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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - TT Kena Slap Again. Where To Hide Face?[/TD]
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[TD="class: msgtxt"][h=1]After All The Revealations.. Can He Still Be A "People" President ??[/h][h=1]"DR PATRICK TAN AND THE INTEGRITY OF NS"[/h]Posted on August 2, 2011 by satayclub
Dr Tony Tan expressed his "disappointment" at the online community for engaging in the spreading of "rumours" about his son
By Philip Tan
For much of the past week, Singapore netizens have been in uproar over the alleged ‘preferential treatment’ given to Dr Patrick Tan Boon Ooi while he was serving his National Service. Dr Patrick Tan is the son of presidential candidate Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, a former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence.
It has been revealed that Dr Patrick Tan was granted a 12-year disruption from full-time National Service, during which he obtained a medical degree. However, instead of serving as a combat Medical Officer like most qualified doctors, Dr Patrick Tan was assigned to the Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute (DMERI), serving in the vocation of “Defence Scientist” for the remainder of his full-time NS liability.
It is not the first time that there has been a debate about children of influential people being given preferential treatment during NS. Some years ago, Cedric Foo, who was Minister of State for Defence, admitted in Parliament that MINDEF had an official “white horse” classification prior to 2000. Mr Foo claimed that the “white horse” classification existed to single out the sons of the rich and powerful so that they would not receive preferential treatment.
“All NSmen are treated equally and are deployed in vocations and units based on SAF operational requirements, their medical classification, and their academic and military performance. No NSmen has been accorded special privileges. Prior to year 2000, the term ‘white horse’ was used to identify sons of influential persons to ensure such enlistees were not given preferential treatment. And their medical classification and vocation assignments are scrupulously fair,” said Mr Foo in reply to a question tabled by former Non-Constituency MP Steve Chia.
MINDEF has been known to be completely unwilling to allow for NS disruptions or deferments on personal or compassionate grounds in the past. A case in point would be that of Ike See, a talented violinist who was offered a music scholarship to study at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in the United States. However, MINDEF rejected his request for deferment, putting his plans into a tailspin.
NS is a hated but respected institution in Singapore because it represents a rite of passage that every Singaporean male has to go through. It is a great social equaliser because it forces those from rich and influential backgrounds to interact with people from more disadvantaged backgrounds on a daily basis, subject to the same regimen of strict military discipline. NS is non-negotiable; there are no exceptions. Or so we thought.
The Office of Dr Tony Tan offered a feeble explanation as to how his son had made contributions to Singapore. Claiming that there were “multiple service pathways for NSmen after BMT”, Dr Tan’s administrators went on to assert that Dr Patrick Tan had made significant contributions through his research work. “In line with his research at medical school in genomics, (Dr Patrick Tan’s) research work focused on melioidisis, a disease involving abcesses, pneumonia or blood poisoning caused by a soil-borne bacteria… which was a concern to MINDEF because it was affecting soldiers in the field and is a potential bio-terrorism threat”.
The fact that Dr Patrick Tan made significant contributions to MINDEF is unquestionable – it could even be argued that someone with his background and education would have been expected to make contributions. However, this is a moot point, as the issue in question is whether or not he was entitled to preferential treatment. Many other talented Singaporeans have had to serve their NS in vocations which did not allow them to utilise their skills or knowledge – almost everyone knows of a highly-trained doctor, lawyer, engineer or researcher who had to serve as ordinary riflemen.
The question really is: If Dr Patrick Tan was not the son of Dr Tony Tan, would he have been allowed a 12-year disruption from full-time NS? And would he have been allowed to serve out the remainder of his NS liability as a “defence medical scientist” at DMERI? If these issues continue to be sidestepped, the integrity of NS as a whole could risk being called into question – the morale of both servicemen and reservists could be affected, and more importantly, the incorruptible image of Singapore’s leaders will be placed in doubt.
The author is a former Singapore Armed Forces regular. He obtained the Local Study Award (LSA) to study engineering at the Nanyang Technological University, and subsequently served four years as an infantry platoon commander and instructor at the Basic Military Training Centre. He is now working in the private sector.
http://thesatayclub.net/2011/08/dr-patrick-tan-and-the-integrity-of-ns/
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[TD="class: msgDate, width: 30%, align: right"]Aug-2 8:47 pm [/TD]
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[TD="class: msgtxt"][h=1]After All The Revealations.. Can He Still Be A "People" President ??[/h][h=1]"DR PATRICK TAN AND THE INTEGRITY OF NS"[/h]Posted on August 2, 2011 by satayclub
Dr Tony Tan expressed his "disappointment" at the online community for engaging in the spreading of "rumours" about his sonBy Philip Tan
For much of the past week, Singapore netizens have been in uproar over the alleged ‘preferential treatment’ given to Dr Patrick Tan Boon Ooi while he was serving his National Service. Dr Patrick Tan is the son of presidential candidate Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, a former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence.
It has been revealed that Dr Patrick Tan was granted a 12-year disruption from full-time National Service, during which he obtained a medical degree. However, instead of serving as a combat Medical Officer like most qualified doctors, Dr Patrick Tan was assigned to the Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute (DMERI), serving in the vocation of “Defence Scientist” for the remainder of his full-time NS liability.
It is not the first time that there has been a debate about children of influential people being given preferential treatment during NS. Some years ago, Cedric Foo, who was Minister of State for Defence, admitted in Parliament that MINDEF had an official “white horse” classification prior to 2000. Mr Foo claimed that the “white horse” classification existed to single out the sons of the rich and powerful so that they would not receive preferential treatment.
“All NSmen are treated equally and are deployed in vocations and units based on SAF operational requirements, their medical classification, and their academic and military performance. No NSmen has been accorded special privileges. Prior to year 2000, the term ‘white horse’ was used to identify sons of influential persons to ensure such enlistees were not given preferential treatment. And their medical classification and vocation assignments are scrupulously fair,” said Mr Foo in reply to a question tabled by former Non-Constituency MP Steve Chia.
MINDEF has been known to be completely unwilling to allow for NS disruptions or deferments on personal or compassionate grounds in the past. A case in point would be that of Ike See, a talented violinist who was offered a music scholarship to study at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in the United States. However, MINDEF rejected his request for deferment, putting his plans into a tailspin.
NS is a hated but respected institution in Singapore because it represents a rite of passage that every Singaporean male has to go through. It is a great social equaliser because it forces those from rich and influential backgrounds to interact with people from more disadvantaged backgrounds on a daily basis, subject to the same regimen of strict military discipline. NS is non-negotiable; there are no exceptions. Or so we thought.
The Office of Dr Tony Tan offered a feeble explanation as to how his son had made contributions to Singapore. Claiming that there were “multiple service pathways for NSmen after BMT”, Dr Tan’s administrators went on to assert that Dr Patrick Tan had made significant contributions through his research work. “In line with his research at medical school in genomics, (Dr Patrick Tan’s) research work focused on melioidisis, a disease involving abcesses, pneumonia or blood poisoning caused by a soil-borne bacteria… which was a concern to MINDEF because it was affecting soldiers in the field and is a potential bio-terrorism threat”.
The fact that Dr Patrick Tan made significant contributions to MINDEF is unquestionable – it could even be argued that someone with his background and education would have been expected to make contributions. However, this is a moot point, as the issue in question is whether or not he was entitled to preferential treatment. Many other talented Singaporeans have had to serve their NS in vocations which did not allow them to utilise their skills or knowledge – almost everyone knows of a highly-trained doctor, lawyer, engineer or researcher who had to serve as ordinary riflemen.
The question really is: If Dr Patrick Tan was not the son of Dr Tony Tan, would he have been allowed a 12-year disruption from full-time NS? And would he have been allowed to serve out the remainder of his NS liability as a “defence medical scientist” at DMERI? If these issues continue to be sidestepped, the integrity of NS as a whole could risk being called into question – the morale of both servicemen and reservists could be affected, and more importantly, the incorruptible image of Singapore’s leaders will be placed in doubt.
The author is a former Singapore Armed Forces regular. He obtained the Local Study Award (LSA) to study engineering at the Nanyang Technological University, and subsequently served four years as an infantry platoon commander and instructor at the Basic Military Training Centre. He is now working in the private sector.
http://thesatayclub.net/2011/08/dr-patrick-tan-and-the-integrity-of-ns/
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