Govt To Consider Allowance For Sispa - DPM Ahmad Zahid

BATU PAHAT, Aug 18 (Bernama) -- The government is ready to consider granting allowances to Civil Defense Student Corps (Kor Sispa) starting next year.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Prime Minister's Department was asked to study the proposal to ease the financial burden on trainees and as an effort to attract students to join the volunteer team.

Ahmad Zahid who is also the Minister of Regional and Rural Development, said the granting of the allowance was in line with other uniformed units such as the Reserve Officer Training Unit (ROTU) and the Student Police Volunteer Corps (SUKSIS).

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"Territorial Army and other volunteer teams have been given training and uniform allowance but for Sispa Corps there is no allowance...duty and uniform allowances.

"It will be streamlined even though this is a request that has been made for so long," he said in a press conference after the 15th National Level Sispa Corps Commissioning Ceremony at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) here, today.

Earlier, 769 Sispa Cadet Officers from the IPT Sispa Corps were commissioned with the rank of Civil Defence Junior Lieutenant and 58 Teacher Education Institute (IPG) cadets were commissioned as Civil Defence Junior Staff.

In the meantime, Ahmad Zahid is confident that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the Finance Minister, will make an adjustment by giving the same amount of allocation as the volunteer team established at the university.

He said participation in the uniformed unit is a condition to fulfill the co-curriculum of male and female students at Public Institutions of Higher Learning (IPTA) and Private Institutions of Higher Learning (IPTS).

"I am confident that the Prime Minister will make an adjustment regarding the same amount with the co-curricular team and other volunteers at IPT," he said.

-- BERNAMA