The rape incident in which a National Service trainee is an alleged victim is the result of the whole NS scheme being implemented in indecent haste and very poor planning.

One would imagine that such a nationwide scheme would take at least 12 months of planning to be properly executed and include background checks on all the trainers.

The trainees themselves should also be given a handbook or guideline on what are their punishments if they break the rules. It was reported that some trainees had to roll on the ground. and even lick dirty plates.

The rape victim had also reported her tragedy to the camp authority but no action was taken to protect her. If that is the case, than the person-in-charge of that camp should also be hauled up for not acting on the complaint.

NS may reflect societal problems at large but that should not mean that poor administration and control should be tolerated. Otherwise, why should parents allow their children into the NS scheme where they cannot protect them?

We should have a post-mortem on the first programme which should also take feedback from trainees and parents so that the next NS intake and execution will see a level of professionalism that will be an inspiration in itself. Is that too much to expect of a programme that is costing about RM500 million each year?

Otherwise, there is going to be a post-mortem of a different kind - caused by the first death of an NS trainee.