Legacy of mono-intake system. When NS was first introduced, the
Hokkien peng have to be posted somewhere, preferably together for
communication's sake (many were really pai kia & druggies in
those days). There was also political sensitivities about deploying
Malays in combat roles.
NSFs was then deployed to the SPF & SCDF (then only a fire
brigade) from the mid'70s onwards, after the Robinsons Fire (1972)
& the Laju Incident (1974). Then came then Total Defence Plan,
& its constant finetuning through the years saw increasing
specialisation & professionalisation of its personnel.
At SCDF, firefighters got more modern equipment, merged
organizationally with the civil defence proper (largely a
Construction Brigade in those days -- yeah, really sai kang work!).
Progressively, highly skilled paramedic rescue & hazmat
training were also introduced.
At SPF, changing security needs saw it expanding beyond law
enforcement & constabulary work, for example to be deployed
with the KINS units these days.
The Malays who were diverted there (for sensitive reasons) have
performed well enough in building a solid legacy (a different
reason altogether) to maintain the status quo, so to speak. Kinda
like "ain't broken don't fix it" mindset, the difference being
those who make it to A Levels or Poly can now get sent back to
combat, by way of BMTC.
It's still early days, but I think the more we see NSFs doing
Police KINS work, the more it's racially irrelevant to highlight
their SAF combat counterparts anymore.
