For whom are we defending Singapore? Heng Chee How asks after Gerald Giam suggests changing NS allowance to NS salary

For whom are we defending this country? Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How posed this question in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 29).

"Is it for the Ministry of Defence? For the Singapore Armed Forces? No, it's for each and every Singaporean, for now and for the future," he said in his ministry's budget debate.

Earlier on, Workers' Party MP Gerald Giam said that the current philosophy of giving full-time National Servicemen (NSF) an allowance for basic upkeep needs to be reviewed.

This is in light of the "significant increase" in cost of living and the opportunity cost of doing two years of national service, he said.

"As a first step, the terminology should be changed from 'NS allowance' to 'NS salary' and it should attract CPF contributions," Giam suggested, adding that the median annual salary should be at least the local qualifying salary of $1,600 a month.

"This does not in any way diminish the ethos of national service, just because we pay our NSFs fairly," he emphasised.

In response, SMS Heng said that national service is a duty to the country, and not a form of employment.

"Instead of a salary, NSFs receive an allowance to support their basic upkeep and this allowance is regularly reviewed — most recently in July 2023," he added.

He pointed out that the NSFs' allowance has been reviewed four times in the last 10 years.

"We will continue to review to make sure that the allowance will remain relevant," SMS Heng said.

Seeking clarification on SMS Heng's explanation that NS is "a duty to country and not employment", Giam asked: "However, does the SMS agree that two are not mutually exclusive?"

"SAF regulars for example, they are both employees and serving their national duty.

"But that does not detract, in any way, their sense of national duty."

Emphasising that he supports national service, Giam reiterated that the NS allowance should "reflect the realities of the opportunity costs that national servicemen have to incur."

While national is a duty of citizens to protect Singapore, SMS Heng said, NSFs are not enlisted as volunteers.

"We recognise that we will call on their time for two years. And that during this period, they will need a basic upkeep as they fulfil this duty to Singapore," he said.

"This is why we regularly update and enhance the allowance that we pay to our national servicemen."

Last May, the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Home Affairs announced that all national servicemen in the Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force will receive a raise in their monthly allowance starting from July.

The amount ranged from $125 to $200, depending on their rank and vocation. This was an increment by between 10.9 per cent and 21.7 per cent, the ministries added.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com