Speech by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Defence Technology Prize 2017 Award Ceremony

PS(D)
CDF
PS(DD)
CE, DSTA
CDS
CEO, DSO
President and CEO, ST Engineering
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good afternoon.

Importance of Defence Technology

I am very happy to join you for this year's Defence Technology Prize (DTP) (Award Ceremony) and it is the first time (that) we are holding it in your building, in your auditorium. As your Chief Defence Scientist, Mr Quek Gim Pew said, "Today we want to recognise your achievements as defence scientists and engineers." We do it once a year, but it is an important event because we all know that your daily toils as security scientists and engineers are often unglamorous and even after you make breakthroughs after years of arduous efforts, you cannot tell the world about it. Even when you tell the world about it, the world still does not know what you did. That is the nature of your job, your progress and inventions often remain in the dark for security reasons.
 
Despite these limited circumstances, we want to acknowledge the good and great works that you do and the way we do it is through the DTP, now awarded for 28 years, and it is the pinnacle award for individuals and teams in your Defence Technology Community (DTC).   

But just as and perhaps more important than acknowledging individual or team effort, I think what these awards do is to encourage the right spirit and culture within the DTC. Because, it is not a given in countries that you visit or you read about that even for those with high standards of education that they necessarily have one, a DTC community; and two, if they have one, that it contributes effectively to their national defence. Not all DTCs across the world are equal value, successful or effective in contributing to their defence needs.

But I think this is something that we can be proud of, that the DTC family within Singapore -- DSTA, DSO and ST companies are respected for their expertise and professionalism. So when you talk to people about DSTA, DSO, ST, there is a certain quiet confidence. Because I came from the private sector before politics, within my social circles there are many businessmen. And sometimes they banter, they yack and they tell me that when (businessmen) submit tenders or write specifications for the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) to DSTA and DSO, they have to do so with extra care and honesty! They cannot hide because you will come back to them and say, "Are you sure?" And that is a mark of respect. Of course they tell me that for some other departments they can get away with being less professional, but not with DSTA and DSO.

So our DTC has done well and last year you remember you celebrated your Golden Jubilee, and it was a very grand affair – President Tony Tan turned up and I was very happy just to go through the history and for us to understand how we got here. But I want to remind you what Dr Goh Keng Swee, the prime architect of the DTC said, "regard the present condition not as a pinnacle of achievement, but as a base from which to scale new heights." So in your next lap, your main task is to ensure that this culture of innovation and daring continues into the next generation. And I say this knowing that there is no guarantee that past performance predicts future performance. There is no guarantee that in the next lap, this culture of innovation and daring to do, will continue unless teachers and mentors take it personally upon themselves to raise up this culture in the next generation.

So if you were to ask me, am I confident that the next generation of defence scientists and engineers can do better than the last. I would honestly say yes. I believe that the next generation can surpass the achievements of the preceding ones. Why am I confident? I am confident because the system is in place -- there is structure (and) there are assets that we have built over the years. But sometimes, it is in the small things that give me the confidence. Let me cite just one recent incident. Three weeks ago, you will remember that Singaporeans noticed a strange smell in the air, this was especially in Punggol. As it happens, the incident management for strange smells, thankfully is not the SAF, it is the SCDF. So, we did not really have to do anything. But one DSO senior chemist who noticed the smell decided to identify the cause on her own. No one told her to (and) there was no such memo above her (that says) thou shall investigate strange smells. No such memo. But this intrepid hound-dog-like scientist took sampling kits on her own initiative, went to Bishan and Punggol and sampled the air. As any good scientist would do, she referenced it to the ambient air here at Science Park. She found higher concentrations of naphthalene and indane in the air, which are common by-products of petrochemical factories and solved the mystery. (The smell) did not come from Singapore, came from elsewhere, but she solved it. Now why did she do it? She will not get a commendation award today. And that is not the point.

Investing in Defence Talent

I leave all of you to draw your own morals and lessons from this anecdote. Little acorns grow to big oak trees. Let me give you my lesson from this in the context of national defence. The annals of military history, whether wars were won or lost, lives saved or thousands killed, are replete with examples of how, at critical junctures, outcomes turned when defence scientists and engineers solved a problem that either no one could or no one asked them to. The work at Bletchley Park that broke the Enigma code or the first nuclear weapons developed at Los Alamos laboratory are but two of the well-known examples, and you know it better than I do. Nobody asked you to do it. You see a problem, it grates you that there can be a better solution, that this is a silly way of doing things, that this is dangerous and I have to beat it. I will not let you have one up on me. I will not take status quo. I will find a way to beat it.

But for the majority of you, not every day can be that exciting. It is unrealistic but I know that among the senior staff here, there is a steely resolve over many years who plod on, who want to crack the problems that are too hard to solve. That is the culture that has to be passed on. A culture that says I will take it up upon myself. I will solve this puzzle and I will make Singapore stronger. There are many examples, but as Mr Quek says, "we cannot tell any of them". But you know what you have done and you have to train the next generation to do it.

In recent years, we have instituted some initiatives to ensure that this DTC continues to be vibrant and progressive. I mentioned in Parliament earlier this year that by 2025, we will increase Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) scholarships and awards by 40%, a significant jump. We have about 120 today, and it will grow up to about 170. I think that fresh inject will increase that vibrancy and the sharing of ideas. Besides the SAF Engineering Scholarship and the DSTA Scholarship, we have introduced the pinnacle Public Service Commission Scholarship (PSC) (Engineering) for Defence and Security. I want to put on record that it was the MINDEF family that pushed for this pinnacle scholarship before PSC, because we recognise that it was important. Thankfully, PSC also agreed and therefore they introduced it. And this will attract, as it should, put it on par with other levels of pinnacle scholarships for science and engineering talent into the public service.

I know that you have been doing a lot of work and leaders within DSTA and DSO are also doing your best to nurture and cultivate the younger generation, to attract the talent.  DSTA has the annual Cyber Defenders Discovery Camp and the various attachments organised by the DSTA for Junior College, Integrated Programme, and tertiary students. When I speak to those who subsequently join DSTA and DSO, they tell me that was where they were first infected with the bug. So you are doing a good job. Keep doing that.

Honouring DTP Winners

This year's winners are commended for their outstanding engineering achievements, dedication and hard work. By the way, after I speak you will still not know what they did. The work of individual winners, Mr Melvin Phua and Mr Leong See Sum, help safeguard MINDEF/SAF systems from cyber-attacks. Mr Phua from the DSO National Laboratories has developed indigenous capabilities for advanced security analysis of communications systems. Even I do not understand what this is. But just remember that it is critical to protect MINDEF/SAF systems. Mr Leong's work at DSTA similarly ensures that our systems are secure, robust, and resilient. That is quite amazing but I said that with a straight face. But you know your worth and you know what you did.

For team awards, the Air Surveillance System Team delivered an innovative solution that provides a continuous air surveillance picture, to strengthen our air defence. The Army C4IT integrated project management team developed an Army Battlefield Internet system that can transmit higher volumes of secured data faster, and with greater reach. There was another team, the Integrated Network Force team developed a unique and scalable datalink architecture that enables seamless communication between various platforms in the air, on land or at sea. Together, these innovations enhance the SAF's interoperability as a joint force to develop new and effective means to prosecute operations. In addition, team awards also go to the Advanced Information Security Team and the Advanced Information Security Analytics Team, comprising members from DSO and the SAF.
   
Let me on behalf of the DTC, congratulate all the winners. We are in a good spot and when I say we, I mean defence technology, scientists and engineers. For whatever reasons, for whatever circumstances that we originated from, we thank our pioneer generation that believe that we could build that capability. I believe that if they were able to see what you achieve today, that they would be astonished beyond their imagination and their dreams. We are in a good place, but we have to keep it going. If you can continue this culture and progress, then I say Singapore will be secure for another generation.

More Resources

Defence Engineers and Scientists Honoured for Excellence and Innovation in Defence Technology