I do not care whether opposition politician talk like a housewife auntie which you can find them in a fish market but when one could support and articulate her points with such explicit clarity, she deserve my vote.
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/03/shorten-national-service-says-ncmp-lina-chiam/
"the following is NCMP Lina Chiam's speech in Parliament: Cuts – Ministry of Defence on National Service:
I agree with the Government that the security and defence of Singapore is not to be taken for granted, and that citizens should play an active role through National Service.
However I wish to raise two points in this regard which deserve our due consideration.
The first relates to various proposals to have National Service shortened from the current 2 years to 1 year or so. In its place, the professional armed force can be further built up by boosting the incentives for young men and women to join as regulars.
Taiwan has announced that it will cut its length of military conscription from 1 year to just 4 months next year. South Korea has set it at 21 months. This leaves Singapore as the country with the second longest fixed conscription length in the world, just behind Israel.
I’m sure this House will agree that South Korea and Taiwan are not in any less need of a strong armed force than Singapore. If anything, their armed forces have been called up for actual combat action in the past two decades.
My main reason for advocating the shortening of NS is that since the Government has welcomed such a large number of foreigners into our workforce in the past decade, Singaporean males urgently need to close the gap as to when they start their working life.
This relates to my second point – which is that some employers prefer to hire foreigners over Singaporeans, because Singaporean males are liable for reservist training. Understandably, the employer is left in a lurch when the employee cannot show up for work, particularly when the job in question is labour intensive.
If the resentment among those Singaporeans affected is left unchecked, the result will be the complete opposite of what the Government has set out to achieve with National Service, namely, to inculcate a commitment to Singapore’s defence.
How does the Government plan to address this? "
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/03/shorten-national-service-says-ncmp-lina-chiam/
"the following is NCMP Lina Chiam's speech in Parliament: Cuts – Ministry of Defence on National Service:
I agree with the Government that the security and defence of Singapore is not to be taken for granted, and that citizens should play an active role through National Service.
However I wish to raise two points in this regard which deserve our due consideration.
The first relates to various proposals to have National Service shortened from the current 2 years to 1 year or so. In its place, the professional armed force can be further built up by boosting the incentives for young men and women to join as regulars.
Taiwan has announced that it will cut its length of military conscription from 1 year to just 4 months next year. South Korea has set it at 21 months. This leaves Singapore as the country with the second longest fixed conscription length in the world, just behind Israel.
I’m sure this House will agree that South Korea and Taiwan are not in any less need of a strong armed force than Singapore. If anything, their armed forces have been called up for actual combat action in the past two decades.
My main reason for advocating the shortening of NS is that since the Government has welcomed such a large number of foreigners into our workforce in the past decade, Singaporean males urgently need to close the gap as to when they start their working life.
This relates to my second point – which is that some employers prefer to hire foreigners over Singaporeans, because Singaporean males are liable for reservist training. Understandably, the employer is left in a lurch when the employee cannot show up for work, particularly when the job in question is labour intensive.
If the resentment among those Singaporeans affected is left unchecked, the result will be the complete opposite of what the Government has set out to achieve with National Service, namely, to inculcate a commitment to Singapore’s defence.
How does the Government plan to address this? "
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