NS trainees have to get clean bill of health first

NST: GOPENG: The next batch of National Service trainees may have to pass a medical test.
"This is to ensure that there will be no more cases of sudden deaths among trainees due to health problems," said National Service Training Council chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye yesterday.
He said that Iliameera Azlan, 17, from the Ayer Keroh training camp, was the seventh trainee to die since the NS programme started three years ago.
She was among four trainees who died due to medical conditions while two others drowned and another trainee died after a fight, he said.
The new condition, subject to approval by the Health Ministry, was agreed to in principle by the council on Thursday, Lee said at an Open Day at the Taman Kepimpinan Gemilang NS training camp near here yesterday.
There were some 35,000 trainees for each batch, he said, adding that medical checks for all would have considerable implications in terms of costs and manpower.
While trainees were asked about their medical condition in their entry forms, problems arose when parents were unaware of their children’s health or when the trainees themselves were overwhelmed by fatigue.
Lee said that the training council had been transparent on fatalities, expressing regret over speculation that there had been cover-ups.
"We will not hide facts. Previous cases of deaths that occurred after the training is completed, such as road fatalities, should not be counted," he said.
Lee also said that the Open Day celebrations for those joining Group Two (March-June) and Group Three (June-September) would fall on May 4 and Aug 4 respectively.