The question she dreaded most was simple: \u201cWhy is MINDEF doing this? I don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
To her, it would mean the public could not see the purpose behind a policy, the reason for a decision or the role defence plays in Singapore\u2019s everyday security.<\/p>\n
Keloth Sonia does not serve in uniform. But from the communications branch of the National Service Policy Department (NSPD) at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), she has found her own way to contribute to nation building \u2013 by helping Singaporeans understand why defence matters, and why the work of protecting the country must be shared by more than those on the front line.<\/p>\n
Her latest assignment is handling communication matters related to the refreshed Medical Classification System (MCS).<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me tell you, I was so terrified in the weeks leading up to the announcement,\u201d the 27-year-old manager says with a laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew citizens in Singapore were going to comment on it, on Reddit, on Instagram. That kind of kept me on my toes, to make sure that our target audience had a clear understanding of the new policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a communications officer, she and her team had performed extensive research to determine how to best communicate the new policy, especially to the people that it was most relevant to: namely, NS pre-enlistees and their parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery Singaporean family has someone going through or has gone through national service,\u201d she says. \u201cAs such, every policy change involving NS automatically affects every single household.\u201d<\/p>\n Through platforms like the Military Transformations Programme at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Sonia (front) has built relationships with defence and policy counterparts from around the world.<\/p>\n PHOTO: COURTESY OF KELOTH SONIA<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Not only that, but as the bedrock of Singapore\u2019s defence and stability, any kind of misinformation about NS that results in a loss of public trust could be irreversibly damaging.<\/p>\n As a result, any communications about NS \u2013 especially those regarding such a massive change in the MCS, which has been around since the 1970s \u2013 are taken very seriously in the NSPD.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a citizen, whenever I read about policy announcements and changes, I am keen to find out why the change happened and evaluate how the policy solution addresses the issue,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n She provides those answers in her current role. \u201cIt is not just about telling the public what changed, but also why we changed it,\u201d she adds. \u201cIt is important that the public has confidence in the decisions that are being made.\u201d<\/p>\n If you had told a 17-year-old Sonia \u2013 a science student with a keen interest in genetics and cell biology \u2013 that a decade later she would be in charge of disseminating information to the general public about NS policies, she would probably not have believed you.<\/p>\n Her inclination towards biological sciences had initially started her down the path of being a teacher.<\/p>\n But taking General Paper classes in junior college had impressed on her the importance and uniqueness of Singapore\u2019s geopolitical position, and how security should not be taken for granted.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were a lot of incidents that were happening in 2016 and 2017, and it dawned on me that the peace and security I had grown up with could be taken away in an instant,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n \u201cIt made me realise that what we have has to be safeguarded, and I kind of wanted to be part of that force safeguarding it.\u201d<\/p>\n Representing Singapore at the United Nations in New York was an opportunity Sonia says she could never have imagined.<\/p>\n PHOTO: COURTESY OF KELOTH SONIA<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n However, she hesitated at the thought of taking on a uniformed role in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). One of her major concerns was the fact that she had consistently performed poorly in physical training tests as a student, particularly the 2.4km run.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no way I would have passed IPPT back then,\u201d she jokingly says, referring to the Individual Physical Proficiency Test that all medically fit SAF uniformed personnel must take and pass.<\/p>\n Still, she wondered if there was a place for someone like her in defence \u2013 someone drawn to the mission, but not necessarily to life in uniform.<\/p>\n<\/picture><\/div>
The perfect compromise<\/h2>\n
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