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Speech by Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, Minister of State for Defence, at Committee of Supply Debate 2015
6 March 2015
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ACCORD
Madam Chair, ACCORD is an important platform that encourages ground-up initiatives to strengthen support for National Service (NS). Minister Chan spoke about ACCORD and its renewed direction and structure to help deepen appreciation for our servicemen. I co-chair the Family and Community (F&C) Council with Senior Vice President Banyan Tree Ms Claire Chiang and the Educational Institutions (EI) Council with Senior Minister of State for Education Ms Indranee Rajah. Through these two Councils, we hope to reach out to schools and institutions of higher learning (IHLs) as well as strengthen family and community support for NS. We have invited members of the community to serve on the Councils. Since being appointed, the members have worked very hard and have proposed many fruitful initiatives. Let me share a few of them.
The EI Council, for example, brings together members from educational institutions and other stakeholders to look at ways to strengthen support for NS. For example, currently, NSmen can enroll for special enrichment and refresher modules before they start their university studies. These programmes help ease NSmen's transition back to university, especially if they are embarking on a new course of study, and may also contribute to their university credits. The Council will explore how these existing modules can be enhanced to better meet the learning needs of the students, and explore other efforts which could support our NSmen.
The members of the F&C Council have also engaged our communities to develop good ideas to strengthen support for NS and defence. Every year during SAF Day, we receive strong support from merchants and businesses who provide discounts to our Servicemen and Servicewomen. Last year, a total of 151 retailers, in sectors ranging from fashion to food and beverages to electronics, came onboard to show their appreciation to the SAF by offering discounts and deals. This was a strong show of support from our community. We want to encourage more visible and sustained ground up support for our servicemen and women. In this regard, we will collaborate with the People's Association (PA) and SAFRA to garner community and local businesses' support. PA is looking at how they can offer privileges for use of facilities at Community Centres to Servicemen and women, including NSmen and NSFs. SAFRA is also looking at enhancing their membership privileges. We hope that through their partnerships and networks with various merchants, they can offer more benefits and discounts to servicemen in recognition of their service.
The F&C Council also felt it was important to reach out to women and help them better understand national defence, given the important support they provide to their sons, husbands or brothers serving their NS. The Council therefore recommended that we partner the Singapore Council of Women's Organisation and PA's Women Integration Network to conduct sessions for mothers to share their experiences in supporting their children through NS. We will also be looking into conducting engagement sessions with wives of NSmen and young women.
The restructured ACCORD and its three Councils have taken a more proactive approach compared to its predecessor. The members are actively leading in various initiatives and such ground up efforts will have significant impact on our outreach and engagement with various stakeholders to increase commitment to defence and support for National Service.
SAF 50
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin and Mr Alex Yam asked how we are intending to mark SAF50. I am pleased to report that the SAF has planned a series of SAF50 events this year under the theme "Our SAF: Giving Strength to our Nation". These events recognise and honour the contributions of all the men and women who have served in the defence of our country. Indeed, SAF50 is our way of saying thank you to all who dedicated themselves to preserving our sovereignty and defending our way of life, especially our pioneers.
What the SAF lacked in resources in its early years, our pioneers made up for with their fortitude and determination. Madam Chair, with your permission, I would like to show some pictures of these pioneers. These pioneers range from the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment; volunteers from the Singapore Volunteer Corps, Singapore Naval Volunteer Force and Singapore Women's Auxiliary Naval Service, and other volunteer forces, many of whom became members of the SAF when it was formed in 1965. These pioneers were the early batches of officers, as well as national servicemen who responded to the call after National Service was instituted in 1967.
Last month, we organised the first SAF50 public event - SAF50@Vivo. Held from 12 to 15 February, the four-day event attracted more than 87,000 visitors. While it had the usual displays of military hardware and fun activities, SAF50@Vivo was anchored on an exhibition that featured SAF stories. These were stories of our pioneers, and their convictions and sacrifices. Stories of men and women who supported the SAF, whether from within the SAF, or from the larger Singapore community. One pioneer featured in our stories is LTC (Rtd) Timothy De Souza. He was part of the RSAF's first aerobatic team in 1973. Another pioneer is LTC (Rtd) Syed Ibrahim. He was involved in Konfrontasi operations and later became an instructor who trained the first batch of our Officer Cadets. Another of these stories featured Eliza Heng, a volunteer counsellor and a mother of two sons. She spoke on how through National Service, her sons "… gained maturity in their outlook on life and … have become less self-centred and are more accepting of the little inconveniences of life."
I am very heartened that many Singaporeans connected with and learnt a lot from the stories shared at the exhibition. Madam Hani, in her 40s, who visited SAF50@Vivo, said that the exhibition helped her relate personally to our servicemen whom she spoke to at the SAF50 booth. She said, "Through them, I know what my son does and goes through during NS." Another visitor, Ms Theresa Chua, 24, said that the event reminded her that "it takes the whole community to come together to defend … and protect the welfare and sovereignty of our nation." I am gratified by these comments. They remind me that because of the SAF, we have a common space for Singaporeans of all backgrounds to interact, to train together, and to forge enduring friendships. As a result, we have built a deep pool of social capital that gives strength to our nation. Through efforts such as the SAF50@Vivo and the outreach efforts of the ACCORD Councils, we will continue to engage the community and to groups such as women and schools, so that we deepen the social capital and goodwill that the SAF has built over the years.
We will continue to commemorate SAF50 over the course of the year. To expand our outreach, the SAF50 Exhibition will travel to various public venues including regional libraries across Singapore till October 2015. Stories from the exhibition will be put up on a SAF50 website, and in a Commemorative Book, as well as adapted into short videos. The Commemorative Book, which will be launched in July this year, will be a collection of more than 70 stories that will allow us to see the SAF through a range of lenses, from diplomacy, defence technology, operations, to family and community support, media and entertainment.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin and Mr Alex Yam also asked if our SAF Pioneers will be involved in SAF50 events. I am happy that many Pioneers came to SAF50@Vivo exhibition, and many others will be at other key events such as the SAF50 Parade, SAF50 Commemoration Dinner and SAF50@Istana presidential garden reception. SAF Pioneers invited to these events include Officers and Warrant Officers from the first batch of National Servicemen, first batch of Officer Cadets, Pioneers who served before 1965 and Servicemen who contributed to significant local and overseas SAF missions and operations. Some of these personalities would include our longest-serving ex-Chief of Defence Force LG (Rtd) Winston Choo, legendary Regimental Sergeant Majors such as CPT (Rtd) Hong Seng Mak (also known as Tiger Hong) and CPT (Rtd) Shamsuddin Bin Shadan and many more.
SAF formations and units will also engage their own Pioneers as part of their celebrations. Here, I also note Mr Seah Kian Peng's suggestion for MINDEF to support unit Alumni reunions. Indeed, we want to bring our Pioneers and previous batches of ex-servicemen closer to our younger generation. They inspire us with their experiences, memories and motivations. Madam Chair, with your permission, I would like to show a few more pictures of our pioneers. SAF Pioneers like COL (Rtd) Goh Lye Choon, LTC (Rtd) Syed Ibrahim and LTC (Rtd) Daljeet Singh were involved in Konfrontasi operations. They fought for their comrades, for their families, and for the security of our country at a difficult period of Singapore's history. We have Navy pioneers like LTC (Rtd) Jaswant Singh Gill and SWO (Rtd) Wee Cheng Leong, who saw the development of the Navy from its formative years to become what it is today. MAJ Agnes Fong from the RSAF was amongst the first batch of female officers. She later blazed the trail to become the first female Commanding Officer in the SAF. They will continue to inspire us, and the next generation.
Commitment to Defence
Mr Alex Yam also asked how MINDEF engaged Singaporeans to strengthen the public's commitment to defence. Our starting point is a simple one. We believe that everyone has a part to play in defence. All stakeholders can and should take a personal responsibility in defence, whether you are a mother, employer, teacher or student. This is why we work through ACCORD, where different stakeholders from businesses, schools and the community have come forward to contribute and demonstrate their support for NS.
Besides ACCORD, we have been actively engaging grassroots leaders, employers, trade union leaders, overseas Singaporeans, Permanent Residents, New Citizens, women organisations and others through visits to SAF units and other activities, to keep them informed and updated on NS and defence-related issues. We aim to be as inclusive as possible. In collaboration with MOE under the SAF-Schools Partnership Programme (SSPP), 33 Post-Secondary Education Institutions (PSEIs) were paired with 47 SAF units to co-organise activities such as unit visits for their students.
We need to keep up such efforts to engage our public, because Singapore's defence can only be as strong as our people's will to defend Singapore. This is why we launched the Commitment to Defence Ambassadors' Programme this year during SAF50@Vivo on 13 Feb, through which some of our pioneers and ex-servicemen will engage younger Singaporeans and share with them our early struggles, experiences and accomplishments in the face of adversity. I hope these stories will inspire younger Singaporeans, and give them the spirit and strength to do their part for Singapore.
Indeed, as we celebrate SG50 and SAF50 this year, we must remember this spirit and strength exemplified by our pioneers. We must harness it and work towards building a more secure and prosperous future for Singapore. Thank you, Madam Chair.
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