NATIONAL SERVICE ACT 1952

National Service LAWS OF MALAYSIA REPRINT Act 425 NATIONAL SERVICE ACT 1952 Incorporating all amendments up to 1 January 2006 PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIA UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968 IN COLLABORATION WITH PERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BHD 2006 1 2 NATIONAL SERVICE ACT 1952 First enacted … ... ... ... … … … 1952 (Ord. No. 37 of 1952) Revised 1990 (Act 425 w.e.f 31 March 1990) … … … … … … … PREVIOUS REPRINT First Reprint ... ... ... ... ... 2001 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 425 NATIONAL SERVICE ACT 1952 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY Section 1. Short title 2. Interpretation PART II EXEMPTIONS 3. Persons exempted from the operation of this Act PART III REGISTRATION FOR NATIONAL SERVICE 4. Liability to register 5. Registration 6. Rules regarding registration 7. Prohibition on leaving Malaysia 8. Power to take suspected offenders into custody PART IV MEDICAL EXAMINATION 9. Medical examination 4 Laws of Malaysia ACT 425 PART V ENLISTMENT IN ARMED FORCES Section 10. 11. Liability to be called up for service in the armed forces Calling up for service in armed forces PART V A NATIONAL SERVICE RESERVE 11A. Raising of national service reserve 11B. Service in the national service reserve 11C. National service reserve may be recalled by proclamation 11D. Retention of national servicemen in full-time service 11E. Service required of national service reservists recalled or retained for full-time service 11 F. Liability of national service reservists for training 11G. Attachment of national service reservists to armed forces during training 11H. Application of sections 20 and 21 in respect of national service reservists 11 J. Exemptions from service in the national service reserve 11K. Extent of liability of national service reservists to trial by service law 11L. Trial by a civil court 11 M. Punishment for inducing a national service reservist to desert or absent himself 11N. False pretence of desertion, etc. 11 P. Provisions as to offences triable both by court martial and by civil court 11Q. Record of illegal absence 11R. Application of section 182 of the Armed Forces Act to evidence 11 S. Interpretation of Part VA PART VI ENROLMENT IN THE POLICE FORCES 12. Liability to be called up for service in the police forces 13. Calling up for service in the police forces PART VII ENROLMENT IN CIVIL DEFENCE FORCES 14. Liability to be called up for civil defence 15. Enrolment in Civil Defence Forces 16. Terms of Service National Service 5 PART VIII POSTPONEMENT OF LIABILITY TO SERVE Section 17. Postponement of liability to serve 18. Suspension of enlistment, etc., pending appeals, etc. 19. Suspension of right to postponement of liability to serve PART IX REINSTATEMENT IN CIVIL EMPLOYMENT 20. Reinstatement in civil employment 21. Prohibition of dismissal of employees by reason of liability for service PART X SUPPLEMENTARY 22. Allowances to Boards applicants and witnesses 23. Service of documents 24. Penalties for maiming, etc. 25. False statements and forgery 25 A. Penalty for incitements, obstructions, etc. 25B. Attempts and abetment 26. Evidence on prosecutions 27. General provision as to offence 28. Failure to comply with a notice to enrol 29. (Deleted) 30. Rules 6 Laws of Malaysia ACT 425 National Service 7 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 425 NATIONAL SERVICE ACT 1952 An Act relating to the registration of persons for national service and for the call up of persons so registered to perform services in the armed forces, the police forces and civil defence forces. [Peninsular Malaysia—1 March 1958, L.N. 1983/1958; Sabah and Sarawak—28 February 1964, L.N. 70/1964] PART I PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the National Service Act 1952. Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “civil defence force” means any force or service constituted under the Civil Defence Act 1951 [Act 221]; “enlist” includes “enrol”, and “enlistment” shall be construed accordingly; “national service” means all or any of the following forms of service under this Act, namely, service in the armed forces, service in the police forces and service in the civil defence forces; “Police Force” means the Royal Malaysia Police Force; “police forces” includes the Police Force and any other force which the Minister may declare for the purposes of Part VI of this Act to have been raised for police duties; and “a police force” shall be construed accordingly; 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 425 “the proper authority” means the person appointed by the Minister to be the proper authority for the purposes of all or any of the provisions of this Act in which such expression occurs; “regular forces” means the regular Armed Forces of Malaysia. (2) For the purposes of this Act and of any proclamation made thereunder, the time at which a person attains a relevant age shall be deemed to be the commencement of the relevant anniversary of the date of his birth. (3) (Omitted). (4) In the application of this Act to the State of Sabah or Sarawak references in the Act to any written law of the States of Peninsular Malaysia or to any such written law, shall— (a) if such written law has been extended to apply to any such State, be construed as references to such written law or the provisions thereof as so extended to that State; and (b) if such written law has not been so extended, be construed as references to the corresponding written law or the corresponding provisions of such written law (if any) for the time being in force in such State. PART II EXEMPTIONS Persons exempted from the operation of this Act 3. (1) The following persons shall be exempted from liability to register under Part III— (a) Judges of the Federal Court and the High Courts; (b) members of the Cabinet and any House of Parliament; (c) members of any Executive Council or any Legislative Assembly as defined in the Constitution; (d) accredited diplomatic or consular representatives and diplomatic or consular employees who are not domiciled in Malaysia; National Service 9 (e) persons employed in the service of the Government of any part of the Commonwealth outside Malaysia whose presence in Malaysia is occasioned solely by their employment in that service; (f) serving members of the regular forces; (g) serving members of the Malaysian Territorial Army, the Royal Malaysian Naval Volunteer Reserve and the Royal Malaysian Air Force Volunteer Reserve; (h) members of the police forces; (i) persons in holy orders and regular ministers, religious officials or lay missionaries of a recognized religious denomination who as such have been exempted from the operation of this Act by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by notification in the Gazette; (j) mentally disordered persons within the meaning of any written law in force in Malaysia relating to mental disorders or persons found to be of unsound mind under Chapter XXXIII of the Criminal Procedure Code [Act 593] so long as such mental disorder or unsoundness of mind persists; (k) persons certified by two registered medical practitioners to be blind; (l) members of fire brigades maintained under any written law in force in Malaysia; (m) persons who have left or been discharged from the regular forces in consequence of disablement or ill-health, so long as such disablement or ill-health persists; (n) any other persons or categories of persons exempted from the operation of this Act by order of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. (2) In any case where there is doubt or dispute as to whether any person is entitled to exemption by reason of this section, the onus of proving that he is so entitled shall be on the person claiming such exemption. (3) Where a notice has been duly served upon any person under this Act requiring him to do something on a future date and such person is at that date no longer liable to such requirement under this Act, such notice shall thereupon be deemed to be of no effect. 10 Laws of Malaysia ACT 425 PART III REGISTRATION FOR NATIONAL SERVICE Liability to register 4. (1) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may, from time to time, by proclamation direct that, save as otherwise provided by this Act, every male person who— (a) has at the date of the proclamation attained such age, not being less than seventeen years, as may be specified in the proclamation, but has not at that date attained such greater age, not being more than fifty-five years, as may be so specified; and (b) is at that date within Malaysia or, not having been within Malaysia at that date subsequently enters it, shall be liable to register for national service under this Act. (2) If any person who, at the date of a proclamation made under subsection (1), is exempted under section 3 from liability to register under Part III thereof, thereafter ceases to be so exempted, he shall on such cesser become liable to register for national service under this Act. Registration 5. (1) The Minister may, from time to time, by notice in the Gazette, require persons or categories of persons liable to register by virtue of a proclamation made under section 4 to present themselves for registration at such place or places, at such time or times and to such authority as may be specified in the notice. (2) Any person affected by a notice given under subsection (1) who, without lawful excuse, fails to present himself for registration in accordance with such notice shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit or to both. National Service 11 Rules regarding registration 6. (1) The Minister may make rules requiring persons affected by a notice under section 5 to furnish in such manner, and to such authority or person, as may be specified in the rules, such particulars about themselves as may be so specified. (2) Such rules shall make provision enabling a person to state, on registration, that he has a preference to serve in any of the armed forces, police forces or civil defence forces. (3) Such rules may make different provisions in relation to different categories of persons and may provide for exempting from any requirements of the rules any category of such persons with respect to whom the Minister is satisfied that particulars sufficient for the purposes of this Act can be ascertained otherwise than by virtue of those requirements and may require employers to register particulars of such persons employed by them and may require such persons to furnish to their employers such particulars concerning themselves as may be required for the purposes of registration under this Act. (4) It shall be the duty of the proper authority to ensure that— (a) the particulars required to be given by rules made under this section are entered in a register kept for the purposes of this Act, hereinafter in this Act referred to as the national service register; and (b) a certificate of registration in the prescribed form is issued to any person registered under this Act. (5) The proper authority may make regulations to provide for the issue in specified circumstances of fresh certificates of registration in place of certificates which have been lost, destroyed or defaced. (6) The proper authority may, on application made in the prescribed manner, by any person exempted under subsection 3(1), grant a certificate to the effect that such person is so exempted: Provided that such certificate shall not be granted to any person exempted under paragraph (f), (g) or (h) of that subsection. 12 Laws of Malaysia ACT 425 (7) If in any case it appears to the proper authority that a registration is incomplete or incorrect and that it cannot be completed or corrected without the personal attendance of the person concerned, the proper authority may require his attendance at such place and at such time as may be a