Is National Service in Singapore truly necessary?

By Anonymous for The Real Singapore

“Training to be soldiers, fight for our lives, once in our lives, two years of our time.” This is a line in a song that I, like many Singaporean males before me, sang during the many grueling route marches we had to endure. Two years is indeed a huge sacrifice to make for one’s country. Is it worth it? We fall two years behind our foreign counterparts who will have more work experience than us and are sometimes discriminated at the workplace because our National Service call-ups cause companies to lose weeks of productivity. After all the blood and sweat we sacrificed for this country, this is the “Thank you” we get? Nowadays, it is easy for Singaporeans to get disillusioned with National Service. But despite the costs, I strongly believe that it is necessary to our survival as a nation.

Some argue that Singapore’s economy could be better off without it. According to the World Bank, Singapore spent 3.3% of its US$297.7 billion GDP on the military in 2013. Sure, this money could be spent on healthcare, education and infrastructure instead. But will our economy be this strong if not for National Service? In fact, maintaining a competent military and police force ensures the security of our country. This, in turn, creates a secure atmosphere that is conducive to a stable business atmosphere that attracts as many as 7000 multinational corporations that create countless jobs for Singaporeans, aid our economic development and strengthen our financial standing. Just imagine what would happen to our economy if a terrorist attack were successful. Corporations will lose trust in our ability to defend ourselves and capital flight could occur. The damages will be lasting, and having to do National Service will be least of our concerns.

Of course, the military is not the only form of defense the country has. Diplomacy and sound foreign policy is our first line of defense. By forming bilateral relationships with countries, we prevent conflict from occurring. But as Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Speak softly, and carry a big stick.” Relationships between countries are fragile, and a strong military force is necessary to act as a strong deterrent against any forms of belligerence.

In addition, many opponents of National Service compare Singapore to South Korea and Taiwan, who also have conscription. They argue that South Korea and Taiwan are facing direct threats from North Korea and China and therefore, maintaining a conscript army is essential to their survival. They say that Singapore, on the contrary, is not in danger. But these arguments fail to address the issue of terrorism. The Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) is one the most active terrorist organization in the region that seeks to establish an Islamic State that includes Singapore. We were very fortunate that our security forces managed to uncover and foil several JI terrorist plots such as the planned attacks on the US, Australian, UK and Israeli embassies in Singapore. The question we have to ask ourselves is – Do we really have to wait for a successful attack on our country to justify the need for a strong, vigilant defense force? In this day and age, terrorists can attack hit us anywhere, at any time. It is imperative that we have a competent, sufficiently manned and proactive military and police force to ensure that innocent lives do not perish at the hands of religious fanatics.