

Other fields offered include the services, electronic and manufacturing sectors.-thestar