Baey Yam Keng

blitzonic SG

You know, the MP of Tanjong Pagar. Yesterday's Sunday Times NS special reported that he was a mere corporal (military police) when he was a conscipt. I'm sure there might have been a few, but he is the first PAP MP I'm come across who didn't attend OCS or even SAFINCO/SISPEC.

Anyone can come up with another example?

crazy monkey SG

tony tan i think he cpl nia Laughing

kenn3th SG

Shocked

LazerLordz SG

These people are not SAFOS/PSC/EDB Scholars.

For e.g Teo Ser Luck was working in DHL before entering politics. If you have professionals entering the political arena in mid-life, chances are that they are not from the ranks of top scholars, and are not likely to be officers all the time.

blitzonic SG

For sure? Tony Tan's peers were the Goh Chok Tongs, who were born during WWII. They would've already in their late twenties when NS was introduced.

Still, you might have something there (though probably not with TT). Some of the serving Members of Parliament during that period did volunteered for NS, as I recall reading in someone's biography. Will come back on this.

Sidetracking: The biggest hoax, & quite a famous one, was Goh Keng Swee being photographed in a colonel's uniform. He was never commissioned.

sir sickolot II SG

to me not being a commander in your NS days doesn't necessarily equate to you not having (any) leadership abilities.

like how some CPLs or LCPs become private sector CEOs.

And many cases where bosses are CPLs while their subordinates are LTAs in the same combat unit.

I don't think it matters if my MP was a BG or a PTE in the army. what matters is his current performance. ditto that for any political and top civil servant.

cheers

FBI SG

ya la..

they don like NS life cannot meh?

LazerLordz SG

Precisely.

Reveille SG

I'm not too sure if I am right, but perhaps, by colonel, they were meaning this rather than this which we are familiar with.

Goh Keng Swee was the Colonel of the Singapore Artillery, just as Yusof Ishak, Yang di-Pertuan Negara and then first president of the Republic of Singapore, was the colonel of the Singapore Infantry Regiment.

Both men turned up in their military uniforms on the first national day parade celebrating the independence of Singapore.

blitzonic SG

These people are not SAFOS/PSC/EDB Scholars.

I get your drift. If it's any consolation, it wasn't meant to be a slight at Baey Yam Keng at all. What you're highlighting is the group that's usually associated with PAP politicians, i.e the scholars & the ex-regulars. To my mind, there's now three other such groups, the difference being many of the latter shall serve as "mere" MPs without reaching the Cabinet.

The main group of this second tier, also usually associated with PAP politicians, tended to be reservist KAHs who held the ranks of MAJs & CPTs. Sometimes you come across them in the papers, when when a reporter was covering a FIBUA exercise or something & the MP/CO happened to be participating in it.

Another group, which I'm always looking out for, are the MPs who were officers or senior NCOs without being KAHs, usually holding the rank of LTAs at the most. (Unlike in active time, these guys are relatively powerless during reservist. They have important functions in unit ops, but are more or less treated as part of the main body.) But I usually associate the few "outed" PAP men as from the Temasek Green era, that's how infrequent & discreet they are.

The newest group would comprise the Baey Yam Keng's: "normal" peng who would've served only two years but for their academic qualifications. It'll be historic if he can climb to a Cabinet post someday.

I'm not too sure if I am right, but perhaps, by colonel, they were meaning this rather than this which we are familiar with.

Hey, good point, & thanks for the explanation. Still too wayang, Chiang Kai Shek-ish, for me though, whenever I think of the pix. GKS was also the longtime Defence Minister from independence onwards &, back in school, I always thought he got the portfolio for being the only Old Guard leader with military experience during wartime (corporal in the Voluntary Corps). E.W. Barker was the other one, but he was more the equivalent of a medic (might've been a civilian one too) who helped nurse the stragglers along the Death Railway up in Thailand.

Some of the serving Members of Parliament during that period did volunteered for NS, as I recall reading in someone's biography.

To clarify, they didn't. They'd signed up for the newly-created PDF (consisting part-reservist, part-volunteer infantry & artillery units) in the same latter part of 1965 as Independece. Those units, together with the two professional infantry regiments, were our only armed forces until all the Malaysian & British personnel within were phased out & replaced, & a new Singaporean officer corps was produced (SAFTI was establishd in 1966). Within another year, we were ready to introduce NS.

will4 SG

He is only an LCP in rank.

Xcert SG

This is not wrong...but I think it has to be looked at together with the amount of time he was actually with DHL.

Reveille SG

Actually, the whole idea was from the British. So it really makes sense considering we took a lot of idea from the British in setting up an armed force. 1SIR at one point in time was even presented with a Queen's colour. It was retired when SIngapore gained independence though.

Oops, sorry for driving this thread way off topic already!

KenPlus SG

Well say.