Commitment To NS Remains Strong

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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This Thursday the Committee to Strengthen National Service chaired by Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen released a slew of measures to recognize and reward National Servicemen. Dr. Hen stressed that theses rewards are for encouragement of the recruits and should never ever become a monetary transaction for services rendered.

The Defence Minister also said that the new generation has not seen the hardships faced by the pioneer generation but they should still have the same spirit and energy to protect and defend Singapore. “They (new generation) would have been Net natives, socialized to global trends and influences and therefore with lifestyles, outlook and expectations and aspirations different from previous generations. Amid these changes, one constant must remain. We must ensure that National Service remains relevant and responsive to a new generation who will defend Singapore.”

He further added, “If you were so impractical to say: let’s just do it completely with no recognition of benefits, NSmen would feel ‘But I do sacrifice and I feel good if there’s some recognition, whether it’s from the government, or whether it’s employers. So we felt this was a balance when we recommended the recognition benefits. But neither did we want to go so far that you monetize or you create a transactional basis where you lose the spirit and ethos of National Service”.