Opening Statement by Minister of State for Defence Associate Professor Koo Tsai Kee

Introduction

The National Service Recognition Award for Singapore Citizens, or NSRA in short, was announced by Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, at his National Day Rally speech on 29 Aug 2010. This new award, introduced by MINDEF and the Ministry of Home Affairs, will provide sustained recognition to Singapore citizens who serve National Service.

Rationale

Since the introduction of National Service or NS in 1967, our citizen servicemen's commitment to NS, their contributions and sacrifices, have allowed us to maintain our defence capability and safeguard our peace and progress.

In a 1984 speech, the late Dr Goh Keng Swee acknowledged the commitment and sacrifice of our citizen servicemen, and I quote "National Service imposes not only a great sacrifice of time and money on the young men called up. It is also unpleasant as military training in the combat arms aims to push the soldier to the limits of human endurance. The average Singapore citizen may not be a towering intellect versed in the latest doctrine on military deterrence. But deep in his heart, he knows the dangers that he faces are real and not hypothetical. A kind of folk wisdom has grown on the need to defend ourselves."Over the years, the Government has put in place various initiatives to recognise the key role that National Servicemen play in our national defence, and their efforts and personal sacrifices in serving NS amidst competing demands on their time. The Fifth Committee to Recognise the Contribution of Operationally Ready National Servicemen to Total Defence, or RECORD V in short, also completed its work last year. Fifteen out of the 18 recommendations have been implemented fully to date. Even as the implementation of RECORD V initiatives is ongoing, we continue to look for ways to better recognise our National Servicemen for their contributions.

The NSRA for Singapore CitizensThe NSRA is the latest initiative by the Government to provide sustained recognition to Singapore citizens who serve National Service. It celebrates three significant milestones during a National Serviceman’s NS journey: first, when he completes full-time NS; second, when he is midway through his Operationally Ready NS or ORNS training cycle; and finally, when he completes his ORNS training cycle. The total value of the NSRA comes to between $9,000 and $10,500 for each National Serviceman by the time he completes his ORNS training cycle.The award will be deposited in the serviceman's Post Secondary Education Account to help meet aspirations for further studies, and also in the CPF accounts to help meet housing, healthcare and retirement needs. My staff will elaborate on the details.

Conclusion

Finally, I wish to emphasize again that the NSRA is to recognise the contributions of our citizens who serve two years in full-time National Service, and several more years as Operationally Ready National Servicemen. We know that it is impossible to fully compensate each and every National Servicemen for their contributions towards the defence of Singapore. The NSRA is to show our appreciation and to recognise our citizen servicemen in a sustained manner.

Thank you.