Of course lah, FTrash serve NS on condition that they are given free scholarships and take up the pink IC on condition that they can becum $$$ Papaya MPees! Btw, these 'hundreds' form what % of the total FTrash population of 2M?
<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Hundreds of foreign-born do NS yearly </TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday addressed a pet peeve among Singaporeans, that new immigrants do not do national service (NS) or are called up for reservist training.
Mr Lee said every year, hundreds of foreign-born youths do their NS as new citizens or permanent residents (PRs).
'They come from different races and countries, but they have consciously committed themselves to do NS, and march together with Singaporeans,' he said at a dialogue with students of Nanyang Technological University.
In July, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean had said in an interview the number of such youths is in the 'high hundreds every year'.
Yesterday, PM Lee also said a 'good number of these new citizens' excel in NS, attending Officer Cadet School or topping their cohort and being awarded the Sword of Honour.
Some have signed on to be regulars in the Singapore Armed Forces while others have won SAF scholarships, he said.
Mr Lee cited Lieutenant Kok Khew Fai, 21, a Malaysian-born officer, who became a citizen in May 2007. Lt Kok received the SAF merit scholarship last month and will be an air engineering officer after completing his aeronautical engineering studies at Britain's Imperial College.
He was awarded the SAF Medal for Distinguished Act last September for shielding a recruit from a grenade blast during an exercise in March last year.
Besides defence, PM Lee said new citizens and PRs also contribute in other areas. 'They not only contribute to our economy, they also enrich our society and make up for our population shortfall.'
Singapore made sure these newcomers raised the population's quality in terms of education, skills and drive, he added.
Mr Lee also urged Singaporeans to intensify their efforts in engaging new citizens, who have different social habits.
'Singaporeans must understand that they come from societies very different from ours.
'In China and India, one has to be assertive and even aggressive to get anywhere. In Singapore, our social norms have become more restrained and considerate.'
He noted that there are programmes to help new citizens adjust to life here, such as explaining to them the culture of queuing and other social practices.
But Singapore needs to do more, which is why the National Integration Council set up in April will announce new initiatives soon, said PM Lee.
The council is scheduled to do so today.
[email protected]
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<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Hundreds of foreign-born do NS yearly </TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday addressed a pet peeve among Singaporeans, that new immigrants do not do national service (NS) or are called up for reservist training.
Mr Lee said every year, hundreds of foreign-born youths do their NS as new citizens or permanent residents (PRs).
'They come from different races and countries, but they have consciously committed themselves to do NS, and march together with Singaporeans,' he said at a dialogue with students of Nanyang Technological University.
In July, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean had said in an interview the number of such youths is in the 'high hundreds every year'.
Yesterday, PM Lee also said a 'good number of these new citizens' excel in NS, attending Officer Cadet School or topping their cohort and being awarded the Sword of Honour.
Some have signed on to be regulars in the Singapore Armed Forces while others have won SAF scholarships, he said.
Mr Lee cited Lieutenant Kok Khew Fai, 21, a Malaysian-born officer, who became a citizen in May 2007. Lt Kok received the SAF merit scholarship last month and will be an air engineering officer after completing his aeronautical engineering studies at Britain's Imperial College.
He was awarded the SAF Medal for Distinguished Act last September for shielding a recruit from a grenade blast during an exercise in March last year.
Besides defence, PM Lee said new citizens and PRs also contribute in other areas. 'They not only contribute to our economy, they also enrich our society and make up for our population shortfall.'
Singapore made sure these newcomers raised the population's quality in terms of education, skills and drive, he added.
Mr Lee also urged Singaporeans to intensify their efforts in engaging new citizens, who have different social habits.
'Singaporeans must understand that they come from societies very different from ours.
'In China and India, one has to be assertive and even aggressive to get anywhere. In Singapore, our social norms have become more restrained and considerate.'
He noted that there are programmes to help new citizens adjust to life here, such as explaining to them the culture of queuing and other social practices.
But Singapore needs to do more, which is why the National Integration Council set up in April will announce new initiatives soon, said PM Lee.
The council is scheduled to do so today.
[email protected]
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