Speech by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Total Defence Awards Dinner

My parliamentary colleagues,
Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki bin Osman,
Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and Health Mr Amrin Amin,
Permanent Secretaries,
Co-Chairpersons of ACCORD Sub-Councils Mr Tony Chew and Ms Claire Chiang,
Distinguished Guests and Ladies and Gentlemen.

Total Defence -- Our National Response

It is our honour to be able to thank you tonight during this Total Defence Awards Dinner. If you reflect and think back on this whole movement of Total Defence, some of you may know that it started more than three decades ago, in 1984. There are five pillars for Total Defence, but when Total Defence began, the military pillar had already been somewhat established because the armed forces -- the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) comprising the Army, the Air Force and the Navy Services -- was developing at a steady clip. National Service (NS) had gained wide acceptance as citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) accepted their duty to defend Singapore. The other pillar of civil defence had also been considerably strengthened because the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was set up in 1982, and full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) were enlisted into the Singapore Police Force (SPF) since 1975.

So when the first dinner for these awards was started in 1986, again more than 30 years ago, the Total Defence awards were focused more on businesses. Military pillar was strengthened, civil defence pillar was also fairly strong; wanted to focus on businesses. Why? Because we needed employers too to support the Home Team and the SAF particularly through their companies' policies towards what we call Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen). Because when these NSmen were called up for In-Camp Training (ICT), we needed employers to not only understand, but be supportive as well as to provide civil resources, when needed. Today, I am very much encouraged by the strong support from employers and how it has grown over the years. We did a recent survey in 2016, and astonishingly, 96% of employers recognise that NS provided the security needed for Singapore to develop and prosper. 96%. I am not sure that there are many questions in this world that you can get 96% to agree with you. But I think businesses understand without stability, you do not have predictability and it is very hard to plan medium-term and even long-term. And that strong support that we have among employers and businesses is the result of work done by the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD), who have been engaging employers and businesses through their industry networks. And ACCORD has also done well in engaging educational institutes, families, the broader community, and facilitating many ground-up initiatives in support of national defence and NS. So today, I want to put on record my deep thanks, the Ministry of Defence's deep thanks, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)'s deep thanks to ACCORD members for their commitment and dedication. Thank you very much.
 
I do not want to embarrass any of you and do a pop quiz and ask you what the two remaining pillars of Total Defence are. They are economic and social defence. And when Total Defence was introduced, these pillars were envisioned differently from today. The thinking was if Singapore faced an aggressor, because remember in 1984 when Total Defence was introduced, the memories of Konfrontasi had receded; the communist insurgency had already calmed down. And so the thinking of insurgency guerrilla-type of disruption, the risk was less. But the neighbourhood was always lurking, troubles lurking. And the thinking was if Singapore ever was faced with an aggressor -- because we are a small country -- and someone challenged or threatened our sovereignty, then could and would Singaporeans come together to keep it going? That was the thinking when it was introduced. But today, the threat of terrorism has laid bare how much these two pillars need to be as strong as well. Because when a terrorist attack occurs, it will not just be the number of dead and injured that have resulted, but the aftermath can also have serious, and even more damaging, social and economic consequences.

These are not theoretical considerations. I give you two examples. You remember the terror attacks in Brussels. After it occurred, Belgium's economic growth slowed, to the extent that the Finance Minister then, Johan Van Overtveldt, estimated that there would be an over SG$1 billion decrease in federal tax revenues. And I do not need to tell you, many of you who are business CEOs. When a terror attack occurs, all over Singapore, all over the world they will start making calculations about whether I will invest in the next plant or factory in Singapore or not. It is as simple as that. Because they will say, "Singapore is not so safe now. Should I put it in a country nearby?" Tourists will stop coming. You do not need a terror attack for the region to be united as one. I remember when the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome hit us, and tourists basically boycotted the whole region. I remember a particular incident. I was in the Ministry of Manpower and honestly it was only the governments that were using hotels and premises for a lot of the meetings because volumes had dropped. So I remember taking this elevator up with the General Manager of that hotel, and I asked him what was your occupancy, and he smiled and said 10%. I asked him why are you smiling? Oh because last week it was 4%. Our economic situations thrive on strong fundamentals but that can be shaken and will be shaken in the event of an attack. Not just economic, but social. You will remember again the cartoons published by the Danish newspaper in 2005. And it was not the economic consequences, but the tensions it raised around the world led to a number of violent demonstrations.

So if you think about it, this concept of Total Defence was introduced over three decades ago, but today it is relevant as ever, if not more so. So when we choose to meet once a year for the Total Defence Awards ceremony, it is just not another event held annually to recognise those who have contributed to this cause. The significance lies in that collective will to strengthen year after year, against threats old and new, to stand up against them as one people united in resolve and action.

Troubled Peace

Does it count? Does that resolve count? Resoundingly yes. Let me give you a real example. When tapes were discovered that canvassed institutions in Singapore; you remember the Jemaah Islamiyah plot. Then, at that time you did not have bomb explosives and they decided that they would use a Filipino to detonate the bombs. And the Internal Security Department (ISD) did a marvellous job and we should thank the officers there for unearthing the plot, apprehending the would-be terrorists and stopping the attack early. But because of this revelation and because ISD and MHA had done their work, we hardened our defences. We are used to it now, but remember that airport security then was never so tight. There were no bollards at the Istana. Step by step, we hardened our defences. The terrorist named Hambali had already received money from Al-Qaeda bosses and was supposed to conduct attacks in Singapore. But because we hardened our defences and I think because he saw the resolve and the difficulty -- he could still do it but the price would be higher -- he saw targets elsewhere; softer targets elsewhere. Unfortunately in 2002, the Bali bomb blast occurred. Do our meetings under these conditions count? Yes. Because they remind us ourselves, and they remind the world that this is a country that takes our Total Defence seriously. We know we have a very small margin of error, and if it occurs, when it occurs -- the new tagline MHA uses, "not if, but when" -- we want to make sure that we can stand up with a strong Total Defence.

And make no mistake about it. The resolve amongst Singaporeans will be tested. We do not know when or how badly circumstances will turn. We hope it will be in the distant future and the impact small. But think about it. We have had relative peace for 70 years, and all of us know that continued peace is never a guarantee for any country, let alone a small country like ours. Many of the Eastern European states are now scrambling, Finland and Lithuania especially. They stopped NS about I think five, six seven, years ago. That was when the Cold War had been settled and the Iron Curtain had come down. Now they are scrambling to put it back, but humpty dumpty cannot be put back again. I have been asked lately by quite a few Singaporeans what the chance of war in Asia is. I suppose that they think that the Minister of Defence has more information than others. Because they look upon the escalation of words and actions arising from the North Korean missile and nuclear tests. So I tell them matter of factly that North Korean missiles can reach Singapore. Some of them, can, but you know, just range. Do not get too excited. But others also look on with worry at the regular reports of terrorist attacks occurring in many cities, including those within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the increasing number of radicalised Singaporeans, some of whom have even joined ISIS and chosen to be in their recruitment videos.

The concern of Singaporeans is legitimate. Over the last two years, ISD has detained 11 radicalised Singaporeans. This number is as many as the seven years preceding the period.

The Home Team and the SAF are very focused on dealing with terrorism. But now more than ever, we need to build up the other pillars of Total Defence.

Continued Support for NS

There is also an added significance to this year's Total Defence Awards dinner. This year, we commemorate 50 years of NS. Let me say thank you to all the national servicemen here, past and present. I am particularly gratified that the response to NS50 has been spontaneous and community-led. We have heard many stories of fathers and sons, a generation apart with different perspectives but sharing that same commitment to duty and honour, and that is particularly encouraging and heart-warming. Also, we see an increase in the number of employers who joined the scheme for NSmen to redeem their vouchers, and that is equally touching and encouraging. These acts of affirmation from our citizenry bode well for the security and future of Singapore.

There is also another positive trend. Our information and our surveys tell us that employers have realised, as they do in other countries, that the NS experience adds to their employees' skills sets. And if you think about it, it is intuitive. In NS you lead men and you execute missions successfully; sometimes the parameters are not so defined. That is the business environment. So those who are able to succeed in NS are likely to succeed in the challenging business environment too. And in fact, in some countries like America, those with a military background are particularly sought after.

National servicemen are proud of their service and contributions and these rightly should be accurately reflected in the Certificate of Service (COS) provided to them, that we give to them at the end of their full-time NS. Arising from the feedback from NSFs and employers, we further improved this COS. So from January this coming year, this COS will reflect the skills and competencies NSFs gain during full-time NS, because many of our NSmen have gained Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) during their NS and these should be reflected so that it will help them in their further studies or finding new jobs and careers after their full-time NS.

I had a serious message tonight, but let me now move on to thanking you. And I want to thank the employers for their support for NS. An NS Advocate Award winner is a good example. Forbis Accounting. Forbis gives their NS employees additional time off in the mornings or extended lunch times so that they can keep fit and train for their Individual Physical Proficiency Tests. They also encourage their staff to cover the work duties of NSmen for up to two days upon the completion of their ICT, so that they can transition. The next thing that they do is fairly interesting. Forbis even gives their female employees time off to pick their NSmen spouses up after their ICT. That is going the extra mile. Thank you very much, Forbis.

Our Collective Resolve

The question we ask ourselves tonight, "Will our Total Defence hold after a terrorist attack?" It is a most serious question and that will decide the fate and future of Singapore.

What do I think when an attack occurs? I am confident that we, and Singapore, can. Because like Manchester and London when the attacks occurred there, citizens rallied. They came together and refused to be cowed by terror. They chose to empower themselves and to reclaim the freedom to live. The right to live, the right to make choices. And ultimately this is what terrorism seeks to rob countries of. I believe Singaporeans will do the same and come together to show our resolve.

I am confident because time and again, whether it is employers, NSmen or their families, we have witnessed them willing to go the extra mile, to do something more to defend what is precious, to defend what we treasure here in Singapore.

Conclusion

So in closing, let me thank each of you. Let me thank you for all your contributions. It makes a big difference for your own personal support and enlisting support from others for NS as well as Total Defence. To all the award recipients tonight, thank you for exemplifying the spirit of Total Defence and your support for our nation's defence.

Thank you all and have a good dinner and an enjoyable evening. Thank you very much.

More Resources

Dr Ng: Total Defence More Relevant Than Ever Today