English Commentary (Term 3)

This article illustrates the struggles encountered by three Norwegian brothers in their efforts to renounce their Singapore citizenships. Currently, government policies state that only Singapore residents who have left Singapore at a very young age and are thus perceived not to have enjoyed the privileges of their citizenship are allowed to renounce their citizenship without serving NS. Every other able bodied male Singapore citizen must serve NS.

The predicament faced by the Norwegians prompts us to consider the feasibility of government policies on National Service and their implications. The Bugge brothers, who have both Norwegian and Singapore citizenships, were born in Singapore but left for Norway when they were children. After living in Norway for ten years, they returned to Singapore for a short period of time and took their O levels before moving to Norway permanently. They did not enlist for NS but joined the Norwegian army instead, and thus are classified as NS defaulters. Now in their thirties, they want to renounce their Singapore citizenships so that they can visit their parents, who are living in Singapore, without being arrested upon arrival. However, their efforts have been unsuccessful with the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) due to the aforementioned policies on NS.

I feel that this article has exposed crucial flaws in government policies. Firstly, they have been shown to be impractical and a waste of resources when used on citizens about to leave Singapore. The purpose of NS is defeated when it is a condition which citizens must fulfill to renounce their citizenships. NS aims to build up the military defence of Singapore and foster social cohesion among its citizens, but this cannot be achieved when citizens who lack allegiance to Singapore are forced to serve NS for the sake of renouncing their citizenships. Thus, it can be seen that spending resources to provide military training for these citizens is impractical and does not benefit any of the parties involved.

Although I am concerned about the feasibility of such policies, I can understand the rationale behind Mindef’s stand on the issue. It is a matter of principle; the Bugge brothers are deemed to have ‘enjoyed the privilege of Singapore citizenship’ and are thus expected to contribute to Singapore in the form of NS, as with every other able bodied male Singaporean. Perhaps Mindef has a point; by rejecting bids made by the Norwegians, no precedent is created to allow other citizens to leave Singapore for the sake of avoiding NS. It is in the best interests of our national security to prevent any trend of pre-enlistees leaving Singapore.

However, I still feel that there is room for the government to introduce more flexibility in their policies. It fails to consider the circumstances surrounding people like the Bugges, who want to renounce their Singapore citizenships due to separate allegiances instead of NS. In these cases, the government should be more understanding and allow citizenships to be renounced in the view that it will not be practical to force such citizens to serve NS. Even if this might set a precedent for others looking to leave Singapore, it might not necessarily be a mistake to allow others with similarly acceptable reasons to leave for their preferred countries. After all, why hold on to something one cannot keep?

Article obtained from http://newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action?order=&_sourcePage=%2FWEB-INF%2Fjsp%2Fuser%2Fsearch_type_result.jsp&month=08&year=2008&date=25&docLanguage=en&documentId=nica_ST_2008_9793287