Ministry to meet NS council on health checks

Star: PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry has agreed to meet the National Service Training Council to discuss health checks before training starts.
Council chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the council would meet Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and ministry officials in two weeks to discuss its proposal for compulsory medical examination for trainees before their stint.
He added that the proposal had not been officially sent to the ministry but had been discussed at a joint committee meeting comprising ministry officials and council members who were in charge of health and hygiene at the training camps around the country.
“If all goes well and the proposal gets the nod, it could probably be introduced this year,” Lee said in an interview here yesterday.
“We want to ensure trainees are fit for the training,” he said.
When contacted, Health Ministry deputy director-general Datuk Dr Ramlee Rahmat said that the ministry welcomed the National Service Training Council's proposal but said the ministry needed to study its feasibility such as the additional manpower that would be needed and its cost-effectiveness.