Speech by Minister of State for Defence and Education Mr Lawrence Wong at the 2012 Total Defence Symposium

Chief of Army,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen.

A very good morning to all of you

It is very nice to see such a large turnout coming in support of Total Defence and this is our inaugural year doing this symposium so we are very happy to have such a positive response from all of you.

Just slightly more than a year ago, Osama bin Laden was killed by US Navy SEALs in a daring raid of his compound near Islamabad, Pakistan. It was a very significant strike against Al-Qaeda to chop off the leader, but the threat of terrorism has not gone away. Just recently for example, we learnt of another audacious plot by Al-Qaeda to attack an aircraft using an upgraded version of the underwear bomb that failed three years ago. So they are still experimenting and trying to do the attacks that they have been plotting. It has not stopped. Around the world, conventional threats still exist, there are still potential flashpoints that can spark off broad conflict like the civil unrest in Syria, nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea, as well as disputes over the Spratly and Paracel islands. In such uncertain and volatile environment, companies will look for a stable and secure place to site themselves and to develop and grow their businesses. This is what Singapore hopes to provide as part of our Total Defence capabilities - A safe and secure environment which preserves our way of life, which attracts investments and allows businesses and our people to flourish.

To reflect our commitment to Total Defence, we have decided to do something special this year by putting together this inaugural Total Defence Symposium. There are several reasons why we are doing this. First, this symposium gives us the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievements of the various Total Defence Award recipients, and pay tribute to the employers and to our Civil Resource owners for their commitment and dedication to Total Defence. Second, we wanted to create a platform where employers can come together to share their best practices and to share practical tips on how they manage their NSmen on progressive HR policies that will help our NSmen support and balance between their work demands and their NS commitments. And thirdly, as all of you are aware, this year marks 45 years of National Service. It is an important milestone,in the history of the SAF and it is fitting that we have a special event to commemorate this.

I would like to thank our 9 partner companies who have contributed valuable time and resources in co-organising this event with MINDEF. They are:

(1) Association of Small and Medium Enterprises
(2) CA Safety Technology Pte Ltd 
(3) Langdon & Seah Singapore Pte Ltd
(4) Institute of Technical Education
(5) Novartis Asia Pacific Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd
(6) Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd
(7) Singapore National Employers Federation
(8) Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd, and last but not least.
(9) Temasek Polytechnic

Let us give them a round of applause for co-organising this event with MINDEF.

As a nation, we have indeed come a long way from our independent days, since our early years of independence. At that period of time, our region was wrought with danger but it was a strong and credible SAF made possible by National Service that enabled us to deter potential aggressors to safeguard our sovereignty and protect our vital national interests. The SAF remains our guarantee for continued peace, progress and prosperity in Singapore. Over the last 45 years, successive generations of Singaporeans Sons, some 900 000 male citizens have served their National Service. Each one has contributed to the peace and security of our nation. Each one has undergone tough training and overcome hardships together. Through this shared experiences, National Service has become a rite of passage for Singaporean males from all races and all walks of life. You can have people who don't know one another coming together and if they talk about National Service, immediately, there is a common vocabulary; there is a shared experience that connects us all as Singaporean males who have done National Service together. Through the years, our NSmen have been steadfast and true in answering the call of duty despite the many claims of their families and their workplaces. We demand a lot from our NSmen and we are all deeply grateful for their contributions and sacrifices.

On our part, MINDEF and the SAF will do our utmost to minimise the inconveniences for NSmen to streamline the ICTs and to sustain commitment for National Service. These include improving administrative procedures, enhancing training and strengthening engagement. In line with this, the National Service Training System has been enhanced to give more emphasis to performance-based training and to give greater ownership to our Commanders, who are also NSmen. We have also recently introduced an Enhanced IPPT preparatory training scheme as well as the flexible IPPT booking system so that it is much more convenient for NSmen to fulfill their IPPT requirement. To help NSmen better balance their military training and work demands during ICT, business centres with wireless internet access were also set up at certain ICT Training Institutes. In addition, NSmen can now claim make-up pay online. These are various measures which we have put in place and we will continue to work towards more such initiatives to make ICT for our NSmen more convenient.

At the same time, we need support and commitment from all employers, people like yourselves, so that our NSmen can have peace of mind when they carry out their NS duties, We know that many employers are indeed supportive and they consciously design HR policies to help their NS employees fulfill their obligations to the nation. I am happy to announce that this year, we have 514 Total Defence Award recipients. This is more than double the number of award recipients 5 years ago.. It shows that more and more companies are stepping forward to support our NSmen. More and more companies see fulfilling their National Service commitment, not just as a responsibility but also a call of duty. We are grateful for your commitment, we are grateful for your support of our National Servicemen.

One example is Victor Engineering & Trading, which specialises in supply and installation of electrical systems for buildings. When new employees join the company, they are told that deferment of NS call-ups are discouraged, so they explicitly tell their new employees not to defer their ICT call-ups In fact, the company takes the extra mile to incorporate ICT schedules into the company's workplan. Furthermore, they also recognise their NSmen's IPPT achievements by presenting Letters of Commendation and giving cash bonuses, on top of what MINDEF provides when you get a silver or gold for your IPPT. So your employer also provides additional incentive. Another company, A&G Industrial Gas Trading, which is a leading distributor of industrial gases in Singapore, they too discourage deferment and include ICT performance as one of the appraisal components for their employees. They also understand the importance of physical fitness, they understand that a healthy employee makes for a better workplace, they too celebrate employees' IPPT achievements.

Such initiatives and recognition give our NSmen a peace of mind to carry out their NS obligations, and also gives them a stronger sense of pride in the company, because they know that their employer supports what they do for the country. I am glad that many companies have to realise that by encouraging their NSmen to take and pass IPPT, by supporting their employees with their NS duties, their employees are fitter, take less medical leave, and are more energised at work. In particular, when the CEOs themselves and senior managers take the lead to support Total Defence and National Service, they set a very strong example. When the leadership in the company walk the talk, I think everybody down the line can see and recognise that the support for NS is real and it will motivate your NSmen and employees in the company, both to excel for the SAF, as well as for their jobs.

As Mr Spencer Tan who is Vice President and General Manager in ST Kinetics puts it, "NS-friendly policies have enabled me to achieve my goals in both civilian and NS careers." I hope that employers out there will have more pro-NS policies because happy NSmen make for outstanding employees. There are many employers both in the public and private sectors who share and understand this philosophy and mindset. For example, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore encourages their NS employees to go for their ICT in the RSAF, where they serve as Air Warfare Officers to control air traffic. In Advantect Co., which is a leading ePlatform service provider, their monthly meetings may even include presentations on Total Defence to enhance awareness and to emphasise the critical role undertaken by NS employees.

In ST Kinetics, a company I mentioned earlier, employees are encouraged to attend the NS Command and Staff Course and other Advanced Officers course. Despite the fact that these courses tend to have longer durations which means that the ICT obligations and in-camp training will have to be longer, but the company recognises that these courses are good for their employees, good for the SAF and they encourage their employees to attend these advanced courses. 

Following this, you will hear from two companies, CA Safety Technology and Resorts World Sentosa. They will be sharing with us their experiences in implementing Pro-NS HR policies. I hope we will learn from their presentations and through a forum like this, you will also be able to exchange notes, network with one another and together, and collectively, support more progressive, better HR policies to support all of our NSmen in Singapore. This partnership, between employers, NSmen and the SAF is a critical part of our Total Defence capabilities. I believe it is mutually beneficial for all sides. As I mentioned earlier, when our NSmen undergo their ICT training with the support of their employers, with the support of their bosses, they can go about their NS duties which much fewer worries, knowing that their bosses are fully behind them. They can give it their all when they are training, when they are doing their ICT. At the same time, through their training in ICT, our NSmen hone important skills, such as organisational abilities, resilience, teamwork, fighting spirit and this in turn can be applied to their work environment. Many employers I have spoken to, recognise this. They know that a committed NSman brings with him something special- the sense of being able to work together, the ability to get things done. These are skills that you can't really teach in school but through National Service, through ICT, you know that a committed NSman, whether it is an officer, a specialist, or a soldier, doing whatever roles they do, they bring something special with them, and they can translate these skills in the workplace. Ultimately we all know that a stable business environment is made possible only with a safe country which in turn is predicated on a strong defence force and the pillars of a strong defence force are our NSmen, supported by the companies they work in.

To conclude, let me thank all of you, once again, for the support you have given to our NS employees. To all our award recipients, congratulations and thank you for your commitment to Total Defence. On this 45th anniversary of National Service, let us salute all our National Servicemen and pay tribute to their service and their dedication to Singapore. Let us continue to work together to uphold National Service, to uphold our Total Defence capabilities and to secure a better, safer future for all Singaporeans.

Thank you very much.

More Resources

• Commemorating SAF Day and Recognising the Contributions of Employers, NSmen and Civil Resource Owners

• SAF Day Message 2012 by Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen

• Fact Sheet: Total Defence Symposium - Recognising our Employers, NSmen and Civil Resource Owners

• Organisations recognised for efforts to support Total Defence