The programme was handled by the National Service Training Department, or Jabatan Latihan Khidmat Negara (JLKN) under the Minister of Defence (MINDEF).

[4] On 13 August 2018, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman of the new federal government under Pakatan Harapan (PH) announced that the PLKN and National Civics Bureau (BTN) programmes were abolished, as he claimed they were being used for racial indoctrination.

Initial proposals envisaged drafting all youths of a certain age, but later lack of resources led to restricting the numbers of the intake.

[7] Conscripts are 18 years of age and picked from a national database that includes all citizens registered with a Malaysian ID card, whether born locally or overseas.

During the first year pilot of the program, three teens from the north, Lee Poa Ting, Nyiau Kean Wei, and Goh Liang Kia expressed disappointment for not being drafted, gaining widespread attention and becoming national news.

against trainees' uniforms are apparent as blue clothes are easily spotted in jungles and verdant vegetation areas except the sky and water.

According to then-Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop, RM2.37bil has been spent to finance the National Service program since it was introduced in 2004.

Then-former Defence Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had said earlier that the programme would not exceed RM500mil a year.

Initially, the program involved a two-month placement in a rural outdoor camp, followed by one month in an urban setting (a university, or sport facility).

Outside the Human Rights Charter Contraventions, other problems are also as follows: After the 2004 pilot batch completed its National Service, the youth wing of the Malaysian Chinese Association, Malaysia's largest ethnic Chinese party), on behalf of themselves and 8 other Chinese-based youth organisations, issued a memorandum to the National Service Training Council calling for more non-Malay trainers.

They also criticised the lack of counsellors, imbalanced diet for the participants, poor communication among the various secretariats and no code of conduct for camp commandants or directors, trainers, facilitators and supervisors.

Some cases include poor teenagers who need to work for their living and young mothers with newborn babies who were selected for the program, which are considered as inhumane.

In 2005, concerns were raised in Parliament that youth were being taught to use firearms, namely M16 rifles, in National Service.

However, a Democratic Action Party Member of Parliament (MP) claimed that the Parliamentary Select Committee on Unity and National Service had not been informed of the project.

Trainees are required to complete a medical checkup before entering the program, which is provided for free at major government clinics.

[39] He also announced plans to draft a replacement programme that would focus on shaping visionary youths, which will also be in line with the Federal Constitution and Rukun Negara.

[40][38] On 9 October 2023, Defence Minister Mohamad Hasan announced in parliament that the National Service would be revived, albeit at a renewed and downscaled structure.

[41][42] After various studies and public reactions regarding the re-establishment of the national service, the new Minister of Defence Mohamed Khaled Nordin finally announced that the PLKN had been activated and the trial session began on 12 January 2025 with age 18 to 25 years, to be carried out in stages until June of the same year by maintaining a percentage of 70 percent military training and 30 percent national module and inviting SPM graduates who have previously joined the school uniformed cadets.