This Chen affair tells me that many Singaporeans are not aware of things in their own country.
Firstly there is no such thing as voluntary NS. And no one in his right mind will want to serve NS for a country that he is not a citizen of. We still have people pedaling this stuff.
There are however option offered to certain category of PRs and it is PRs only. There are number of categories many of which are classified. These are options and if they don't agree to do NS, there consequences such as PR (only eligible for social visits visas )will taken away, cannot work in this country etc. There are some category of PRs which have no choice but to do NS and they are those that are born here or have come at a young age etc.
In a nutshell, if you do not fall in any of these categories, you cannot turn up and volunteer for NS.
I truly disappointed with Chen for not clarifying his true position. He has also done it for the medical admission procedure. Chen did not qualify. He failed the vocational aptitude assessment and this has nothing to do with his high marks. These assessments are now done across the world and many top students do not qualify for medicine because they can't pass the aptitude test. For instance, every years, Oxford and Cambridge hold their medical aptitude assessment in Singapore for student of Asia Pacific. You can get straight As and if you fail this test you can kiss medicine as a vocation goodbye. BMAT is used by Oxbridge and Imperial college and UKCAT for other Universities. For OZ it is called UMAT. These include interviews well.
I wanted to be sure and therefore have checked in regard to his case. He only took up citizenship when he realised that a Taiwanese citizen does not qualify for a Rhodes scholarship. In 1980, he was not eligible for scholarships. Only in 1991 was the Admin service and top tier scholarships opened for PRs.
WP's Chen Show Mao wants to help build strong opposition
Apr 15, 2011 - ST Forum
Chen Sow Mao has done his share for Singapore
MR CHEN Show Mao does not need to explain his decision as his actions have spoken louder than words ('About Chen: Time will tell' by Mr Benjamin Chow; yesterday). His resume alone is an answer but more importantly, it raises some issues our country currently grapples with.
Mr Chen served national service although he was not obliged to. Unlike Mr Chow and me who were born, bred and remain rooted in Singapore, Mr Chen was not born and was not wholly nurtured by Singapore. And yet, he chose to serve. What more do we need to ask of him?
We remember that NS was harsher then, the allowances thinner and yet, the records show Mr Chen served with distinction at the highest level possible. We have serving members of political and high office, including a People's Action Party new candidate, who became Singapore citizens but did not serve NS.
Mr Chen was the top student of his batch but never got to study the course of his choice nor was he given a scholarship. If he was given his choice of study (medicine), he would have probably spent the next 10 years studying and training here.
He was also not given a Singapore scholarship even though he showed academic and leadership qualities (he was president of an elected student council).
We have only ourselves to blame for not rooting this talent in Singapore but rather forcing him to go out into the world to make a name for himself, which he did.
Again, as we struggle with issues such as bond-breakers and foreign talent with no affinity for Singapore, we do have more pressing questions to ask before we start trying to question someone coming back with no reward in sight.
The Singapore opposition politician's life is a hard one, with nothing to gain and everything to lose - with a record that shows only sacrifice for Singapore with very little else in return.
I dare say the facts show Mr Chen in this respect to be whiter than white. Instead of questioning Mr Chen's motives, we have other more urgent matters to resolve.
Tan Suan Tiu
Firstly there is no such thing as voluntary NS. And no one in his right mind will want to serve NS for a country that he is not a citizen of. We still have people pedaling this stuff.
There are however option offered to certain category of PRs and it is PRs only. There are number of categories many of which are classified. These are options and if they don't agree to do NS, there consequences such as PR (only eligible for social visits visas )will taken away, cannot work in this country etc. There are some category of PRs which have no choice but to do NS and they are those that are born here or have come at a young age etc.
In a nutshell, if you do not fall in any of these categories, you cannot turn up and volunteer for NS.
I truly disappointed with Chen for not clarifying his true position. He has also done it for the medical admission procedure. Chen did not qualify. He failed the vocational aptitude assessment and this has nothing to do with his high marks. These assessments are now done across the world and many top students do not qualify for medicine because they can't pass the aptitude test. For instance, every years, Oxford and Cambridge hold their medical aptitude assessment in Singapore for student of Asia Pacific. You can get straight As and if you fail this test you can kiss medicine as a vocation goodbye. BMAT is used by Oxbridge and Imperial college and UKCAT for other Universities. For OZ it is called UMAT. These include interviews well.
I wanted to be sure and therefore have checked in regard to his case. He only took up citizenship when he realised that a Taiwanese citizen does not qualify for a Rhodes scholarship. In 1980, he was not eligible for scholarships. Only in 1991 was the Admin service and top tier scholarships opened for PRs.
WP's Chen Show Mao wants to help build strong opposition
Apr 15, 2011 - ST Forum
Chen Sow Mao has done his share for Singapore
MR CHEN Show Mao does not need to explain his decision as his actions have spoken louder than words ('About Chen: Time will tell' by Mr Benjamin Chow; yesterday). His resume alone is an answer but more importantly, it raises some issues our country currently grapples with.
Mr Chen served national service although he was not obliged to. Unlike Mr Chow and me who were born, bred and remain rooted in Singapore, Mr Chen was not born and was not wholly nurtured by Singapore. And yet, he chose to serve. What more do we need to ask of him?
We remember that NS was harsher then, the allowances thinner and yet, the records show Mr Chen served with distinction at the highest level possible. We have serving members of political and high office, including a People's Action Party new candidate, who became Singapore citizens but did not serve NS.
Mr Chen was the top student of his batch but never got to study the course of his choice nor was he given a scholarship. If he was given his choice of study (medicine), he would have probably spent the next 10 years studying and training here.
He was also not given a Singapore scholarship even though he showed academic and leadership qualities (he was president of an elected student council).
We have only ourselves to blame for not rooting this talent in Singapore but rather forcing him to go out into the world to make a name for himself, which he did.
Again, as we struggle with issues such as bond-breakers and foreign talent with no affinity for Singapore, we do have more pressing questions to ask before we start trying to question someone coming back with no reward in sight.
The Singapore opposition politician's life is a hard one, with nothing to gain and everything to lose - with a record that shows only sacrifice for Singapore with very little else in return.
I dare say the facts show Mr Chen in this respect to be whiter than white. Instead of questioning Mr Chen's motives, we have other more urgent matters to resolve.
Tan Suan Tiu
