National Service is back for Malaysian school leavers, and this time it reaches people through a ballot rather than a blanket call-up. PLKN 3.0 (Program Latihan Khidmat Negara) is run by the National Service Training Department (Jabatan Latihan Khidmat Negara, JLKN) under the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), and 2026 is its first full year with four series. This explainer is based on MINDEF's own PLKN 3.0 information page, statements by JLKN director-general Major General Datuk Marzuki Mokhtar reported by Bernama, The Star and the New Straits Times, the Budget 2027 figures reported by Bernama on 10 October 2026, and the text of the National Service Training Act 2003 (Act 628).

Who gets called up

MINDEF says basic-training trainees are people "born in the year they turn 18", chosen by random computer ballot from Malaysian citizens and permanent residents in good physical and mental health. The 2026 series targeted those born in 2008. JLKN has not yet announced the 2027 call-up; if the same rule holds, it would draw on people born in 2009.

Selection is a conditional call-up (kerahan bersyarat). Not everyone in the age group is picked, but anyone who is picked must attend. Young people who were not balloted can volunteer, subject to camp capacity. OKU card holders are not required to attend, and anyone who went through PLKN 1.0 or 2.0 is not allowed to join.

How to check if you were selected

  1. Go to the ePLKN 3.0 system at plkn.mod.gov.my/pelatih/semakan/form and enter your MyKad number.
  2. If you are selected, the page shows your series, camp and reporting instructions. Confirm attendance on ePLKN by the deadline. For Series 4/2026, checks opened at 11am on 10 August and confirmations closed on 18 September.
  3. From Series 4/2026, JLKN also sends an SMS to the mobile number on record. The SMS does not contain your details; it tells you to check ePLKN.

JLKN's client charter promises the call notice at least 30 working days before the reporting date.

What the 45 days look like

PLKN 3.0 has four phases. A Pra-PLKN introduction for Form 4 students is optional. Basic training (Latihan Asas) is the compulsory part for those selected: 45 days at an army camp, or at least one semester at a public university (IPTA), teacher-training institute (IPG) or polytechnic. Advanced training and the national-service phase that follow are voluntary.

The basic-training syllabus is 70% military, covering drill, weapons handling, survival and field training, and 30% national studies, such as history, the Rukun Negara, the Constitution and community service. Training, meals and accommodation are free, and the government provides transport between home and camp. MINDEF states plainly that there is no allowance for basic training. All participants are covered by an accident and injury insurance policy.

The 2026 series and the camps

Series 1/2026 ran in January to 3 March at the 505 Territorial Army Regiment camp in Pekan and the 515 Regiment camp in Kuala Lumpur, where some recruits were sent home on day one because the camps were over capacity. Series 2 (25 April to 8 June) added MALBATT Village in Port Dickson and saw 1,369 trainees finish, according to RTM. Series 3 (11 July to 24 August) added the 504 Regiment camp at Bukit Keteri, Perlis, and 795 trainees completed it, NST reported.

Series 4/2026 runs from 3 October to 16 November across eight camps. Five are new: Bukit Pinang (Kedah), Hutan Melintang (Perak), Sungai Durian in Kuala Krai (Kelantan), and the first two camps set up with the People's Volunteer Corps (RELA). Marzuki told NST on 24 August that JLKN expected to beat its 2026 target of 4,200 trainees, wants 10,520 across four series in 2027, and could train up to 25,400 a year once all 13 planned camps are running.

Separately, PLKN modules are being tried at universities, and the programme is reported to be extending to 20 public universities in 2027 (The Star, 7 February 2026). Treat those university numbers as plans until JLKN publishes the 2027 call-up.

Deferment, exemption and penalties

MINDEF accepts applications to defer or be exempted on grounds of serious health problems, unavoidable study or work commitments, or urgent family matters. You must submit a formal application with supporting documents, and JLKN's charter promises a written decision within 14 working days of a complete application. People who could not attend may be called again later.

Ignoring a call-up is an offence. Section 18 of Act 628 sets a fine of up to RM3,000, jail of up to six months, or both, for failing to report, and adds that a conviction does not end the duty to train. Section 19 applies the same penalty to going absent without leave during training. We read the Act in its published reprint; check the Attorney General's Chambers portal for any later amendment.

The money

Budget 2027, tabled on 9 October 2026, allocates RM279.85 million for PLKN operating and development spending, out of MINDEF's RM22.11 billion, Bernama reported on 10 October. That is a sharp rise on the RM50 million the programme started with in Budget 2025.

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*Cover image: a PLKN contingent from the earlier national service programme marching at the 2013 Merdeka parade in Sabah. PLKN 3.0 trainees now wear army camouflage. Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.*