122 NS ADVOCATES HONOURED

In his younger days, Mr Patrick Koh, 39, often overheard uncles at coffee shop talking about how Singapore would not survive if a bomb hit the country.

Now a father of two, he is worried that young, impressionable children would believe in the myth. So he led a group of fathers to organise a "Fathers in Defence" event earlier this year, to give students a glimpse of National Service (NS).

During St Andrew's Junior School's Total Defence Commemoration Week, these 20 parent volunteers transformed the school hall into a 'battlefield', with replicas of ammo boxes, gun barrels and rifles.

The fathers, in their military uniforms, guided the pupils to tackle an obstacle course and fire weapons (nerf guns). They also shared with them their experience as citizen soldiers.

"We want to bring the truth to the children, so that they can understand the capability of our forces and why we have to defend (our country)," said Mr Koh, an operations director. He is an Operationally-ready National Serviceman (NSman) who serves as a Battalion 2nd-in-command of an armoured battalion.

In recognition of his ardent support for national defence, Mr Koh received the NS Advocate Award for Individuals on 10 Jul. This is one of the four award categories of the revamped Total Defence Awards (TDA).

First introduced in 1986, the original TDA recognised employers and civil resource owners for their support for Total Defence.

The revamped TDA recognise not only large companies, but also small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), community and education organisations, as well as individuals such as family members, co-workers, and members of the public.

This is the first time a TDA is awarded to an individual.

"While we found that companies are already showing strong support for NS, the immediate person who is dealing directly with our NSmen also plays a very important role, shaping support," explained Brigadier-General (NS) Tung Yui Fai, Director of National Service Affairs.

Second Minister for Defence Lui Tuck Yew gave out the awards at a dinner held at Marina Mandarin Hotel.

Addressing the winners and guests, Mr Lui highlighted the need to uphold Total Defence - a concept where every citizen has a role to play in defence - for Singapore's continued peace and progress.

He said: "The tasks of defending Singapore are not vested solely in the uniformed services, although our servicemen and women are our front line against threats.

"Strong support for National Service from the entire population is also critical."

Evergreen Secondary School, the winner of the NS Advocate Award for Organisations, is one such supporter.

Each year, when the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Day comes around, the school holds a rededication ceremony to remind staff about the importance of the armed forces.

The school also keeps track of its staff's performance in In-Camp Training (ICT) and Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT). It presents certificates to those who have performed well in their NS duties. It also makes arrangements to cover the duties of teachers who have to go for ICT.

Said school principal, Mrs Carol Lim: "We believe that if we want a safer Singapore, every Singaporean must play a part.

"One of the ways we can do this is by ensuring that anyone who is serving National Service will be able to do it without worrying about work."

For Smile Inc Dental Surgeons, a home-grown company that received the NS Advocate Award for SMEs, their frontdesk staff are champions of NS. Rather than merely informing patients that their dentist is not available, they explain to them the importance of national defence, and why he has to go for ICT.

Managing director Grace Chong-Tan recalled that there were occasions when appointments could not be cancelled. For instance, an overseas patient had already flown to Singapore, so the dentist had to treat the patient after booking out during the weekend. His dental assistants would willingly return to work too.

Over the last 15 years, the dental chain had developed a pro-NS culture where fellow colleagues stood ready to help each other, explained Mrs Chong-Tan. She added that the awards "are actually recognising the advocacy behind the scene, the efforts that everyone has played a part in Total Defence."

One of the winners of the NS Advocate Award for Large Companies is Propnex Realty, a real estate company that has a "no deferment policy" for all its 6,000 staff.

Each staff has a buddy to cover his work when he is away for ICT. Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Ismail Gafoor explained that, as the former Commanding Officer of an NS battalion, he understood the importance of having all his troops in for training.

Propnex Realty holds monthly meetings where staff are commended for exemplary performance in ICT, and get vouchers as tokens of appreciation.

The company is a long-time supporter of NS, having won the TDA several times in the past. Mr Ismail, who now serves as a brigade commander, holding the rank of Colonel, said the latest award would spur the company on to do more for NSmen.

"This year's award is different - they changed the name to 'advocate'," said the 51-year-old. "It recognises that you are a role model, an exemplary enterprise. It also means you have a responsibility to continue as an advocate."

Also present at the dinner was Second Minister for Home Affairs Masagos Zulkifli who gave out the NS Advocate Awards for Individuals.

As part of the revamp, the Home Team National Service Awards for Employers have been integrated into the TDA.

In total, 122 awards were presented to 53 SMEs, 34 large companies, 25 organisations, and 10 individuals.