Sibu police today confirmed that two male national service trainees lodged reports against a trainer yesterday for molesting them in their training camp at Kolej Bersatu Sarawak in Sibu.

One alleged that the trainer sexually assaulted him on the night of April 19 while the other claimed he was assaulted on April 24.

When contacted, Sibu police chief Sebastian Gaong confirmed that the two lodged the reports yesterday.

Gaong declined to elaborate except to say that the two cases are under investigation. However, local papers reported that the trainer has been arrested and is being held on remand.

Meanwhile Kolej Bersatu Sarawak camp commandant Ismail Mohd Hassan confirmed that the alleged incidents took place in his camp.

He declined comment when pressed by malaysiakini, saying "please refer to the Sibu police headquarters for other details."

The camp in Sibu accommodates 1,100 trainees, all from Sarawak.

Deputy Home Minister Tan Chai Ho, who was in Sibu yesterday, said he regretted the various reported incidents, which should not have happened, as the programme should be 100 percent safe.

Tan, who is also MCA national service co-ordination committee chairperson, said the committee would hold a dialogue with the Defence Ministry on Thursday to discuss recent developments concerning the NS programme.

Many untoward incidents

In Kuching, DAP Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen called for the immediate suspension of the NS programme "until the government is really ready to handle it properly."

He told a press conference that there were too many weaknesses in the programme that had led to many untoward incidents that needed looking into now.

Chong said he felt that Saturday's drowning incident at Sungai Cina, Matang near Kuching involving 18-year-old college student Awang Mohd Fazil Awang Borhan could have been avoided "if the trainers had been properly trained."

"According to press reports, the trainers only knew that the youth was missing from the group when they were about to go back to the camp. From what we all have been made to understand, only two trainers were supervising the 37 trainees," he said.

"Two untrained supervisors will not be able to handle such a big group," Chong added.

The DAP leader said the idea of the NS programme was good, but felt that the government should do something quick to plug the loopholes before something worse happens.

Chong said only those who had completed Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) studies should be taken in as trainees and should not include those those still pursuing lower secondary education or Form Three and Form Four dropouts.

He claimed that some lower form drop-outs who had to work and look for an income to support themselves and their family members were forced to join the NS programme.