ALOR GAJAH, Oct 26 — The National Service Training Programme (PLKN) 3.0 will be implemented in stages from next January, said Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari.

He said that, for a start, the programme would be held at two military camps in Kuala Lumpur and Pahang before being expanded to 13 other camps nationwide once fully implemented in 2026.

"For next year, the government has allocated RM50 million for us to start PLKN 3.0... according to the original plan, (we are supposed to start) in the middle of next year but there is a need for us to implement it earlier.

"Starting early next year, we will have the first intake and we will focus on the two camps as the pioneer PLKN 3.0 project before implementing it on a bigger scale next June,” he told reporters at Hutan Percha here today.

He said this after officiating the handing over of the Melaka state-level ‘Projek Jiwa Murni’, which was also attended by the Commander of the 3rd Division Maj-Gen Datuk Zahari Mohd Ariffin.

Adly said an estimated 500 participants would be chosen for the programme’s January implementation and the number would be increased in the June intake.

He said the PLKN 3.0 would target participants aged 16 to 35 from among students in Form Four, Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) leavers and students from institutions of higher learning.

Earlier, the Alor Gajah Member of Parliament said that through ‘Projek Jiwa Murni’, a total of 10 houses in Melaka belonging to the asnaf and Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) veterans groups were repaired between January and October with an allocation of RM138,500.

He said five of the houses were in the Alor Gajah parliamentary constituency and five others in the Tangga Batu constituency. — Bernama