Chan Chun Sing on Singapore's youth

SINGAPORE – Every generation faces its own set of challenges, and Singaporeans will rise to the occasion, Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said on June 24, expressing confidence in Singapore’s young.

“I don’t believe in this thing called strawberry generation,” he said.

Chan was speaking at The ST Forum, a by-invitation-only dialogue attended by 25 people, many of them contributors to The Straits Times’ Forum page.

They asked a wide range of questions about defence and national service (NS) ahead of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Day on July 1.

Chan said that from what he has observed, young people want to be inspired to a higher cause.

“It is important for us – those who have walked the path – to play the role and give them a sense of confidence that they can aspire to something bigger, not just for themselves, but for Singapore,” he said.

Chan said success should be defined not just by one’s achievements, but also by one’s contributions.

“We will become a very powerful country when we all can define our success (in this way). Regardless of your academic background, regardless of your job, everyone can play a part, and that is the most powerful thing.”

Singapore, he added, also needs a culture that goes beyond telling people what to do and how to do it, and instead explains the reasons behind it.

“When our people understand the why, you will be pleasantly surprised at how they are able to come up with ideas that transcend what we thought was possible,” said Chan, who is also Coordinating Minister for Public Services.

During the dialogue, questions were also put to the minister about possible paths for those serving in the SAF, as well as the refreshed NS medical classification system.

On the new classification system, Forum contributor and gynaecologist Tan Eng Loy spoke of his own NS experience, where he felt his skills were not meaningfully used, as he had not been certified combat-fit.

Chan responded that this was precisely the dissatisfaction with the previous system, which gave pre-enlistees an aggregated Physical Employment Standard (PES) status.

Under the refreshed system, pre-enlistees will receive specific medical exemptions based on their medical condition. The change gives servicemen more opportunities to take on a broader range of vocations.

“We want to make sure we have a dynamic system, whereby we can update our repository of skills and deploy them most meaningfully,” he said.

Refreshing the system to focus on operational readiness, rather than a one-size-fits-all concept of combat fitness, can give more people the chance to contribute in varied ways.

“We want people to move away from this concept of combat fitness just based on your musculoskeletal abilities,” said Chan.

Technology has also made this broader operational deployment possible.

Chan cited examples of servicemen who were not considered combat-fit under previous definitions, but ended up becoming “some of the best drone operators that we have”.

“They are teaching all our recruits to fly the drones, to raise the drones, to use the drones to pick up imagery. They have used the drones to drop stuff,” he added.

Chan highlighted that over the years, there has been a positive shift in the way NS is viewed, with more people – including women and new citizens – wanting to do their part.

“When we first started national service, many parents were very worried and said: ‘Just go in and do the minimum, don’t get injured and come out safely’,” said Chan. “Today, the mindset is… ‘I want to make the best use of my time. I want to be able to say that I contributed something’.”

Chan said serving NS in person remains important.

He was responding to a question from another contributor, Hana Alhadad, co-founder of child-centred initiative Hayat Collective, who asked if NS should continue to require a physical presence in Singapore, given the growing number of Singaporeans living overseas, and in an age of artificial intelligence, cyber warfare and global mobility.

“In the military, there is something very unique and precious that we all treasure – that is the camaraderie and sense of being able to work together,” he said.

Another question that generated robust discussion was whether women should do NS. A straw poll among dialogue attendees saw respondents split almost down the middle.

When Chan sought views, Forum contributor and student Adwin Lau said it was important from a gender equality standpoint.

Another contributor, homemaker Shamim Moledina, made a similar point, adding that women could do a shorter stint of six months, in areas such as nursing or first aid.

But Chan said enlisting people should not be done simply for the sake of appearing equal.

“Whether men or women, they are not here to be spare manpower,” he said. “We are very tight in the way we manage the system to make sure that anyone we enlist must have an operational role.”