On National Service: The Hypocrisy of Tony Tan

PTADER

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The blatant hypocrisy of Tony Tan...

His son serving his remaining two years in a non-uniformed role as researcher in DMERI does not qualify as NS.

One of the criteria of disruption for an NSF seeking disruption is that he must show potential to be an officer. To this end, the disrupted personel will return and is expected to complete OCS from where he last stopped his training before his disruption from NS.

It begs the question as to why Patrick Tan did not complete the remaining 6 months of his OCS training. This is since the potential to be an officer is one prerequisite for disruption. And with that, the expectation is that you should continue with OCS training after returning from studies and not merely sail into a non-uniformed and physically non-onerous job.

Tony Tan owes a reponsibility to all past, present and future National Servicemen and their parents to show how his son's treatment is, in his own words used 15 years ago in Perth, "fair" and "equitable".

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"KNOW WHAT NS REQUIREMENTS ARE BEFORE MIGRATING".
147th Prostitute Press
21 October 1996

IF YOU plan to emigrate from Singapore, please familiarise yourself with the national-service requirements of your sons.

Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan made this appeal in response to a question from the floor during a dinner hosted by the Temasek Club here on Saturday.

A member of the 200-strong club, which is made up of Singaporeans and former citizens who live here, asked about national service for Singaporean boys who have emigrated here with their families.

The minister said he appreciated their concerns, but "national service is, we believe, fundamental to Singapore's survival".

If the boys left the country before they reached 11 years of age, they could renounce their citizenship when they turned 21 and could visit Singapore as a foreigner.

If they left after the age of 11, they would have to return to Singapore later for national service of between two and 2-1/2 years.

Dr Tan said: "We take the view that they have enjoyed some of the benefits of living in Singapore, and so have to fulfil their NS responsibilities before they can renounce their citizenship."

He added: "Singapore does not recognise the system of dual citizenship.

"Children who take up Australian citizenship are considered to be still Singaporean citizens and have to fulfill their NS responsibilities."

That is a principle which is difficult for the Defence Ministry to compromise, and the ministry is standing firm on that, he stressed.

"In fact, we have received representations from various government ministries of our own to say that, because of our strictness in applying this policy, we are denying re-entry into Singapore of many talented Singaporeans who can benefit our country," he disclosed.

The rationale, however, is: "The only way we can operate our NS system and have the support of Singaporeans is when everybody feels that our system, unlike those in some other countries, is fair, is applied equitably and no one liable for NS is allowed not to serve."

To another question relating to business opportunities, Dr Tan said that the expertise of many Australian companies could be supported by the capital and range of contacts of Singapore enterprises.

That would make for successful joint ventures in the booming economies of South-east Asia and East Asia.

A Temasek Club member asked for a Singapore consular office to be opened in Perth to help the thousands of Singaporeans who live here with passport matters and business links.

Dr Tan replied that the prospects were good given the growing investments of Singapore companies in Perth and Western Australia.

Dr Tan arrived in Perth on Friday for a seven-day introductory visit to Australia as Singapore's Defence Minister.

He and his delegation left here yesterday for Canberra where today they will call on Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Defence Minister Ian McLachlan.
 
One of the criteria for NS disruption....




Mindef changes NS deferment rule for medical studies overseas
147th Prostitute Press
3 April 1991

MINDEF has amended its rules granting disruption to national servicemen taking up overseas medical studies.

Previously, those taking up such studies were selectively disrupted from their national service after six months.

Now, they are subject to the same rules as those going overseas for all other courses of studies, under which NS men enlisted in December will first serve a minimum of 24 months before being eligible for disruption.

Those enlisted last month will serve 21 months and complete their full-time liability when they return.

But Mindef will continue to grant selective early disruption after six months to NS men wishing to study medicine at the National University of Singapore.

The new rule will affect the batch of students sitting for their GCE A-level examinations this year.

These details were announced yesterday by Mindef's director of manpower, Mr Chan Heng Loon.

He said that previously, Mindef had allowed a limited number to disrupt national service after six months to study medicine abroad.

Since 1986, between 60 and 100 medical students a year were successful.

They were selected based on their military performance during the six months and their potential to be officers, said Mr Chan.

But dozens of cases yearly were not chosen, he added.


"This caused a great deal of disappointment to the students and their parents as well as inconvenience to their universities," he said.

He added: "Some of these students had to turn up personally at the institutions for interviews. Can you imagine the situation when dozens of them, after spending so much time and resources getting places, are then told they can't go?"

Although NUS as a matter of policy reserves places for qualified NS men, foreign universities require them to reapply for places.

Said Mr Chan: "Mindef reminds all national servicemen applying for overseas courses that it makes no exceptions to the rules for early disruption."

The SAF, he said, will meet its need for about 60 national service doctors a

year from the pool of local graduates.

Yesterday, he also briefed principals or representatives of junior colleges and pre- university centres.
 
An example of an NSF having to continue OCS from where he left off after being granted disruption...


Age gives officer cadet the edge.
147th Prostitute Press
29 July 2002

AT 25, Mr Steven Tay Hong Joo went back to the sweat and toil of national service, picking up where he left off 5 1/2 years before when he went to Britain to study.

Then, he had already completed eight months at the Singapore Armed Forces Officer Cadet School (OCS), and had another 2 1/2 months left.

But he disrupted his national service when he snagged a teaching scholarship from the Public Service Commission, for a bachelor's degree in chemistry and physical education at Loughborough University.

He got his teaching diploma there before moving on to Cambridge University to do a master's in chemistry.

Despite being older than most of his coursemates when he rejoined OCS this year, Mr Tay bagged the coveted Sword of Honour yesterday.

He was one of seven who received the award, given to those who top the officer cadet course.

Said Mr Tay: 'Most of my coursemates are 20 or 21 years old. I think my maturity, which helped me make better judgments and decisions, set me apart from the rest.'

The strapping armour officer said that while he had no problems with the physical rigours of training, he found it 'tough mentally'.

He explained: 'I was used to life as a civilian for five years. I could take my time to do things - wake up late, go to the library or watch TV.

'But when I returned to OCS, I had to get used to the lifestyle, the strict discipline, where life starts at 5 am and we rush through meals.'

Mr Tay will join the Education Ministry after he completes NS in July next year.

His father, a technician, and mother, a production line worker - both in their 50s - braved the drizzle to lend their support yesterday at Safti, the military training institute.

A total of 324 cadets were commissioned as officers by Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan.

Dr Tan, who is also Defence Minister, told them: 'The responsibility of safeguarding our homeland falls squarely on you, the future leaders of the SAF.'.
 
Can a stint as a non-uniformed researcher in DMERI be considered "arduous"?....



DR TAN - ESSENTIAL TO HAVE PARENTS SUPPORT NS.
147th Prostitute Press
3 October 1995

PARENTS' acceptance and support for national service help form the cornerstone for Singapore's defence, said Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan on Sunday.

He was speaking at the first Officer Cadet Course commissioning parade at the Safti Military Institute since it opened in August.

Looking at the good turnout of parents, Dr Tan, who is also the Defence Minister, said that national service, arduous as it was, could be made more bearable if parents gave their sons emotional and moral support.

Whether servicemen regarded their training as an honourable duty or as a chore depended to a great extent on their parents' attitudes towards national service, he said.

"In a wider definition of Singapore's security requirements, national service is therefore as much a responsibility for parents as it is for our sons," Dr Tan said.

To the newly commissioned officers, he said that the SAF depended on them.

He added: "As a small country with a small population, we can never build a credible defence force based on regular servicemen alone."

National service was the very basis for Singapore's continued existence as an independent nation-state, he said.

"Hence, whether now or in the future, it will always be a fact of life for all able-bodied male Singaporeans."

A total of 143 officer cadets from the army and the air force were commissioned.

Dr Tan presented ceremonial swords to the two Sword-of-Honour winners, Officer Cadets Yeo Gek Chuan and Lim Jit Shyan.

Officer Cadet Philip Paul Regaspi Fortuno of the Armed Forces of the Philippines was also presented a ceremonial sword by Dr Tan on behalf of the Philippine President.

Senior SAF officers at the parade included Chief of Defence Force, Major-General Bey Soo Kiang; Chief of Navy, Rear-Admiral Kwek Siew Jin; Chief of Army, Brigadier-General Han Eng Juan; and Chief of Air Force, Brigadier-General Goh Yong Siang.
 
You cannot hold him to his words.
He is a politician.
 
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