By NS, I am referring to the entire package of two years compulsory full time service, annual ICT and IPPT/RT/IPT for ten work years and the constant threat of military law. I am not referring to just the two years compulsory service alone.
For regular readers of my blog, you will know that I have always been unhappy with our unfair NS system. I am unabashed about this and am used to Rambo-types calling me all sorts of names because of this.
I read through all the comments, it seems to be a 70-30 split with majority support for a review of the NS system.
NS is a very big discussion topic.
Some of the comments seem to be going off-tangent while others are delving too deep into specific experiences for any meaningful discussion.
I would like to make some clarifications in response to where I stand on the whole NS debate:
1. I do no advocate compulsory two years NS for women or foreigners. Yes, it will make everyone equally miserable, but it will not make me any better off than I was before.
I just want our government to review the whole system thoroughly and improve on it to make Singapore men less worse off.
An eye for an eye will only make the whole world go blind – Ghandi.
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2. I do not have the perfect answer to how the system can be improved. It is the job of the full time staff in MINDEF and SAF to look into it. This does not mean I am not qualified to complain. If you are served a piece of rotten chicken at KFC, do you need to be able to show the kitchen staff how to cook the chicken before you can say anything?
Please don’t give me crap about “constructive criticism”. It is my most hated two words which are ironically, oxymoron. They are convenient replies to cull off any meaning debates by forcing people to come up with solutions before they can even raise any problem.
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3. Yes, the issue of foreigners influx is closely linked to the unfairness of the NS system. However, I am not against foreigners.
I do not blame foreigners for coming in and compete with us for jobs. In fact, I applaud and respect them for having the courage to seize the opportunity when they see it.
Everyone is in search of a better life and if I were in their shoes, I would have done the same. Our government policies allow it to be this way.
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4. While my main grouse is with the unfairness of the system, I won’t deny I am also partially looking out for my own self interest and comfort when ranting off against the current NS system. What is wrong with that? Nation before self? Come on… let’s get real.
If you found a loaf of bread during a famine and you know your wife and son as well as the soldiers defending your land are starving to death, would you give the bread to the soldiers because you believe in nation before self? Let yourself, your wife and son starve to death because the nation is more important? Seriously?
I can be altruistic and giving up to a certain level. At some stage, you have to fend for yourself, your family and your loved ones. Unless you are an extraordinary martyr of sort like Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandela, which I am not.
Even our Ministers justified their high salaries with the same self-serving logic. Why can’t I do the same as an ordinary Singaporean?
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5. I won’t say I have gained nothing during my two and a half years as a full-time serviceman or during my annual ICTs. I made many lifelong friends to keep and the shared camaraderie was priceless.
However, these experiences have nothing to do with criticism of the NS system as a whole. I do not understand why some pro-NS types keep harping on these as rationale to keep the NS system the way it is.
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6. I am very against the restriction of freedom to live life the way I want it, even after I have completed two and a half-year of full-time service. It is not so much about the specifics of having to cut my hair short or attending RT/IPTs or applying for exit permits. It is not having the free option to do otherwise that pisses me off.
Some people are more free-spirited than others. I do not like regimentation. I can tolerate it in the short term (two years), but having it imposed on me for more than half of my entire lifespan is really hard to bear.
NS (reservist) is a part-time job with full-time commitment, subjected to a unique set of military laws where you can get jailed for minor stuff like forgetting to take your IPPT. Fair?
Isn’t this akin to modern slavery?
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7. For those who keep asking me to AWOL, migrate or get out of Singapore if I am unhappy with the system, I am very sorry your worldview is so narrow you cannot even accept difference in opinions.
I never said I am not proud of my country or what we have achieved. However, I believe we can do better.
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8. Seriously, it is time to review the whole NS and reservist system.
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Well said. Exactly why I left the country - so that this cycle will be be perpetuated onto my sons.
Will NOT be perpetuated onto my sons. I served 2 1/2 yrs plus reservists duties etc, so I am entitled to criticise and decide on my sons future.
I too agree that there is problem on the curtailing of our freedom after we have done 2 years of NS. During my nsf days I have seen incekh asking the poor NS men to cut their hair and redye it black just to do their ICT, I mean cant you just do the ICT without all these stupid rules? Makes people resent it beyond just the time they give up.
Hi Alvin,
I'm sorry for upsetting you on my quip on "constructive criticisms". On a personal note, I was just a little disappointed when people started firing personal attacks at me because I'm a female. That being said, what I meant about "constructive criticisms" was veering more to the side of adding value and perspectives to all these talk, rather than looking for solutions. Solutions are not up to us to think about, are they? =)
Nonetheless, insults aside, I like how some of the comments gave me so much new perspectives on how you all feel about NS. And all these problems just get worse because our birth rate is plunging to new lows. With the limited number of men around, I don't know if things can get worse since NS needs you even more in the future.
As a HR personnel, all that I can do on my part, is to advocate for higher pay for men to compensate for their lack of freedom and the 2 years of vacuum -- which is part of the "initiatives" I've earlier spoken about. This would range from around 300-700/month more than girls for the starting salary, and it'll also receive increments on a yearly basis. I know this is not enough. Money can never buy back time. However, there's also a limit to how much my meagre effort can bring me to. I hope I'm making a change, a baby step at a time.
Whether we are happy with the system or not, one thing stays true -- I respect all you guys as NS men, and I recognise the effort and sacrifices that you all have to make for the country. I'm sure many girls think the same way too.
Cheers!
janice.. monetary always seem like a good idea.. but doesn't this makes singaporean male more prone to discrimination? singapore males become more expensive to hire and will force employers to look at alternatives.. and to be honest, how many employers in the private sectors actually follows this guideline? the government have to do much better to at least put singaporean males on equal footing with others.. they are not even close to talk about compensating for our loses..
I totally agree on what was said in this post, namely cause I am one of those free-spirited types that was mentioned in the post. I can act the role for awhile, but keeping the act up for half my life is more than tough, its psychologically taxing. I am not one of those guys who get on well when kept within a compound, or given a fixed set of lifestyle rules to follow. Tell me to go touch the tree and come back and I would question how that particular exercise helps strengthen the body, or are we doing it because the tree is particularly lonely and emotional. Ask me to wake up at 6am in the morning for an activity that takes place 3 hours later and I wanna know if SAF really takes that long to prepare a small activity (how long would they need to prepare for war then?) or if the CO is really that eager to see everybody.
Needless to say I suppressed all these thoughts while i was still doing full time NS, but the joy you feel when you ORD is only as long as the time it takes for the first reservist letter to get to you. From then on, its just small nightmares piling up one after another.
You are required to pass your ippt every year. I was a gold standard runner during my in camp days, cause well, i basically had nothing better to do than to run all day. I have my own business now, with deadlines to meet, with clients to entertain, with money to make. Yes, i have gotten rounder, smoke more intensively now, and probably can't even meet the copper standard (if there was one) in running even if a lion is chasing after me, but I am contributing to the national economy, i am fulfilling my duties as a citizen by paying my taxes, i am obeying the law, and I am trying my darn-est to contribute towards our supposed dwindling population, so by all counts I am a patriotic citizen. Telling me I am going to go to jail cause i can't find the time to go for some fitness appointment with the army or a gathering with old friends to compare burgeoning beer bellies and nothing much of anything else, and I really question the intellect and the psychological health of the authorities in question.
The majority of us already struggle to try and keep up with the increasing cost of everything from flats, to cars to alimony, yet we still have to deal with the stress of having to keep fit (by IPPT standards, not the i-can-jog-without-losing-my-breath-and-my-waistline-is-not-a-size-49 standard), of having to go back for reservist to well, lay in my bunk bed all day and occasionally crawling out of it to do "sai kang", and having to dye my hair black and cut it short after having grown it out and coloured it 7 times since the last in-camp. I want the freedom to be able to say, "i paid my dues! I have given you 2 years of my life to prepare for my country's defence, even though i was forced to! Now let me go lead the rest of my life in peace!" But hey, freedom is just an ideology in this country no isn't it? Ironic that we fight to protect the freedom of our country, so that our country can continue to restrict the freedom of its citizens.
Don't get me wrong as well. I am for NS, but just for the mandatory part. It helps give the increasing number of spoilt brats in our country a dose of reality, and a short stint of regimented lifestyle does wonders for a man's growth (hmm..that sounds a little..), but I really would like that it stays as a 2 year thing. You know, like a childhood lover whom you learn a lot from about love, about relationships, and biology, but would definitely not want to see her again, year after year.
After all, if we wanted our NS to last us half a lifetime, we would have signed on, or to continue the analogy, we would have married that motherf***ingb**ch!
How about $50 per diem extra allowance for each day of reservist training? Make it tax free too. The politicians are being paid for their time as MPs and I do not deny that it takes time from their private life that they could have spent with their family and they are compensated. Why not NSMen? Perhaps the alowance be put into the medisave to help pay for the health insurances to help their medical cost.
Solution is very simple. Slash the salaries of our "top" ministers. Re-allocate these salaries to raise a professional army - these are people who actually have the passion to contribute or cynically by the lure of good money. Whichever it is, is better than a low moral army recruits who do not take the service seriously.
South Korea, Taiwan and Israel all have NS maybe can change the SG model to something more like what other countries are doing. Better yet, just let soldiers be soldiers. But if you want to change the system, you need to change the people who run it. Singaporeans, you want change? Then do something different in 2016!
I understand with much you have said. I think your views are generally reasonable. I hope to comment on two parts. I. When there is a piece if bread left, your wife, your kids and i are hungry, i believe i would let them have it. I would protect them too - because they are part of my home, my country. I don't think doing NS nor reservist should be likened to slavery. I don't enjoy it but i know that one day when we are being bullied, i would be grateful that i know how to use a weapon, how to work with my fellow-countrymen to fight back, and salvage our pride. So not slavery but merely a not-so-pleasant investment.