KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — A DAP lawmaker today urged the federal government to incorporate the party’s “Impian Malaysia” initiative to narrow the urban-rural divide into the National Service (NS) scheme.

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming invited Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to speak to members of “Impian Malaysia” to develop a volunteerism module targeted at rural Malaysia for NS trainees.

"We hope that the federal government will come and at least talk to us about this so that we can see what we've done, some of the things we've done well maybe some of the things we've not done as well and perhaps learn from some of our experiences," Ong said at a volunteer recruitment drive here.

Impian Malaysia is a volunteer programme by DAP with a goal of helping marginalised communities across the country. The initiative is funded by donations from the public and has been operational since May 2013.

"A lot of people say 'why DAP want to do this? There's no electoral gain in the near future.' I would say maybe the electoral gain takes a long time to see. We in DAP believe that by doing justice, we can achieve justice," Damansara Utama assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin said.

The NS programme was halted this year as part of Putrajaya’s revisions for Budget 2015 that were necessitated by falling revenue caused by plunging global oil price.

It is currently being revamped ahead of its relaunch next year.