Minister’s Opening Address for the Defence Scholarship Awards Ceremony on 14 August 2023

Chairman PSC, Mr Lee Tzu Yang,

PSC Members,

Perm Secs,

Senior officials from MINDEF, SAF, DSTA, DSO National Laboratories, CSIT,

Service Chiefs and senior commanders,

Parents and family members,

Principals and teachers,

Scholarship recipients,

Introduction

97 defence scholarships will be awarded at today's ceremony at the Istana – more or less the number we expect each year.

We continue a virtuous cycle first begun in 1971 for this year's 53rd batch of defence scholars. Bringing in a steady stream of men and women each year who are willing to commit to the defence of Singapore is a virtue in itself. Other countries have established this similar laudable tradition, for example countries such as France and South Korea have military academies where they groom their officers while offering them a university education. In the US and UK, some of you will be familiar, military traditions run even deeper – some families have sent a few generations to their military academies like West Point and Sandhurst. Defence scholarships for us, Singapore, are well established today. I am sure if you talk to your friends, your families, your relatives and you tell them you are going for a defence scholarship many of them will congratulate you if you get it. We have many applicants each year, but I like to remind us that Singapore did not start with that tradition. In fact, it was the reverse, when we started this in 1971. Military careers were shunned – remember the accepted wisdom for Chinese families was "hao nan bu dang bing", that good men do not join the military.

We should also remember that Singapore in the 70s, for that first batch who became SAF scholars, apart from the need to set up an SAF to protect our newly independent country, we were also facing the threat of Communism in a volatile region. In 1971, the war in Vietnam was ongoing. Choosing a military career then in 1971 meant that you knew that you had to protect Singapore and that there were threats around you and the applicant and the family members have to accept that risk of being involved in a physical conflict. Literally, you are laying your physical life at risk. It is well accepted today, but in 1971 to persuade some of the best and brightest of our young students to commit to military and defence careers was actually aiming very high, trying to effect a paradigm shift. It was a bold idea, a tall order, with no certainty that the shift would be accepted by top students and their families.

Thankfully, that paradigm shift did succeed and has become mainstream today. I think it helped that the first few defence scholars included PM Lee, SM Teo, George Yeo, Lim Hng Kiang, Lim Swee Say and Peter Ho. Since then, many defence scholars have gone on to become leaders in government, business and society at large – so much so that there are high expectations for each new batch of defence scholars like yourselves.

I want to also remind us that in 1971, Singapore faced many challenges. We were poor – our GDP per capita was $1,500, about 1% of what it is today – and we were beset with many unfulfilled needs. Whether it was building up our nascent military, schools, housing, sanitation and healthcare. The list was endless.

Today, you are receiving the scholarship in a very different Singapore, 52 years later. Unlike your predecessors, many of you will go on to foreign universities and your peers there will not view Singapore as a poor country. In fact if they had watched the movie "Crazy Rich Asians", they will think and believe that we come from a very affluent and developed country. That is the image of our city state.

We certainly have more resources today but I want to point out that the challenges for Singapore in the decade ahead and beyond would require from you scholarship recipients that same courage, boldness, vision and commitment as those who came before you.

The Uncertain Global Environment

Just as in the 70s, the risk of a physical conflict in Asia is no longer negligible as tensions rise between the US and China, and the Sea Lines of Communications around us become more contested. Terrorism continues to be a clear and present danger. The COVID pandemic might have taken our attention away from that threat, but jihadist radicals in the region are still active and intent on inflicting harm upon innocent citizens.

Climate change has the potential to disrupt our daily lives and societies to precipitate conflict, even wars, particularly over shortage of resources such as water or food.

Within Singapore, your generation will need to evolve and develop your own unique social compact and cohesion. This is a necessary journey that every new generation must undertake because that compact cannot be transferred automatically across generations, as much as we hope.

As migrants, the Pioneer Generation created a multi-racial, multi-religious societal compact with shared experiences of the wars of their time, including the Japanese Occupation and the turmoil of merger and separation from Malaysia. The Merdeka Generation witnessed some of that difficult period, but also lived through the fastest pace of Singapore's progress.

Your generation is quite different from either the Pioneer or the Merdeka Generation. Consider one simple statistic – transnational marriages have been rising and now make up about one in three marriages, meaning that one in three NS enlistees in the future would have a parent that is not born in Singapore. That shapes a very different psychological make-up. Also, more than half of young Singaporeans have tertiary qualifications. These two parameters point to different forces that will shape new generations of Singaporeans who will become NSmen and soldiers. Despite these differences, the ability for Singapore to face present and future challenges needs unity of mind, heart and effort. As leaders, you must build that unity.

The next few years in university will prove useful to discover your strengths, your proclivities, as well as vulnerabilities and gaps in your capabilities. It will also be a precious time to build relationships. I would encourage you to do all these at full throttle. A good leader needs a strong base and there is no stronger base or ballast as one's families and friends.

You will also be building vocational, academic and professional skills. Here, MINDEF will introduce significant changes to help you develop yourself fully in the next few years.

Nurturing Defence Leaders of Tomorrow

Reducing Bond Duration for Local Studies from Six Years to Four Years

First, we want to be less prescriptive and do not want to send the wrong signal in your choice of universities, particularly whether it is local or overseas. We think that you and your family should decide. I spoke to some of our recipients just before this dinner and I am happy that some chose local and some chose foreign. We let them decide because circumstances will vary and some may want to study overseas for that experience but others might want to do so locally and develop in other areas outside the university. Previously, The SAF Scholarship bond for those studying locally was six years. It will henceforth be reduced to four years.

Gap Year Provision for all MINDEF/SAF Scholarships

MINDEF and the SAF also believe that because a university degree is now the norm as I have said, more than fifty percent are university graduates, so how do you differentiate yourselves? We believe that each cohort of defence scholars should have the opportunity to develop these different skill sets outside the academic learning. If you look at the self-help books, self-help groups, the best list of books – there is no shortage of authors who will tell you how you have that special extra outside the academic prowess that you will need to lead teams and organisations to change for the better.

Therefore, MINDEF and SAF scholarships will provide time, and where it can be justified, funding, to help our scholars gain exposure to real life settings outside the university. The aim is to broaden horizons and challenge comfort zones that will help shape our people, allowing them to understand new perspectives and different worldviews. This is the same concept as a "gap year", and indeed it is a "gap year".

One example of those who took this gap year up is LTA Sharmaine Koh. LTA Koh was awarded The SAF Scholarship, like you seated here, in 2018, five years ago. LTA Koh graduated from Yale University in 2022, followed by a Master's in Tsinghua University in this year. She is currently doing a gap year with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Nairobi, working on digital transformation projects in that region. MINDEF and the SAF view these gap year experiences as a good return on investment. If people like LTA Koh develop as a better leader or a better person, she of course benefits, but so does the SAF, MINDEF and Singapore.

Hitherto, we have only provided the gap year for those under The SAF Scholarship. Today I am happy to announce that the gap year will be extended to all recipients of the SAF Merit Scholarship, SAF Engineering Scholarship and Defence Merit Scholarship – in other words, from a few to now more than 160 who would be eligible to apply and you will be financially supported in part. Now, I caveat that it is not automatic. You have to justify what you are going to do in the gap year, but the prevailing philosophy in the gap year is that on one hand, university education is important but there has to be something more if you are going to be a leader of an organisation or a society. And we want that gap year to develop the type of thinkers and leaders we need for an uncertain future.

Launch of Mid-Term SAF Scholarship

A second initiative that I am announcing today is the extension of The SAF Scholarship to those who decided mid-term or even late in their University courses that they want to join the SAF. I just spoke to one, and he decided to join MINDEF only in the third year of University. If they do so, in other words, decide later in their University course to join MINDEF or the SAF, we will reimburse them their tuition fees and their scholarships from the beginning of their courses. This is to cater to those who make up their minds later. It is not a sign of weakness or indecision and we ought not to deprive them of the full benefits of a scholarship if they do decide later.

Message to Scholarship Recipients

97 of you today from 18 institutions have decided to commit yourselves to Singapore's defence. You will be studying a wide range of fields, from Data Science and Artificial Intelligence to History and Politics, which will bring diverse perspectives and competencies together to create a vibrant defence ecosystem.

You join an illustrious alumni, many of whom have made their mark and are still contributing to Singapore. Make the best of the years ahead and enjoy the exciting and rewarding careers.

Closing Remarks

Let me thank your school principals and teachers who are really our eyes and ears on the ground, and these talent spotters who alert us so that we can bring you in to join us in this defence community. I also want to thank your families and your loved ones for their support.

Congratulations once again to all our recipients and I wish you all the best in your studies, careers and life ahead. Thank you very much.

More Resources

Enhancements to Defence Scholarships to Continually Attract Nation's Top Talents

Fact Sheet: The Defence Scholarships and Profiles of Scholarship Recipients