During the past 25 years, I have written many letters to the mainstream newspapers about the disadvantage faced by male citizens in competing for jobs while having to carry out their national service obligations. I spoke about this matter in a meeting yesterday. Someone sent this message to me:
Dear Mr. Tan
I have friends who are working for companies that will try not to take in male Singaporeans because of Reservists. I think this is something we need to emphasize to try to gain support for the younger generation of Singaporeans male. Also for those who uses their parents CPF to pay their school fees during poly days, due to the 2 years of having to serve NS, they are unable to pay off the compound interest to the CPF board that are requested and it is a disadvantage to the guys who have to serve the 2 years of army as the compounded interest will keep increasing and it might become a financial burden to some. As you can see, it creates a chain reaction and a part of the factors of people not getting married due to all the additional burdens coming into their life. Also Singaporeans male are always being look down upon due to the financial disadvantages that they have.
Dear Mr. Tan
I have friends who are working for companies that will try not to take in male Singaporeans because of Reservists. I think this is something we need to emphasize to try to gain support for the younger generation of Singaporeans male. Also for those who uses their parents CPF to pay their school fees during poly days, due to the 2 years of having to serve NS, they are unable to pay off the compound interest to the CPF board that are requested and it is a disadvantage to the guys who have to serve the 2 years of army as the compounded interest will keep increasing and it might become a financial burden to some. As you can see, it creates a chain reaction and a part of the factors of people not getting married due to all the additional burdens coming into their life. Also Singaporeans male are always being look down upon due to the financial disadvantages that they have.
3 comments:
Years ago I paid my poly school fees by bursary from PSC. Immediately after graduation, I was being sent a letter on the installment plan to repay the debt by paying $50 per month. At that time, a recruit was paid $90/month allowance. I was from a poor family and thus had to apply bursary. And seeing the need to pay back and with that plan, I decided to sign on with the airforce. The rest are history. Sometimes I wonder, these schemes to 'help' disadvantage people, are the objectives made very clear to the policy-maker and executioner? I empathise those that have to pay the compound interest. What is the purpose of collecting compound interest? Government should give interest-free loan because this is an investment for the future of the country, surely this wouldn't affect the lump of budget surplus. I am very concern that government become profit centre,then a nation won't be a nation anymore.
I'm all for NS but I think the inconvenience and disadvanatge imposed upon NSmen should be sufficiently compensated and remedied, which I feel hasn't been the case now or in the past.
The first two years of full-time should be compensated with life-long medical subsidies, over and above citizen subsidies. Extra housing grants and higher housing queue priority should be given too.
Not only reservist NSmen should be equitably compensated for their contribution, but their employers should be too. A company hiring a S$2,000 per month worker doesn't lose S$1,000 in productivity over a 2-week reservist recall. The company loses more than that. Commonsense will tell us that a business hire an employee for S$2,000 in order to make more that.
In my past letters, I recognise the importance of defending our nation, but suggested several ways to minimise the impact for our male citizens and still achieve the goal of national defence.
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