Speech by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean at the MINDEF Volunteers Dinner

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to tonight's dinner.

Volunteerism takes many forms and volunteers themselves come from all walks of life. Whatever form it assumes, the spirit of volunteerism is centred on making a contribution with no expectation of any personal gain. MINDEF and the SAF are grateful beneficiaries of this spirit of volunteerism. A wide range of expertise and knowledge is required to keep the SAF at the cutting edge of defence and to ensure that it possesses the necessary capabilities and resources to respond to the wide spectrum of security challenges that we now face.

Your contributions come in many forms. Your leadership and management skills help us on our management boards. Your empathy with the current concerns of Singaporeans or National Servicemen help us to devise better policies. With your networks in the community, you help us as opinion multipliers so that Singaporeans - families, employers, and the community - understand better what MINDEF and the SAF are doing. The skills, expertise, ideas and networks that volunteers bring - from the fields of engineering and defence science and technology, to the medical, legal and financial domains - are an invaluable contribution to the pool of knowledge that exists in MINDEF and the SAF.

As the subject matter experts in your respective fields, you bring your professional experience and independent views to the organisation. You help to provide feedback, checks and balances that ensure that our systems and processes remain robust, credible and transparent. Through your inputs at these boards and committees, you also help MINDEF as a government body to be accountable to the public.

One area where this has been apparent is in the provision of expert medical advice for the SAF. The SAF's ability to keep up-to-date with the latest specialist knowledge on medical and health matters has a direct bearing on the public's perception of the SAF's professional standards of medical screening and healthcare for its servicemen. The input provided by medical practitioners and experts serving as Visiting Medical Consultants to the SAF is pivotal in affirming the robustness of our medical screening system and our medical protocols and practices. We are grateful to the volunteers as well as the experts from the medical community that have put in their time and effort to help us.

Another important area where volunteers play a key role is helping to provide the consultative linkage between MINDEF and the wider community. This ensures that MINDEF remains plugged in to the views of Singaporeans. For instance, our volunteers in RECORD help us solicit public feedback on ways to Recognise the Contribution of Operationally Ready NSmen to Total Defence. Just last month, the RECORD V committee met the spouses and employers of the NSmen of 663rd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment, during a visit to Pasir Labar Camp, where the latter were undergoing their In-Camp Training. Such interactions help to enhance public support for the SAF, by building understanding and awareness of our organisation, and help members of the public understand the importance of National Service. RECORD V will also be engaging other sectors of the community to obtain more feedback on their experience and views of National Service. This will help RECORD V to develop a more comprehensive and targeted package of recommendations.

Once again, I would like to thank all of you for volunteering your time and expertise. I would like to welcome all our newly appointed volunteers and look forward to your contributions to improve our organisational systems and processes. I hope that you will find your experience enriching and rewarding. For those who are being reappointed, I would like to thank you for having contributed and thank you for being willing to do more. I welcome your continued efforts in building the SAF's knowledge base and hope that you will continue to find your appointments fulfilling and engaging.

This year MINDEF marked 25 years of Total Defence with a theme of "What will you defend". We want as many Singaporeans as possible to reflect upon and tell us what Total Defence means to them, and how they can play their part in it. Through your active involvement in the MINDEF boards and committees, you are playing your part in Total Defence, and also demonstrating your strong commitment to defence and nation-building - a commitment that we would like to encourage in every Singaporean.

By volunteering, you provide a beacon of strength and inspiration to all those who serve in the SAF, as well as your fellow Singaporeans, as you represent the nation's support and backing for Total Defence. Together, we send a strong deterrent message to any potential aggressor - that they face a nation united at all levels and dedicated to defending what is ours.

Thank you and have a pleasant evening.