Mohamed Hanipa Maidin: Speakers not once approved ‘urgent motion’. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 — An urgent motion moved by the opposition, to debate the death of yet another National Service trainee, was again rejected in the Dewan Rakyat today, prompting accusations that Parliament was far from committed to reform.

PAS MP Hanipa Maidin raised this at a press conference held in the Parliament House lobby here.



Deputy Speaker Datuk Ismail Said from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition had rejected the motion deeming the issue to be of “no urgency”. The Kuala Krau MP declared his decision “final”, without giving any explanation.



“I regret the decision,” said Hanipa. “He did not once consider that the issue is very important. The Speakers have not once approved an urgent motion moved under Standing Order 18. If you keep rejecting all the motions, then what is Parliament for?”.



Since the inception of National Service in December 2003, there have been 23 deaths in camps nationwide. The most recent was that of the murder of a teenager, Muhamad Suhaimi Norhamidi, who was found unconscious in the bathroom on one of the floors at the Muadzam Shah camp in Pahang yesterday at 12.30am.



Rape, sexual assault and fights among trainees have also been reported in the past.

“We are talking about the lives of our children. There have been many deaths but yet nothing has been done. Even if its just one death we should give it our utmost attention and take the necessary measures so that it won't repeat,” Hanipa said.



The PAS MP for Serdang, a lawyer by profession, said the government should either review or abolish the programme in light of the growing number of deaths in the national service training camps.



On September 24, three national servicemen aged between 18 and 20 were under police detention for the suspected murder of a fellow teenage trainee at the Pinggiran Pelangi camp in Muadzam Shah near Rompin, Pahang, The Star Online reported today.



Muhammad, 18, from Kerdau, Pahang, was found unconscious on Sunday, the news portal reported, citing Rompin district police deputy superintendant Johari Jahaya. He died without regaining consciousness.



“The report revealed that the victim died of internal bleeding in the head due to blunt trauma,” Johari said.



He said the police had classified the teen’s death as murder following an autopsy and were investigating all angles, including the possibility of a fight that broke out among the trainees that may have led to Muhammad Suhaimi’s death.



He added that the three other trainees, whose names were not immediately made known, had been remanded until September 30.



Muhammad Suhaimi had since been buried in his hometown, the news portal reported. It cited the victim’s father, Norhamidi Bakar, 46, saying he would leave the investigation to the authorities.



National Service Training Department acting director-general Rozainor Ramli was also reported to have formed a special unit to look into the incident.



The news portal noted that the camp had been closed to outsiders, citing a security guard who said he had been ordered to prohibit any visitor from entering.



The National Service programme, which randomly drafts school-leavers for three months training, has been mired in controversy since it kicked off in 2003, due to reports of rape and some 19 fatalities from over 600,000 conscripts to date.



Hanipa said the opposition would not be deterred from filing more urgent motions on pressing issues.