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Minister to recruit 100 million reservists

Jakarta Post - August 14, 2015

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Jakarta – Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said that he planned to enlist at least 100 million reservists who could be deployed to defend the country.

Ryamizard said during a visit to the Taruna Nusantara high school in Magelang, Central Java, that the reservists would join a recruitment program for the next 10 years.

"These people will defend the country if there's an imminent threat both actual and latent," Ryamizard said as quoted by kompas.com.

Ryamizard also said that the recruitment plan was also aimed at rekindling nationalism, especially among the country's younger generation.

The government has pushed for the endorsement of the reserve component bill. The government denies that the reserve component is military conscription.

According to the bill draft, citizens who are older than 18 are obliged to participate in five-years of military duty under the condition they pass a number of tests and be on call until they are 45. If a citizen refuses to take part, they can be sentenced one or two years in jail.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/14/national-scene-minister-recruit-100-million-reservists.html.