Equal treatment for all NSmen: Ng Eng Hen

[Rakyat]

By S Ramesh | Posted: 20 October 2011 1618 hrs

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Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen[/TD]
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SINGAPORE: Singapore's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said his ministry is acutely aware that all NSmen must be treated equally, regardless of their background.

Dr Ng said the equal treatment for national service has been and must remain a cardinal principle because without strict adherence to this fundamental tenet, the commitment to NS will be severely eroded and the institution of NS weakened.

Replying to questions in Parliament on the disruption of Dr Patrick Tan, the son of President Tony Tan Keng Yam, Dr Ng said the disruption was in accordance with prevailing policies to obtain his medical degree. In addition, a longer period was granted to those admitted to US medical schools.

He assured Singaporeans that neither Dr Patrick Tan, nor any other individual who has disrupted, was given any preferential treatment because of their "connections".

Some allegations that Dr Patrick Tan had received preferential treatment were made during the Presidential Election campaign in August.

Dr Ng said the policy to allow full-time national servicemen (NSFs) to disrupt for medical studies in Singapore dates back to 1973. Then, Singapore needed military doctors to serve in the Singapore Armed Forces, a policy which continues today as medical graduates in the NUS are disrupted while they are NSFs.

From 1981, this policy was extended to allow NSFs to study medicine overseas because the number of local graduates was insufficient. From 1981 to 1986, 38 NSFs were disrupted to go overseas.

This was further tightened in 1986 to take into account basic military training and their physical employment standards.

Dr Ng said 86 applicants were disrupted under this scheme. Among them was Dr Patrick Tan, who went to the United States to study medicine in 1988. Then, he had completed his Basic Military Training and was halfway through Officer Cadet School.

However, he added that from 1992, disruption for overseas medical studies was no longer allowed as the number of local medical graduates had met SAF's needs.

Dr Ng explained that in the US, the medical course is a graduate programme, where students need a pre-medical degree.

Thus, Dr Patrick Tan deferred his NS for a total of 12 years, for his premedical course from 1988 to 1992 and later for his combined medical degree and PhD in Stanford University's medical scientist training programme.

He re-enlisted in 2000 after having obtained both his medical degree and PhD, and was deployed to the Defence Medical Research Institute (DMRI) in view of his training.

Dr Ng also noted that other NS men have been posted to DMRI before Dr Patrick Tan's posting.

Dr Ng said: "There was no preferential treatment given to Patrick Tan, or any other individual who has disrupted, because of their 'connections'. Let me emphasise to all, including commanders on the ground, that no NS man should be accorded preferential treatment.

"I would like to further assure Singaporeans that Mindef implements a policy of selective disruption for university studies fairly and openly, in accordance with existing criteria.

"Mindef shall henceforth publish the list of all those disrupted for university (education) annually on a routine basis for public scrutiny."

-CNA/ac

 

[Devil Within]

Dr Ng said: "There was no preferential treatment given to Patrick Tan, or any other individual who has disrupted, because of their 'connections'. Let me emphasise to all, including commanders on the ground, that no NS man should be accorded preferential treatment.

That is a big fucking lie! Either he is an idiot who don't know what is going on on the ground or he is just ignoring what is really going on on the ground, or he just lying right out loud.

No preferential treatment my foot!

 

[batman1]

Very boring and sickening.Lying through the teeth in broad daylight.Lying without batting an eyelid.
Dr.Ng better go and cut breasts and DO NOT try to hoodwink us NSmen.
It's all very clear.No need to go round and round the bush and confuse us NSmen.
Did Patrick Tan ,son of Tony Tan,receive preferential treatment as a white horse ? Definitely,Yes.
Is Dr.Ng trying to cover up for Patrick Tan ,son of president Tony Tan ? Obviously,Yes.
Should Tony Tan resign as president due to his son's scandal which occured during the time he was Defence Minister ? If he has any sense of shame like in Japan or South Korea,Yes .

 

[psy83]

Equal treatment for all Nsmen? Then open up elite/sensitivity units for Malays too... This Fuck head Teo is spurting out nonsense time and time again.. He looks like a goof-ball to me.

 

[Cruxx]

The Hen is talking cock again.

 

[tanwahtiu]

Bullshit and stir more shit again and again. Ban NSF once and for all!

The Hen is talking cock again.

 

[Fook Seng]

When is this "loophole" not publicly known?

 

[lianbeng]

lianbeng says this is a typical Animal Farm syndrome: all the PIGS sit high n mighty talkingcock while all the rest slog it out below.

 

[lianbeng]

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lianbeng asks, "what sort of face u call this?"

 

[yuelao]

The only equal treatment for NS is to have no NS.

 

[po2wq]

Dr Ng said the equal treatment for national service has been and must remain a cardinal principle ...

juz like last time wen dat fool said got no white horse means really got no white horse ...

 

[Fook Seng]

juz like last time wen dat fool said got no white horse means really got no white horse ...

If we take the discussion on this thread further someone will come out with the ancient Chinese philosophical argument that a white horse is not a horse.

 

[sense]

Among the "86 applicants were disrupted under this scheme",

Question 1: How many years were they disrupted? 5 years? 8? 12? 15? 20?
Perhaps in Patrick case, he only gotten 12 years of disruption, while others gotten 20 years?!

Question 2: How many of them upon return got posted to "Defence Medical Research Institute"?

 

[aerobwala]

The disruption list, will they print who is their father, mother, grandfather, grandmother ?

 

[red amoeba]

why dun he also tell the parliment what type of "contribution" has Patrick Tan's research made in terms of saving NS men's lives via his soil & disease research?

 

[streetsmart73]

lianbeng asks, "what sort of face u call this?"

hi there


1. bro, my 1st take: f*&^#@ face!
2. 2nd take: dog faced.
3. 3rd take: no face.

 

[Forvendet]

To be fair, I think CMPB does not randomly or preferentially post vocations. NSmen are posted according to a set of criteria. Trouble is we don't have a say in it; they decide for you. Unless you want to sign on then would you get a chance of interview to have your say.

For example, in any batch of PES B (the majority of NSmen), about 91% would be posted to army, 3% to navy, 3% to air force, 3% to police, somewhere around there. You'll notice that those posted to navy and air force and police have at least one thing in common, all can speak and write English well. The navy and air force involve a lot of technical reports and the police force involves a lot of legal reports. That's why you cannot find hokkien pengs in the navy, air force or police force.

White horses are by definition enlistees from rich families and being rich, naturally very well educated and being very well educated, naturally get posted to perceivably more comfortable and desirable vocations with higher ranks. Being rich also means he can afford consult lawyers when he thinks that he has a reason for disruption, or specialists if he thinks that he has a condition that may qualify for exemption.

Therefore, it's not NS that's unequal, it's society that's unequal to begin with. That's the way of the world.

 

[Cruxx]

You'll notice that those posted to navy and air force and police have at least one thing in common, all can speak and write English well.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[Capano2121]

Doctors not enough meh! Then why was the uni intake back in the 80's & 90's reduced! Didi they only realised that when more doctors are playing politics than curing? Which doctor that chose to leave politics had secured multi million dollars salary after that? And this is not taking into account their consulatncy fees, surgery charges & whole load of other bull shits, just the constant base monthly salary paid out by hospitals!

 

[jw5]

The issue is how he managed to get the exact posting he wanted, as evidenced by the fact that he is doing the same thing after his ord. Many nsfs who were trained in or studied in or were interested in or excelled in something didn't get posted to a unit or vocation of their non national service training or specialisation.

More importantly, since that was his "field of expertise", after all this time, we should expect to see breakthrough earth shattering results of his years of reseach. Where are the results?