KUALA LUMPUR: There is no need for female National Service trainees to undergo pregnancy tests.

NS Training Department director-general Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechik said there were legal implications if such tests were to be made compulsory.
"Another reason why female trainees are not subjected to such tests is linked to moral and privacy issues," Hadi said.


He added that studies were being conducted to provide solutions that could ensure trainees' health and their privacy protected.

He said the current system required trainees to fill up a medical form where they had to answer questions pertaining to their medical history and health condition.

"NS medical staff will run health checks on trainees who declare themselves to be suffering from a condition from time to time.


"This is to ensure that they are not in any danger before performing any activities."

Hadi said there were several committees formed to ensure the trainees' well-being and safety.

"Their good state of health has always been our primary concern."


Recently, an 18-year old trainee gave birth to a baby girl at a NS camp in Kelantan. A camp staff initially thought she was injured when the girl was found bleeding behind a hostel.

However, the staff later found out she had just given birth.

An investigation as to whether the baby died as a result of an abortion or miscarriage was ongoing.

Last year, another trainee gave birth to a baby boy at the Ovai Camp in Papar.

Other trainees at the camp who heard the cries of the baby found the blood-soaked baby, with its umbilical cord intact, together with his mother.

Meanwhile in Putrajaya, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said there was no need for trainees to undergo pregnancy tests.

He said they should inform the camp management if they were pregnant.

"If they tell us, we can exempt them from undergoing training," he said after handing away prizes at the "aerobic-a-thon" event at the One Million Youth Gathering yesterday