how i wish they abolish ns!
40th Anniversary
National Service lives on!
But it faces pressures from a changing demography and intolerant
employers. By Seah Chiang Nee, littlespeck.com
Mar 17, 2007
SINGAPORE will become a very changed nation in 20 years, its
leaders say, but one thing that is likely to stay is its compulsory
national service.
After 40 years, however, this strategy of a trained citizens army
to defend itself is facing pressures from several fronts, the
biggest being its sharply declining population.
Year after year, lower birth rates have reduced the number of
18-year-old men who can be called up for the two-year military
service and, subsequently, 10 years of reservist duty.
And with the prospering economy another dilemma has arisen: the
shrinking land area that can be put to military use and for
training.
The government still regards the well-crafted national service (NS)
as crucial for Singapores survival; after all it raised a
300,000-strong reservist army.
The small population does not allow Singapore to have a large
standing army beyond its present size of 20,000-strong.
When it was launched in 1967, the country was a pale shadow of its
current self. Nevertheless, its birth rate was 55,500, which
promised a credible supply of servicemen, compared with only 35,000
today.
The depletion is aggravated by hundreds of service-age youths
migrating, something that hardly happened before.
Besides, Singapores economy unlike the past has become harshly
competitive and global, with employers demanding work commitment
from their workers.
The numbers game is ironical. When national service began in 1967,
the population was only 1.98mil (2006: 4.5mil), but the increase
mainly came from foreigners, who dont have to serve.
So far, the majority of Singaporeans have grudgingly accepted
national service as a necessary evil.
A minority is, however, voicing discontent about losing out to
foreign workers in cases where employers are unwilling to put up
with their disruptive annual reservist duty.
In the broader picture, some Singaporeans also charge that
Singapores S$10.6bil (RM24.3bil) defence budget or 5% of GDP
is excessive when the economic gap is widening and the poor needs a
lot more help.
This has prompted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, flanked by four
ministers, to meet 400 community leaders recently in an attempt to
dispel public disquiet over military spending.
Defence minister Teo Chee Hean said that S$1 out of every S$3 of
government expenditure goes to defence, but given Singapores huge
economy and assets, it is worth spending.
National service remains a sensitive subject and the government
doesnt look kindly at people who undermine it, but unlike the
past, the new generation is becoming more vocal against unfair
implementation.
For example, a grassroots leader wanted to know why the small army
should have more than 20 generals, saying that having fewer
generals around would be a start to reducing spending.
Military service works this way: At 18 all youths have to report
for a two-year stint, followed by 10 years of reservist duty,
potentially frontline troops in the event of war.
The reservists are recalled for annual in-camp training or military
exercises, which last one or two weeks.
The government has done much to recognise the sacrifice of NS men,
giving perks that range from tax incentives to higher savings
top-ups and fee discounts.
The civil service also offers a slightly higher salary scale for
employees who have completed their service.
With Singaporeans facing growing competition from foreign workers,
however, national service has become a strain when bosses pass them
over in favour of permanent residents (PRs) because of their
cumbersome reservist duties.
Singaporean employers who have gone through it are generally more
ready to employ reservists, but foreign companies often feel no
such responsibility.
They often turn away locals who are still doing reservist duty,
preferring to hire foreigners or PRs, who are free of the
obligation.
An average of 30,000 foreigners (2006: 57,000) and PRs are accepted
every year, and they are not required to serve military
service.
This anomaly is causing rumblings among NS men who feel quite
rightly that the system reduces their ability to compete in the
workplace.
Recently, a fresh Singaporean 26-year-old graduate related his
interview at a foreign-owned fabrication plant here.
The first question the Taiwanese manager asked him was: I see you
are a Singaporean. Do you need to go back to serve NS every
year?
When he replied that he had to report back for in-camp training
every year, the manager reacted negatively, observing that
reservists who failed fitness tests would need to train until they
passed.
He also mentioned frequent absence of employees who had to attend
occasional military meetings, which disrupted workflow.
If every Singaporean needs to do all this, then Id rather not
hire you all then. Every year you all have to take long periods of
absence for NS and no work is done, he added.
The Singaporean didnt get the job.
Singaporean males are going to suffer from this influx of foreign
talents. We dont have an even ground to compete on! he
complained.
The government appealed to employers not to discriminate against
reservists, but in many cases, it has fallen on deaf ears.
The logic of appeals borders on the absurd, remarked a
blogger.
Why should a business entity which has to earn a profit for
shareholders support an obligation imposed on Singaporean
males?
The answer is obvious: Security guarantees its own stable
existence, but its not always evident in their business
annals.
(This article was specially written for, and first published in,
The Star, Malaysia)
