Malysia's National Service Mortality Rate

Source : Wikipedia

Trainee Fatalities while serving Khidmat Negara

2008

• Too Hui Min, 18, passed away recently on the 7th of May 2008, three days after she started complaining of constipation. Her family is desperate to know why she wasn't sent to the hospital earlier. As a result of this latest death, several DAP leaders are calling for the suspension or even the scrapping of the National Service programme. [1][2]

• Afiq Zuhairi, 18, died on 16 April 2008, after a brief febrile illness. He was treated by camp paramedics several times before finally being transferred to hospital where he died in less than 24 hours [3]

2007

• Ili Ameera Azlan, 17, died on 18th January was attached to the Ayer Keroh, Melaka camp after suffering breathing difficulties [4]. The parents were paid RM 35,000.

• 1 March 2007 P. Prema from Kajang, Selangor, attached to the Kisana Beach Resort Camp, Kelantan was found unconscious in a toilet at Jeram Linang (0230 hours). She was taken to the Tengku Anis Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

• 3 September 2007, Mohd Rafi Ameer, 18, died at 10.30pm after having fever for 1 week. Rafi called his sister and telling her that he had fever and that his leg had been swollen for nearly a week after he fell during training.[5] Rafi death making a total of 20 death case in the National Service training camps since 2004.

2005

• Nurul Ashikin Karino, 17, died on 14th May at the Han Sui, Tawau, Sabah camp. Karino Jalani (father of the deceased) claimed that he was not allowed to meet his daughter who fell and was injured as part of a training accident [6]

• S. Theresa Pauline, 17, died on June 11th was attached to the Karisma Camp, Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan. She was admitted to the hospital on May 23rd after having fits. Her death was attributed to viral meningoencephaliti. Her father, S. Sarimuthu was paid RM 32,000 [7]

2004

• Awang Mohd Fazil Awang Borhan, 17, Died on April 23 was attached to the Simalajau Camp, Bintulu, Sarawak. He was swimming with 36 other trainees at Sungai Cina, Matang, Kuching, Sarawak.

• T. Saravana, 18, attached to the Ethnobotany Camp, Gua Musang, Kelantan. The trainee from 1614A Hospital Quarters, Taiping, Perak drowned while picknicking at Sungai Taman Wangi, Gua Musang, about 3 kilometres from his camp, with 250 trainees and 10 trainers.

Now this would be a consistent 2-3 deaths a year during the NS training. The total number of NS related deaths is higher at a total of 16 deaths including those during and a week after training.

Now taking the total number of NS trainees is about 100,000 per year or 30,000 per session, the annual mortality rate would be about 2 in 100,000.

I was trying to find out Singapore's NS mortality rate, but it isn't so easy to find online. Anyway I don't blame parents for being worried as striking the lottery is harder than dying during NS. A good suggestion is to claim your child has chronic constipation...and apparently a higher risk of toxic megacolon!