In case you don't already know what RECORD is, the cute acronym represents "Recognise the Contributions of Operationally Ready National Servicemen to Total Defence". The "V" is not for victory but to denote the fifth committee comprising 20 individuals this round who represent, "different sectors of society".
Let's examine how useful (or useless) some of the 18 recommendations are from a perspective of an ex-Reservist who has served his 2.5 years of full-time national service in operational armour unit and 10 years of annual in-camp training in a people's defence force battalion.
Record V Recommendations
Record's recommendations fall under the following themes. Full report here (opens pdf file).
- Rising aspirations
- Importance of leadership
- Encouraging fitness
- Globalisation and increased work demands
- Building cohesion
1. Enhancing the rank allowance increments and combat allowance for NSmen and Full-time NSFs (Specialists)
In Singapore, money talks, so overall more money is always better than less, all (other) things being equal. However, for NSmen, it doesn't make much of a difference because most of us are compensated for loss of wages. Hence, if I'm a CEO making $1 million a year, it doesn't help much if the SAF calls me back to become a clerk. But then, the money could be useful to reservists who are in-between job where rank pay does help them somewhat.
But if you talk to reservists, the grouse is by self-employed who under-declare their income tax or CPF contributions as Mindef uses these to compensate for loss of wages. Self-employed small business operators get hit more relative to wage earners who have IR8 and company pay slips to substantiate their specific wages lost to the SAF.
For full-time NSFs, more money is good. They are already earning below minimum wage (which Singapore doesn't have) of about $600-$800 for basic cleaner job in the marketplace. Hence, any upward revision is welcome.
2. Family recognition vouchers to attractions such as the Singapore Discovery Centre and SAF chalets
Is this a way to help boost up poor utilisation and take-up rates at Singapore Discovery Centre and SAF chalets or what? This is so lame. If they were serious about family recognition vouchers they should do what the Red Cross did which was to sponsor a pair of tickets for family members to go to the Jurong Bird Park. Seriously, Singapore Discovery Centre does not appeal IMHO.
Globalisation and increasing work demands:
3. NSmen be allowed to bring in company-configured laptops and mobile devices for use during In-Camp Training (ICT).
This recommendation is way behind the times. The SAF is now in the 2009 and IT was hot in the mid to late 90s and prior to dot-com crash of 2001-2ish. In addition, I witnessed first hand how officers and key appointment holders could bring their own computers into camp without much scrutiny but the specialists and men had to jump through many hoops to get clearance from RSM etc in the name of "security".
In today's 24x7x365 business world, not having your 3.5G phone or blackberry equivalent device is to cripple your effectiveness as a corporate warrior while you are off playing SAF warrior.
Encouraging fitness:
4. Improving the equipment at existing fitness corners in public housing estates, as well as building new fitness corners if needed
This is missing the point. Most NSmen lack not facilities to train but rather TIME to do so. If you are working 60 hours a week and overtime nights and sometimes weekends, how much time can you have to go and train for your IPPT? It's not the facilities, to its credit, the Government through NParks has invested lots of taxpayers funds in the park connectors. I myself use to run along such connectors near my home to train for my 2.4km run.
It's not the facilities, it's about time! But hey, Singapore's approach is to throw money and facilities into the problem. The problem should be tackled by telling employers to look into work-life balance issues for NSmen so that they can have enough time to train so as not to fail IPPT and not have to go for RT which wastes the company's time as well!
Building cohesion:
5. Create online social network for NSmen to strengthen camaderie
This is lame. There is already a few social networks, they are hardwarezone thread on NS knowledge base. Many blogs in Singapore e.g. Singaporedaily and theonline citizen touch on NS issues (in a non-flattering way to the gahmen).
6. Develop a new clubhouse in Punggol
Again, building another Safra clubhouse using Safra and taxpayers (Mindef) money. Please come up with something more original that costs less. Mind you, Safra facilities are not free, they charge memberships that are lower than commercial country clubs but they are not free.
The recommendations to me doesn't break much new ground.
In the area of education, the recommendation only go so far to ask for letters of support to augment university applications for NSF commanders. In our meritocratic system, these letters mean little because grades, grades and to some extent CCA and/or interview make or break your application to popular faculties such as medicine, accountancy, law. Everything else is decoration.
There is no mention of subsidies to NSmen/NSF to study at local universities. There is no mention of medical subsidies for NSmen/NSF by public hospitals.
Education and health, important things to NSmen since you are behind by 2 years to foreigners and Singaporean women in studies and also you risk your life and limb but gain no real commensurate benefit medically.
Personally, you don't need to have a 20 person committee putting up all these common sense items that talking to 20-30 NSmen/NSF will yield. 1 Admin officer plus 2-3 MXOs can put up these recommendations in 2-3 weeks. Better yet, put up a real survey online for NSmen to tell you what they really think and feel and you can forget about RECORD.
Majullah Singapura.
P.S. I just took a look at the members of RECORD. It is chaired by Assoc Prof Koo Tsai Kee, Minister of State for Defence. How independent can such recommendations be? Enough said.
