Time to review National Service

For a few decades, I have been against the current practice of National Service. Here are my reasons.

1. It is too long.
2. It imposes a burden on our male citizens and make them loss in competition for jobs against foreigners and females.
3. It is costly to train NS men and keep them trained as reservists.
4. It is more effective, and perhaps cheaper, to have professional army, who can develop their professional over a full time career.

I support an effective defense strategy, but prefer it to be based on a professional army.

We can provide basic military training for our male citizens but this has to be for 6 months only. When there is hostility, they can be called up for refresher training. This is not perfect, but is a workable option. Several countries adopted this approach.

The recent deaths of NS men reminds the citizens at large that our current approach is not working well. Sadly, this will soon be forgotten, until the next accident and death occurs. Singaporeans respond to the news at the moment, but have short term memories.

It is time for Singaporeans to wake up. We need to re-look at our approach towards national defense. We should not continue to foster a heavy burden on our male citizens.

Tan Kin Lian

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