COS 2012 Debates: MINDEF – National Service and Immigration Policy

by MP for Aljunied GRC, Pritam Singh


There is a rather pejorative phrase that has become commonplace in Singapore since the government open the door to new immigrants – It is short and provocative, very damaging to the institution of National Service and it has the potential to compromise, if it has not already, the commitment generations of Singaporeans have devoted to National Service – “NS for Singaporeans, Jobs for Foreigners.”

The phrase is quite common-place in the subconscious of many Singaporeans NSmen I have spoken with and I am sure members have come across such remarks, particularly online.

In view of the government’s stated need for immigrants to support our elderly population and make up for our poor TFR, will MINDEF consider introducing some variation of National Service for new immigrants? This could take the form of a shorter NS program, or perhaps even island defence or protection of key installation duties, followed by an NS cycle that would ramp up their military skills in other areas. Such a policy may have the potential of not only ensuring new immigrants pull their weight insofar as NS is concerned, but also serve the dual-purpose of ensuring the quicker integration of our new immigrants into Singapore society.

A corollary concern is the deployment of new immigrants who enlist into National Service, against the large numbers of long-resident Malay servicemen who appear to be demographically over-represented in the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Singapore Police Force. Security reasons have long been alluded to as the reason why some remain too sensitive to be filled up by Malay servicemen. Can MINDEF clarify the security status of new immigrants who serve NS in MINDEF – specifically, are they deemed to be less of a security risk than Malay soldiers?