SEREMBAN: The Defence Ministry (Mindef) will carry out a 14-day trial run for the National Service (PLKN) 3.0 Training Programme involving 200 male volunteers from Jan 12 next year.
Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said the trial run will be held at the 515th Territorial Army Regiment in Kuala Lumpur as preparation and syllabus evaluation for the programme before the actual PLKN 3.0 takes off next June.“We have a small window for the trial period... it’s to assess the effectiveness of the training syllabus and modules, and perhaps make improvements because we have a lot of experience running PLKN previously.
“I feel that through this method, we can expedite the process of being 100% equipped come June.
“We want to ensure that the modules and training are effective and improvements are made where necessary,” Adly said, Bernama reported.
He added that the trial run is open to all Malaysian males aged between 18 and 20. They have until Nov 23 to apply via the Mindef website at mod.gov.my.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin was previously quoted as saying that PLKN 3.0 would be implemented in stages from either June or July 2025 under a new concept and format.
He added that it would be divided into the pre-PLKN Phase involving Form Four students, which will be implemented during co-curricular activities in schools, and the Basic PLKN Phase for those aged 17 and above.
Khaled said the Basic PLKN Phase, comprising 30% basic national service modules and 70% basic military training, is set to begin in April 2026 at 13 Territorial Army camps, 20 public universities and selected polytechnics nationwide.
On Nov 13, The Star had a front-page report quoting Mohamed Khaled, who gave his assurance that there will be no repeats of the past issues with PLKN 3.0.
He said version 3.0 would be a whole new iteration of the programme that would balance traditional military-style training with contemporary civic education.
