Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen was the Guest of Honour at the annual Total Defence Awards Dinner held at the Fairmont Hotel, Singapore, this evening. This year, 139 NS Advocate Awards were presented to 12 Individuals, 89 SMEs, 24 Large Companies and 14 Organisations. The NS Advocate Award is the highest accolade conferred on organisations, businesses and individuals in recognition of their exemplary support towards Total Defence and National Service (NS).

Speaking at the dinner, Dr Ng emphasised the increased relevance of Total Defence in the current security environment. He said, "If you think about it, this concept of Total Defence was introduced over three decades ago, but today it is as relevant as ever, if not more so. So when we choose to meet once a year for the Total Defence Awards ceremony, it is just not another event held annually to recognise those who have contributed to this cause. The significance lies in that collective will to strengthen year after year, against threats old and new, to stand up against them as one people united in resolve and action." Recognising that this year marks 50 years of NS, Dr Ng added that he was heartened that the response to NS50 had been spontaneous and the community had taken the lead in many of the ground-up initiatives to recognise and appreciate national servicemen, stating that these acts of affirmation from Singapore's citizenry boded well for the security and future of Singapore.

Dr Ng also announced the launch of the enhanced Certificate of Service (COS), which will be implemented in January 2018. The COS is presented to national servicemen upon completion of full-time NS. The enhanced COS will reflect the Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) accreditation of competencies and skills gained during full-time NS, and will include the record of awards, commendations and milestone accomplishments achieved by full-time national serviceman (NSF), as a reflection of their abilities and character. These enhancements will increase the usefulness of the COS as a reference for prospective employers, facilitating NSFs' transition to the workforce following the completion of their full-time NS.

Also present at the dinner were Second Minister for Defence Mr Ong Ye Kung, Second Minister for Home Affairs Mrs Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State for Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, and Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs Mr Amrin Amin.