ACCORD COUNCILS TO EXPLORE WAYS TO STRENGTHEN FAMILY, COMMUNITY AND EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT FOR NS

To raise awareness of what National Service (NS) does for Singapore and Singaporean sons, and change the mindset of parents who may be resistant to their sons serving NS.

These are among the engagement ideas which ACCORD's Family and Community (F&C) Council will be looking at to strengthen family and community support for NS, at their inaugural meeting on 12 Sep, held at SAFRA Toa Payoh.

ACCORD refers to the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence and the meeting was co-chaired by Minister of State for Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman and Ms Claire Chiang, Senior Vice-President of Banyan Tree Holdings.

Speaking as a mother whose son is enlisting for NS next year, Ms Joni Ong, a member of the F&C Council, revealed that she was taken aback when she found out that some parents were reluctant to let their sons serve NS.

"I'm quite shocked that this sentiment exists, and these same parents are the ones whose kids (will be) resistant to NS because (of) their parents," explained the President of I Love Children Organisation.

"I want to go out there to educate on what NS does for our country and for our sons. And to raise public awareness that what parents say to their children will have an impact on their children's views towards NS as well."

Ms Ong belongs to one of the four working groups - strengthening and recognising family and community support for NS - which the F&C Council has already formed. The other three groups will be focusing on driving and recognising community support for NS, enhancing outreach to women through women's organisations, and reaching out to New Citizens and Permanent Residents to support defence and NS.

Following the F&C Council meeting in the morning, the Educational Institutions (EI) Council held their first meeting at the same place in the afternoon.

Co-chaired by Dr Maliki and Senior Minister of State for Education Indranee Rajah, the EI Council has formed five working groups to address issues such as enhancing mental and physical preparedness of pre-enlistees for NS, increasing outreach to government, private and international schools, and encouraging participation in the SAF Volunteers Corps.

EI Council member Professor Cheong Hee Kiat noted the importance of easing Full-time National Servicemen's transition back to school after their two years of NS.

He said: "We will want to help them ease back in, perhaps providing some courses for them during NS, or maybe helping them adjust through the first semester in school."

The President of UniSim added that even as they go on to universities, engaging these NSmen on defence matters should not cease, as this would help them understand their roles as NSmen from a deeper perspective.

Similarly, the idea of continued education on the importance of NS was brought up when the EI Council discussed increasing outreach to primary and secondary schools.

Mrs Lucy Toh, Principal of St Andrews' Secondary School, explained that National Education was something teachers and schools took seriously, and there were always opportunities to refresh students' knowledge of NS and defence matters.

"We should not assume that students will automatically understand the necessity of having to serve the country. Each generation should hear the stories of their own fathers and (male) teachers - what they went through when served their NS - and why defence continues to be important," said Mrs Toh.