Speech by Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen, at the MINDEF Volunteers' Dinner, at Marina Mandarin Hotel

Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Maliki, 
Permanent Secretary (Defence), 
Chief of Defence Force, 
Chief of Navy, 
Distinguished Guests, 
Ladies and Gentlemen, 

This, as some of you know who have been here before, is our annual dinner for volunteers to say "Thank you". And let me tonight on behalf of MINDEF and the SAF, welcome volunteers and to thank you during this appreciation dinner. I was talking to some of you outside, asking about the various roles in which you have helped us, some of you for many years. Your contributions as volunteers are critical. It helps us to maintain a robust and responsive system based on National Service to build a professional and capable SAF. You are a very diverse group and your individual expertise plug gaps in our different areas, whether it is medical, legal, financial, musical and other fields. But it also provides confidence to the public that experts such as yourselves are playing key roles to help MINDEF formulate and implement policies for the security of our nation. 

Indeed, it is only with this collective resolve of Singaporeans from all walks of life that we can maintain a strong defence to ensure our nation's peace and stability. Each must play his part and volunteers who go beyond the call of duty, serving long after their NS liabilities have been discharged, serve as role models for everyone. In this regard, you play a far larger role than your individual contributions because you serve as living examples, and motivate others to do likewise, to give of themselves selflessly. 

 This year, as you know, we celebrate 45 years of National Service with the theme "NS45 - From Fathers to Sons". And this theme reminds us all that security is a constant need, so that we can ensure our sovereignty and way of life. If we think about what we have achieved in 47 years of independence, I think most of us would agree that we have much more to protect compared to our founding years. Through hard work, constant progress, we have bequeathed a modern metropolis, a jewel of Asia with the highest per capita GDP: US$50,123 - just a measure, it's not a reflection of the entire Singapore, but it tells us how far we've come. Well, because we have more, we have more to protect. And we have to depend on the next and successive generations to defend Singapore, our home. It will be up to them. But we must imbue in each new generation the right values and beliefs that Singapore is vulnerable and that deterrence through a strong SAF is our best protection. 

For every generation, challenges to our security will inevitably exist, I can guarantee that. They may come in different forms, they will certainly be more complex. We read often of countries embroiled in domestic unrest and civil strife and remind ourselves that we must not repeat their mistakes of complacency or hubris. Transnational threats like terrorism and piracy continue to threaten global peace and stability; territorial conflicts threaten to disrupt longstanding relationships between countries and we are witnessing a strategic rivalry between the US and China, and this could seriously affect the peace and stability in our region. Against this backdrop of global and regional complexities, we must continue to commit resources to strengthen our defence capability and stay vigilant against a wide spectrum of security threats. 

For Singapore, the reality is that as a small nation, we have less room to manoeuvre compared to larger nations. So we must anticipate potential problems early to deal with them effectively. For example, some of you may have read that by 2025, we can expect the number of NS enlistees each year to drop by almost a quarter. This is why the 3rd Generation SAF transformation took into account our manpower resources for the future. As a result, we can now do more with less. For example, we now need only 70 men for our frigates, substantially less than other modern frigates. We also require only three men to operate the new High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). Some of you are artillery men so you have a lot of stories to share about how heavy your artillery equipment is and how you carried it up. Well the good news now is you only need three men, and you don't really have to carry a lot of equipment, I mean, it's quite automated. It required 12 men previously for our towed howitzers. These are just some examples but it's happening across the SAF, as we harness each person's skills and capabilities, and optimise to contribute to our nation's defence. 

We have to multiply our efforts through use of technology and systems integration. Our soldiers are also more educated and tech-savvy and we are using this to our advantage. So we recently launched LEARNet - it is a portal where soldiers can access information online anytime, anywhere, for self-directed learning. But advanced technology and systems cannot make up for the will of people to defend and fight for their country. 

And in this regard, social media presents both challenges and opportunities in educating a younger generation. There is certainly an exponential increase in information on the internet, but correspondingly there is also much misinformation that can misguide our people. In the extreme, some in Singapore have been self-radicalised through extremist ideology to want to commit acts of violence. 

As volunteers, you can play key roles to address these challenges that I have outlined. You assist MINDEF and the SAF by providing an extra layer of oversight that helps ensure that our systems and processes remain robust, credible and open. And this gives our public the extra confidence. I know that many of you here have served on various MINDEF boards and committees for many years and are very well acquainted with your roles and responsibilities. You have provided valuable feedback on new policies, offered your professional expertise for our research projects; others have visited detainees, assessed make-up pay claims, heard appeals on compensation matters, considered applications for deferment, disruption and exemption issues and advised us on medical and healthcare policies. Quite a wide menu that you are helping us with. Some of you serve as members of supervisory or management boards such as ACCORD, Music and Drama Company, SAFRA clubs and SAF medical and research facilities. You help us maintain high professional standards. We have many positive examples but I only have time to name a few. 

 Mr Bill Chua has served the DSO National Laboratories board as Audit Chairman since 2006. He initiated the creation of the DSO project risk reserve fund in 2008 which helped DSO prevent project cost overruns in our R&D projects. He has since moved on to the DSTA Board of Directors to help us. Associate Professor Ho Hwee Long has been on the SAF Music Board for the past 18 years. With his background in music psychology and pedagogy, he was instrumental in influencing the SAF Band's repertoire of performances. So for those of you who saw the National Day Parade, the SAF Band, together with the Police Band, performed very well. I think it served to create a wonderful atmosphere. For the selfless dedication and significant contributions by Mr Bill Chua and Associate Professor Ho, both were conferred the Public Service Star in this year's National Day Awards. Let's congratulate them. 

Medical and training safety is another important area the SAF pays top attention to. We are glad to have Professor Kua Ee Heok, a Senior Consultant Psychiatrist from the National University Hospital, as the Chairman of the inaugural MINDEF Psychiatry Specialist Advisory Board. He's been a Visiting Medical Consultant to the SAF since 2001, he helps us in managing psychiatric cases. He also assisted in the formulation of the latest SAF Medical Classification Guidelines in 2010. 

As volunteers, you also play a crucial role. You build up resolve for the next generation to want to defend Singapore, because each of you represents the voice of the community. You are in touch with ground-level issues and are well placed to provide useful feedback and fresh perspectives to engage the public and address their specific issues and concerns. You can also act as "super-spreaders" to infect and reach out to our younger generation, explain why you think a strong SAF is vital for our nation's interest and why you contribute so much time and effort to this cause. 

So once again, allow me to extend my deepest appreciation to our volunteers for your contributions and sacrifices made. By volunteering to serve, you "walk the talk" and help develop the SAF into a modern, respected and professional military. I look forward to working with you so that we can raise the next generation to protect what we treasure and love in our home. 

Thank you and have a pleasant evening.

More Resources

• MINDEF Recognises and Thanks Volunteers