In that 1 year, I promise you that it will be a humbling experience …and better yet, a learning experience that will prepare you to be a better man than army can.

I can promise you nothing..but this I promise you.

And schooling in Singapore isn’t a form of social engineering?

with all honesty, i agree with Ganga on his views.

NS is nothing but a sham for social engineering, the fulfillment of someone’s dreams.

I enjoyed reading this piece. It is simple yet conveyed much emotion, while remaining coherent.

Thanks for sharing your story. I was in an average, some say below average, some called it “gangster” secondary school. I made it to a good JC, got into NUS and went to do my masters degree in a “better” university.

I kept in close contacts with some of my friend in secondary school. A number of my peers appeared in the news papers – some for the right reasons others for the wrong reasons. When I was in secondary school I was somehow elected to be chairman of a society that did charity. There were students who can’t pay their school fees or for school books so it was the job of my society to go round the school every quarter to collect for these students. Many were not only poor, they were did not do well at school, got into trouble often. If you get to know their them better their story was something like “father drink, mother gamble”. “father unemployed, everyday parents quarrel over money”..and so on. They were trapped in a vicious cycle.

I believe this vicious cycle has become more vicious in recent years during which the poor got poorer. Our society became more fractured as the distance between groups grew when the income gap worsened. There is little the govt can do if its sole interest is to keep GDP growing and its businesses highly profitable….and indeed little has been done. If our govt can break out of its ideological shackles and do the right thing…perhaps there is a little more hope for these people and your friend.

I also believe that I’m not wrong in pointing out another fault line in our education system that is obvious in NSF times – namely, everyone who has been through OCS or SISPEC is told that they should try and lead a group of A-level and Poly Students because they are “Easier to Control.” The “educated people” as graduates of OCS and SISPEC are often told – “Understand” the value of NS and the fact that everyone has a role to play. The “Ah Bengs” by contrast, actually expect their leaders to “take care of them” and their needs and don’t understand the concept of NS.

The logic seems reasonable in the Singapore context. But then, when I went overseas and shared NS experiences with guys from countries with National Service, they told me that in their countries, it was the ‘uneducated’ who were easier to control – “Educated” people ask more questions.

So, it makes you wonder? Why do we educated our population? Is it to stop them from asking questions and challenging the status quo? Well, it seems so, if the educated are easier to control. And one has to ask, is this good for society if educated people are only there to enforce the status quo? A friend of mine said that every Minister of Education we’ve had needs to be shot – why? In our recent good years, our economy has created lots of jobs – but the government claims all these jobs need to go to foreigners because…Singaporeans are not qualified to do them and what do all these Singaporeans have in common …. the education system.

During my NSF time I had the unfortunate experience of having to attend the funeral of two friends who were killed in a live firing exercise. I am no fan of doing NSF or NS. But having gone through the experience, I’m greatful for it for showing me a side of Singapore that’s not what our guidebooks talk about.

It is probably the last line of defense against elitism that is somewhat encouraged by the extensive streaming in our education system. It is also the reason why I am appalled by the practise that ITE, Poly and JC students are also streamed into BMT.

The ideal way to build to build bridges across the 3 academic classes in Singapore’s pre-university society is to put them together through a common experience together. This has to be achieved at the level of company and platoon during BMT, and then subsequently reinforced through experience by actually working with NSF from different walks of life in the subsequent posting.

While there is increasing income gap between the rich and poor, we should not let this develop into a widening social gap too. Only through empathy can one see through the fallacy of one’s prejudice. What Singapore needs is not only economic progress but also social progress. A caring society for Singaporeans by Singaporeans is my vision for our shared future.

I myself watch a lot of TV8 dramas (nowadays ZERO) before entering NS. While I understand intellectually that ‘these people’ exist, they are still regarded as people from another ‘world’. Hence your analogy of a 2 year stint in a third world country isn’t far off the mark of how someone would actually feel. Coz I felt exactly the same when I came into ‘contact’ with them.

Also while the ‘awe’ of the experience may diminish over time, it is likely something unforgettable. There is a difference between intellectually knowing something and having experienced it. And once you have experienced it, it is usually quite unforgettable.

Frankly I don’t really care if the author ‘remembers’ it or not, what I wish is that our future leaders will also have this experience. And as mentioned by the author, currently, our ‘leaders’ are being segrageted and will never come into contact with them. They will always only know that these ‘people’ exist on an intellectual level, nothing more.

Now,when I look at the government’s style of governing,I know why NS is compulsory. Becos they are afraid. They fear that everyone will desert them during war. Why? Becos they are tyrants. So in my opinion,the PAP needs to change their tyrannical ways or they will regret it.

NS shows the true colours of people. Those who talk too much, wayang and ‘kheng’ all the way are those who will usually crack under pressure. And usually many of these are the elites and scholars (mind you, I’m not saying all of them).

How many of your PC or NCOs are topo-kings? You wonder how come they can lead the platoon/sections?

Overhead someone said before in reservist, “The first person I’ll put the bullet thru the head is my PC. Chicken hearted and blur like sotong – probably will get all of us killed in war. Better he die than me.”

Yes, NS teaches us a lot. Especially how to accept people from different walks of life, regardless of background, colour or race.

ROD NCO,
Kaffein

What you are talking about is not national defence but social engineering. That is not a just cause for conscription. It is a very dangerous idea.

When you justify conscription based on your ideas about how society should be shape into some utopia, you justify just about any kind of coercion.

From my experience with many different types of people, the article suggests that this ‘humbling experience’ is nothing more than the awe one experiences whilst watching a spectacular movie. Such awe will remain for a few hours or days after the show and, similarly, here too the writer will carry this sense of awe for a bit.

In all probability, however, it is my opinion that the writer will soon forget this experience after assimilating back to the ‘yellow brick road’ to success. I hope that I am wrong though, and that the author is one of the extremely rare breed of ‘elite’ who will walk away from the paved road for a monetarily-less-successful life that offers more value to society.

The fact that the writer had not on his own accord sought out this ‘unique’ experience and had to wait until a host of factors converged to create it for him, says a lot about the high-handed perception of “…such complicated backgrounds that I once thought only possible in the highly-exaggerated drama serials shown on Channel 8…”.

In a way, I feel offended by this article as the tone refers to ‘these people’ as if they were some sort of alien creature suddenly available for our anthropological study. In reality, all of us share the same McDonald’s, same hawker centres, same movie theatres and a host of other facilities. They are not some hidden segment of the society which the author had to ‘immerse himself’ into to ‘discover’.

I find this article insightful only for the far-removed and those disconnected. It is, at best, superficial. But I do hope the writer can prove me wrong 10 years down the road and have all ‘these people’ still a part of his life. For example, having ‘these people’ invited to his wedding, or invited to his home. Perhaps, even allow his children to mix with their children freely.

These are questions that can only be answered by the author’s conscience, good luck.

Yeah. I appreciated the community spirit and the sense of togetherness when I was in NS. The NSF from my squadron was a good mix of JC, polytechnic and ITE graduates and it was sense of togetherness that helped us overcome the challenge and stress that arise from our unique function. We call this togetherness our brotherhood.

But is there any doubt that NS is nothing but slavery when the state exercise its absolute authority over your life with no recourse requiring compulsory servitude?

What we need is an all volunteer force, not slavery.

When I was on course once, I came across an incident whereby one of the coursemate had already married. He was 19 and his wife was 17 or 18 I think.

Even though I had ORDed more than a year ago, I still miss the times I had in NS, particularly in my former unit where I went thru thick and thin with my company people.

Do cherish your remaining NS times before you ORD. ;)