NS Desert/Default/ AWOL: Can't Back to SG 4ever & $75K Gone!
-
I'm due to do NS soon, but lucky me have both an overseas citizenship and a Singapore citizenship. Dual citizenship rocks!
Let's say if I AWOL/ default/ desert NS after the 1st 2 weeks confinement period of BMT, will the homeland security and borders protection authority sieve me out if I am going to use my overseas citizen passport to travel to Malaysia to transit/ transfer connecting flight back to my overseas country where I belong without getting caught at Malaya?
I am not stepping foot to Singapore soil ever again in the rest of my life after my current Exit Permit expiry.
For my sake, my parents honourably paid a $75,000 NS security bond, their retirement fund. But I heck care my parents' money. It's their retirement money. It is not going to me after they passed away anyway. Apparently, they can only get the money back AFTER I ORD from NS. Good game and smart move, Singaporean government.
My motherland home country is Canada, the maple country, so I am wasting my time "doing time for this Lion city".
I emigrated out of Singapore when I was around 7-8 years old, so I am already pretty liberal for no conscription.
-
If you are between 13 and 16.5 years old:
You need to apply for an exit permit if you intend to travel or remain overseas for 3 months or longer. If you are remaining overseas for 2 years or longer, your parents/guardians will also need to furnish a bond, in the form of a Banker's Guarantee of S$75,000 or 50% of the combined annual gross income of both parents for the preceding year, whichever is higher.
If you are above 16.5 and have not enlisted for NS:
You need to apply for an exit permit if you intend to travel or remain overseas for 3 months or longer. Your parents/guardians will need to furnish a bond, in the form of a Banker's Guarantee of S$75,000 or 50% of the combined annual gross income of both parents for the preceding year, whichever is higher.Those who require exit permit of 2 years or longer will be required to furnish a bond. This bonding requirement is similar to the current arrangement where security in the form of Banker's Guarantee must be furnished. The amount of the security bond is S$75,000 or 50% of the combined gross annual income of both parents for the preceding year, whichever is higher. The monetary bond requirement for male citizens who accompany their parents on overseas employment may be waived and they be bonded by deed with two sureties.
Why must MINDEF impose exit controls on NS-liable males?
Exit controls are necessary to ensure that NS-liable males who have gone overseas to study or reside at a young age return to fulfil their NS responsibilities.
Will young males aged 13 to 16.5 who fail to apply for an exit permit be sentenced to imprisonment?
The penalty for exit permit offences of young males aged 13 to 16.5 will be a fine of up to $2,000, with no custodial sentences. They will however be subjected to harsher penalties should they continue to breach of the Enlistment Act after age 16.5.
Males above 16.5 years who travel and remain overseas without applying for an exit permit would have committed an offence under the Enlistment Act. They will be liable upon conviction to a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both. -
Those who are liable to serve national service but refuse are charged under the Enlistment Act. If convicted, they face three years' imprisonment and a fine of S$10,000.
Controversy arose when the penalties were increased in January 2006 after Melvyn Tan, who was born in Singapore, received a fine for defaulting on his National Service obligations. Tan left for London to study music during his enlistment age and later acquired British nationality. In parliament, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean provided some illustration of the punishments defaulters would face:
- Where the default period exceeds two years but the defaulter is young enough to serve his full-time and operationally ready NS duties in full, MINDEF will press for a short jail sentence.
- Where the defaulter has reached an age when he cannot serve his full-time NS in a combat vocation or fulfil his operationally ready NS obligations in full, a longer jail sentence to reflect the period of NS he has evaded may be appropriate.
- Where the defaulter has reached an age when he cannot be called up for NS at all, a jail sentence up to the maximum of three years may be appropriate.
Each year, a small number of people are convicted for their failure to enlist or refusal to be conscripted. Most of them were Jehovah's Witnesses, who are usually court-martialled and sentenced to three years' imprisonment, but they are usually held in a low-security detention facility and separated from other conscription offenders. The government does not consider conscientious objection to be a legal reason for refusal to serve NS. Since 1972, the publications of Jehovah's Witnesses have been outlawed in Singapore. This is commonly misinterpreted to mean that Jehovah's Witnesses themselves are outlawed in Singapore.
-
National-service-liable males who migrated from Singapore before age 11 and have not enjoyed significant socio-economic benefits of citizenship (e.g., applied for a Singapore identity card or studied in Singapore beyond the age of 11) are allowed to renounce their Singapore citizenship, but not before they turn 21.
Until then, they are required to register for national service with Central Manpower Base and apply for a deferment.
After turning 21, they are then eligible to renounce their Singapore citizenship.
Generally, those who left Singapore after the age of 11 will be deemed to have enjoyed the socio-economic benefits of Singapore. They will not be allowed to renounce their Singapore citizenship without fulfilling NS obligations. -
NS-liable Persons with Dual CitizenshipIf your son has dual citizenship, it is still mandatory for him to register for NS when he reaches 16 1/2 years of age. On turning 18 years of age, he has to serve 2 years of NS.Singapore does not recognise dual citizenship. If your son decides to retain his Singapore Citizenship upon reaching 21 years of age, he is required to renounce his foreign citizenship.
-
Many guys and gals who's been growing up overseas are probably not too familiar with the concept of National Service, aside from listening to the exciting adventures as told by their fathers. So to help your children or you (if you are going to enlist soon) ease into NS, do take a look at the resources we're putting together below.NS Familiarisation Visit
Together with MINDEF, OSU organises NS Familiarisation visits to the Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) on Pulau Tekong, where many recruits take their first step of this important journey in their lives. This visit is open to Singaporean citizens, both boys and girls, between the ages 15 to 18 years old.The first NS Familiarisation visit was organised on 18 July 2012, and 15 OS youths took this opportunity to take a sneak peak at life at BMTC and even got to experience it for a little bit. Take a photo tour of their short but educational tour here.NS Through the Lens of Overseas Singaporeans
To many OS (and more so their parents), their journeys before and during NS are fraught with worries and concerns. Am I mentally prepared to survive in the jungle? How am I going to be fit enough to endure the hardship? What are the various paths available? We invite OS to share their NS experiences with our readers here on the OS Portal.Our first article on the topic features 2LT Sherman Pay, ROS Commander with the 128 Squadron, who relates the ups and downs that he's gone through during NS. It was certainly no easy road for someone who's lived in China for the last 11 years. Read how he's done it here.If you would like to share your experience with us, drop us an email. -
11 Jul 2012 I POSTED BY OSP
2LT Sherman Pay, ROS Commander with 128 Squadron, RSAF
It was to be a decision many Singaporean boys who have grown up overseas, would have to make – whether to return home to Singapore and serve National Service (NS). Not necessarily an easy decision for any 19-year-old Singaporean; not when you’ve lived the last 11 years of your life overseas.
Home Away from Home
For Sherman Pay, home had been in the Chinese city of Xiamen in Fujian province where he lived with his family. They would return twice a year to visit their relatives, often during Chinese New Year and the summer holidays. Save for his relatives, Sherman had hardly any friends in Singapore. Not surprising, given that he had spent most of his growing up years away from Singapore.
Sherman is ‘focused and ready’!
His parents had made known their preference for the family to remain as Singaporeans. He recalled his mother signing him up for tours that took him around Singapore’s landmarks during his visits back as a child.
While serving NS, Sherman lives with his uncle. However, being away from his immediate family does take its toll: “Sometimes I really miss them. I have learned to appreciate them more, especially when I am feeling lonely. There would be times when I feel really down. But for me, my mom had brought me up to be independent and that really helped”.
‘What-Ifs’ and ‘How-Woulds’
Prior to Sherman’s decision to return home to serve NS, his parents had concerns. Their uneasiness rubbed off on Sherman as well: “My mom was worried that I might get bad influence as there were people from all walks of life serving NS. She was also afraid that I couldn’t blend in and it would be hard for me to make friends. I was worried that I would be quite alone as I didn’t have friends (in Singapore) to begin with. I didn’t know how physical it (NS training) would get as I didn’t have my physical education here, so I didn’t know how (physically) fit I was compared to Singaporeans here. I didn’t know if I could keep up with the physical standards. My mum was worried about cultural differences because I don’t interact with Singaporeans that often. She was also worried I may not adapt to it.”
All geared up behind the ROSAs for his father, he was worried as to whether Sherman was both physically and mentally strong enough to endure the training and demands of a soldier and if he might be bullied by his platoon sergeants. “I think it was because he believed Army trainings mean harsh treatments by the sergeants, but in reality, the trainings are carried out professionally with safety as a priority,” Sherman says with a grin. It helped that Sherman had Singaporean friends he’d grown up with in Xiamen who’d returned ahead of him to serve NS and they were able to cope well in NS.
Flying High In Many Ways
Sherman has been doing well in NS since his enlistment two years ago. The well-respected officer with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is addressed by his men and superiors in the 128 Squadron as ‘2LT Sherman Pay’. He makes no qualms about aspiring to be an officer prior to his enlistment. “I have a few cousins who went to OCS (Officer Cadet School), so they told me, ‘If you can, try to be an officer as the experience would be more enriching.’ Therefore that was my goal during BMT; I was very motivated.” Despite the initial anxieties, Sherman felt that serving NS has been a good and positive experience for him and it has made him mature from a boy to a man.
It wasn’t just a positive attitude and hearing about success stories that got Sherman geared up for life in military fatigues. He credits his superiors who were very supportive and maintained an open communication channel with him during his Basic Military Training (BMT): “My supervisors did a good job. My OC (Officer Commanding) in BMT (Basic Military Training), he tried to engage us overseas Singaporeans, on enlistment day and told us that if we had any problems, if we couldn’t blend in, to look for him and he would help us. When we’re down, he’ll always motivate us. Although your family is not around, but during the time in NS, you have your so-called ‘brothers’, your bunkmates (and) they’ll also motivate you.” Yes, training will get tough, but the recruits will have to support each other to spur on and pull through together.
Setting up the ROS
These days, Sherman literally has a bird’s eye view on things through the videos by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which would be fed back to the Receive-Only Station (ROS) that he operates with his team. The video feed, when relayed to the ground commanders, provides better battlefield situational awareness and enhances mission effectiveness.
Appraisal to be Well-Adapted
Sherman’s immediate supervisor Major (MAJ) Sam Ong, the OC in charge of ROS for 128 Squadron, says that Sherman has adapted very well in the Squadron. He believes Sherman’s positive experience in BMT and how those who had returned from overseas to serve NS were actively engaged by their superiors, set the foundation for a smoother transition for the recruits. “Those things are very important because the initial phase is when these overseas Singaporeans will need to adjust to the change in environment and that’s when engagement must come to the forefront. When Sherman came to the unit, I didn’t feel that he had any problems adjusting to the operational requirements of 128 Squadron. That foundation served him well and enabled him to adapt to the operational tempo without any difficulties” says MAJ Ong.
Sherman with Major Ong
MAJ Ong regards Sherman as “a very outstanding NSF who’s not just able to lead when he’s required to, but he’s also a very capable team player. Sherman’s positive attitude and his willingness to take on challenges and overcome them will serve him well in the future”.
Does MAJ Ong feel that Singaporean youths who return from overseas to serve NS are disadvantaged in some way? He doesn’t believe so as information is readily available in this age of connectivity and ease of access to the internet, where “you’re able to sift out information pertaining to NS. It’s this sense of wanting to find out what’s ahead that makes the difference. Perhaps years ago when information was limited, that would have made it more difficult for overseas Singaporeans to find out more about NS”.
Seeing Significance in NS
The most memorable event for Sherman was when he was commissioned as an officer. “My parents came back to attend my commissioning parade and they were very proud of me. After being commissioned as an officer, you will take up a leadership role. So, you’ll need to exercise a lot of your leadership skills. When you have to inspire people to be more capable beyond their normal abilities, make them go an extra mile, that’s when it feels very rewarding,” he says, beaming with a sense of accomplishment.
Posing beside a UAVHow this contrasts to his initial scepticism of how serving NS would help in the defence of a small nation like Singapore. That faded after Sherman underwent the National Education programmes conducted by his supervisors. It then dawned on him the crucial role each serviceman, himself included, played in national security and the defence of Singapore. MAJ Ong believes that the key to creating a positive NSF experience is to make sure the NSFs understand and internalise their role in national defence”.
But it is easy to think that two years serving NS is two years too long. In Sherman’s perspective, “If you think of your career, your studies, it’s a postponement of two years. So before I enlisted, I was also thinking, ‘You waste two years of your life. People already get their degrees and you’re still studying. People are already working’. But after I enlisted, I realised I learnt a lot during NS. I learnt about leadership, having a positive mindset, how to overcome hardship – these kinds of things. The experience was enriching in many ways, and in the end I felt I’ve become more mature and better equipped as a person. My two years in NS wasn’t wasted”.
Sherman and his team together with Maj Ong -
23 Oct 2013 I POSTED BY OSP
When we hear of National Service (NS), it is often assumed that it relates to the time spent with the army or the SAF, but that’s not always the case. “Growing up, my father always talked about the SAF and his time there, so I always thought that I would be joining the SAF. So when I received my enlistment letter and found out that I was to join the SCDF, I was definitely surprised!” Such was SGT (Sergeant) Raphael Tan’s initial response when the enlistment letter indicated that he was to join the Singapore Civil Defence Force for two years of NS. In this second issue of ‘NS through the Lens of an Overseas Singaporean’, we met up with Raphael Tan, a Singaporean who lived abroad and came back home to serve NS in the SCDF.
Since his birth, Raphael has had to adapt to both Western and Asian cultures due to his parents’ commitments in missionary work and overseas businesses. “I was born in Cardiff, Wales and spent a couple of years growing up in the UK and in Sweden before coming back to Singapore for pre-school. Following that, we left for Bangkok, Thailand in which I spent 13 years there.”
When it was time to return for his NS stint and not knowing what to expect, a nervous Raphael went on to find out as much as he could about the Singapore Civil Defence Force. “Despite being a little worried, when I found out that they train fire-fighters, I was actually quite excited about it,” revealed the young sergeant. For those unfamiliar with the SCDF, this uniformed organisation belongs to the Ministry of Home Affairs and plays a critical role in Singapore by providing fire-fighting, rescue and emergency ambulance services. They also oversee the implementation of fire safety and civil defence shelter matters.
SGT Raphael Tan (left) demonstrating a training drill with two of his traineesWhen enlistment day arrived, a sense of uncertainty could be felt among the new recruits, “I was quite nervous but I wasn’t the only one because on the first day, you see many other nervous boys as well.” He was quick to reassure though, saying, “The instructors were quite kind and understanding as they were once in our shoes as well, so it wasn’t too bad actually.”
What helped Raphael was that his overseas experience allowed him the opportunity to meet different people from diverse backgrounds. This made interacting with others in the SCDF much easier for him, especially when certain situations force you out of your comfort zone. “We had a training stint at Outward Bound in Sabah,” recalls Raphael, “and did hiking treks into dense jungles. A lot of us were placed out of our comfort zones and because of that, you could really see what people were really like. It was a real eye-opening experience where we learnt a lot about ourselves and of each other.”
Following his basic training phase, Raphael is now a Fire and Rescue Specialist trainer. “I’m in the fire-fighting branch, so I instruct trainees on how to fight different kinds of fire.” Fires like flashovers and backdrafts are just some of the many thermal accidents that fire-fighters encounter and have to deal with. One of the ways to do that efficiently is to ensure that they are well-versed in their drills, in which our trainer/resident expert and his team will give you a sneak preview of in our video.
Having almost completed his two-year NS stint, Raphael now looks forward to becoming a Physical Therapist in the field of Sports Sciences and will take the skills that he has learnt from the SCDF with him wherever he goes. He reflects, “There are many things that I’ve gained from the SCDF and a lot of what I’ve learnt can be used in most emergency situations in our daily lives. I’ll bring along all these knowledge with me and touch wood, if I need to draw upon them one day, at least I’ll be mentally well-equipped.”
While there are some who might still feel that NS is a hindrance, both to their career and study plans, to Raphael, NS is an opportunity to continue learning new life skills in an environment that is unlike any other. “You’re going to go through a lot of new experiences so take it all in and you’ll learn a lot of new things. Embrace it because a lot of what you will experience here, you won’t get a chance to do so outside of NS. Once you leave, you might just miss the time you’ve spent here.”
By Wan.
Video by Evon Kua and Ian Tan.
The first part of 'NS through the Lens of an Overseas Singaporean' can be found here and it features 2LT Sherman Pay, a ROS Commander with the Republic of Singapore Air Force.