Speech by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the MINDEF/SAF Scholarship Awards Ceremony

Mr Eddie Teo,
Chairman of PSC,
PSC Board members,
Permanent Secretaries,
Chief of Services, CDF
Chief of DSTA,
Proud Parents,
Proud Principals,
Distinguished Guests,
Scholarship Recipients

Introduction

First, let me thank Mr Eddie Teo and his members of the PSC Board and our various members of the MINDEF Internal Selection Board for your strenuous efforts in ensuring those awarded the MINDEF/SAF scholarships, that they meet the high and rigorous standards expected of them. I had a few minutes with some of these recipients and asked them how the interviews were. All of them said you terrified them. I'm not sure what you did, but keep it up. We've been awarding these scholarships for 45 years. First started, based on a still-abiding belief that for Singapore, good leaders are vital if we want organisations to serve our people and meet their goals. This was the belief that our founding fathers had. We therefore make no apologies that we invest considerable resources in the selection and then the nurturing of leaders for MINDEF and SAF. Many hours spent, members of the PSC board, members of our internal selection board, busy people who give up time, to try to sit and see which of our young people have those qualities. And if you look around us, indeed, this is a hallmark of Singapore, and a reason why many countries today come to Singapore to learn why our policies and programmes succeed. Whether it is HDB; whether it is in our transportation system; whether it is in our legal systems; whether it is our education system; whether it is for the SAF and MINDEF, our defence companies. And if you ask yourself, why is it that we succeed? It's not so easy sometimes to understand. You know you succeed when you have the very ingredients, the fundamentals, and it takes some time to understand. You can show people the HDB flats, you can show people the systems in SAF and MINDEF, but how we got there, how decisions were made, how we continue to keep certain standards is not apparent at face-value. And I believe that integral to Singapore's success, is the fact that we spend so much resources on selecting good people for top leadership in all our organisations.

Here, I want to acknowledge the support and assistance of school principals here tonight. You are, as it were, our "talent scouts" on the ground, our co-pilots in looking out for young people within your colleges and your institutions, who have that special ability, and then recommend to MINDEF and the SAF to serve what must be the highest calling of any nation - to defend and protect Singapore's sovereignty and safety of our citizens.

This year, we have a bumper harvest. 47 bright, capable and committed young men and women will be awarded scholarships to embark on careers within MINDEF and the SAF. It is the largest number to date, and includes three women who will receive the SAF Scholarship, which we previously called the SAF Overseas Scholarship.When I saw the reports, the detailed ones, about who was interviewed, how many applied, I felt particularly gratified. Not that we were proud that people wanted to join MINDEF and SAF per se, but that young people, young Singaporeans still aspire for these scholarships. The reason is this - this young generation can deal with information much greater than our generation, or the generation who were older than us. For those of you who have children, you will see when they go on their laptop, the number of pages they screen. When you go on holidays, you ask them where to go, which Airbnb to book, which travel agency to go to, they give you all the information. I remember the consideration previously for our generation is about the scholarship to which continent. Perhaps in UK, Japan, France, Germany at that time and I remember chairman of A*STAR telling me some years ago that today's applicants choose a particular college, with a particular professor, who does specific work, because they want to work under that professor. There's been a phase-shift. And truth be told, they have plentiful opportunities. Many of you parents have the means or even because our Singaporeans are able, they can attempt scholarships elsewhere, so I was gratified that we still have young people who want to join MINDEF and the SAF. And it speaks well of our organisation that have grown and evolved with time.

Because, no matter how deep your passion and commitment, if the SAF and MINDEF did not evolve, I think our young generation will give us a pass. They would have done their research fully before choosing a career with us. Having chosen your careers and decided that you will join MINDEF and the SAF, I want to welcome you to the family, and this is a big family and a close one.Leaders in MINDEF and SAFIn your careers with MINDEF and the SAF, you will be trained, first and foremost, to be leaders. MINDEF and the SAF, as you well know, is a large organisation with many moving parts. On any given day, (there are) many thousands of people running around, many planes, ships, tanks, army platforms moving around. Its complexity and diverse challenges will, no doubt, test and develop your leadership to the fullest. You will be receiving the scholarship soon. I think this is the only time that I can give you a fair warning that not all scholarship recipients have succeeded in this test - as some have been found wanting over the years. The PSC, the MINDEF Boards and your principals can only bring you so far in assessing if you have the necessary ingredients to be potential leaders, but whether you actually can, and whether you can actually lead, depends to a large measure now on you alone.

In your careers, and indeed in life henceforth, you will be judged less on the strength of your academic grades, important though they may be to reflect your intellectual potential, but more on your incisiveness to analyse situations, find solutions, your ability to empathise with others' views and then convince the people who are going to follow you in the direction to take and motivate them to achieve goals for the common good. And in this,
I have never heard of a commander trying to convince his troops or his department to move in a particular direction, based on how well did you do in your academia, your university subjects. That's never a question. When something goes wrong, we don't ask, well maybe you've got an A before, I think you can make up for it. No. See what went wrong, why did you make this judgement? Why did you not see this? How can we improve? And, why could you not keep your organisation together?So, in this career that you have chosen, it is given that you will keep up with the challenges that the SAF face - whether it is from terrorism, natural disasters, biological pandemics, information warfare, cyber threats and so on. Because when you tell others that you work in MINDEF or are an SAF officer, naturally and instinctively, they expect you to protect them against these threats. But to do this job well, you need more than head knowledge. You will have to lead your Team, your Platoon, Company and eventually for some of you, the entire SAF. As a leader, you must discern what people need to know, what to train them for and how to motivate them so that when called, your unit can fulfil what Singaporeans justifiably expect of you.

So in that context, I offer one piece of advice, that you should spend the next few years in University doing more than just getting a degree. I think getting a degree is the minimum expected. But to be a good leader, you must first know yourself. Because people tend to follow more avidly those that they judge are authentic, who are comfortable in their skins. Find out what drives you, and your core beliefs. Also discern where your weaknesses lie and how you intend to make up for them. Leadership is, at its essence, about knowing people. The more you know about yourself and of others, the better you will be prepared to handle unexpected situations and unknown challenges. And it will be in those crises and unexpected encounters, that great leaders differentiate and distinguish themselves.In this next decade of your development, you will therefore have to stretch your horizons - intellectually and emotionally. And you cannot do this within the confines of a classroom, or a set course within the University. Your journey of self-discovery must also include less-trodden paths. This is not a license to do everything, it has to be within legal limits. And, what I am suggesting to you, is that you have to do more than just study for your grades.I want you to also recognise that as recipients of these scholarships, you join an illustrious alumni who are with us today. Those who have gone before you, the scholarship recipients, have forged blazing trails and reached the pinnacle, whether as leaders within the civil service, corporate companies, VWOs and Government. It is also vital to remember that high standards of integrity and moral courage are required of all scholars. Even when no one is looking, recognise that you must hold to high standards. Much has been given to you and much will be expected of you.

A Strong Engineering Core for DefenceApart from the best bumper harvest this year, there are also two new highlights that I want to point out. We are launching for the first time this year, the SAF Engineering Scholarship, for which we have three recipients. This specific Scholarship for Engineering signals the importance that the SAF gives to attract top scientists and engineers - as we do for commanders in the military, because you need both types of leaders, and these Engineering scholars are groomed to lead the Military Expert Corps. Together, they enable the SAF to be a superior force. And to broaden their perspectives, Engineering scholars will be exposed to jobs in DSTA, DSO and even commercial defence companies.The SAF Engineering Scholarship, along with the Defence Science Scholarship for DSO and DSTA that I announced on SAF Day, underscores the importance that MINDEF places on attracting the best science and engineering talents to join the defence community. MDES and civilian engineers and scientists are synergistic to deepen engineering capabilities in the SAF and our Defence Technology Community, critical to sustain the SAF's fighting edge against aggressors.Women Leaders in SAFAnother highlight is the rising trend of women SAF scholars, this in keeping with the rising proportion of women personnel in our SAF. This year, we have 20 female scholars for this ceremony, including three who have been awarded the SAF Scholarship. In essence, I think a broader pipeline has now been opened for women to contribute more to Singapore's defence. We already have women officers in wide-ranging vocations, and some now in pinnacle positions.For example, we have BG Gan Siow Huang, the first female SAF general and Head of Air Intelligence in the Air Force; LTC Vicky Wang, who's commanding officer of a C4I battalion and MAJ Siswi Herlini, the Commanding Officer of RSS Resilience, it's sailing as one of our Patrol Vessels. So with the pipeline opened, more women will be expected to be leaders within the SAF and MINDEF in years to come, and this is a virtuous trend.

Conclusion

It leaves me to wish you all the very best as you embark on your career with MINDEF and the SAF. I am confident that you will have many exciting achievements, cherished moments and friends in the years ahead. Congratulations.