SAF Doctor Allan Ooi's Death:PAP MP raises query on bonded officers

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

Details about SAF scolarship holders serving out their bond periods will be discussed in Parliament on Monday following a question tabled by MP Irene Ng - specifically if an officer can apply for early release and the circumstances under which approvals can be granted.

 

[tookara]

serve and fuck off

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

Nothing wrong with scholarship bonds

FIRST of all, let me express my deepest sympathy to the family of the late Captain (Dr) Allan Ooi. I am sorry for their loss and understand the pain and anguish they must be feeling.
My letter is focused on the 12-year bond for medical scholarship holders in the Singapore Armed Forces, and queries over its 'breakability'. There are two points about scholarship bonds that cannot be overlooked in the current debate.

Although it is said that at the tender age of 17, young people may not have the maturity to 'sign their lives away', it must be remembered that the consideration for a bond is an expensive education with ample allowance for daily necessities. Those who do not qualify for these scholarships have to dig deep into their pockets, or take a bank loan that must be repaid with interest.

Furthermore, scholarship holders are selected because they are regarded as having the potential to be leaders in their organisations. It is common knowledge that they enjoy a career progression in the civil service that is different from that of non-scholarship holders - what is known as the 'fast track'. Upon graduation, they are promoted faster and are therefore better paid than non-scholarship holders.

In other words, there is no deprivation when one enters into a bond as a result of a scholarship. We should not pick on bonds, especially when we bear in mind that for every scholarship awarded, someone else truly willing to serve it out may be deprived of it.

Second, the issue of bond-breaking is not merely a financial one, but also a moral one. True, it is a contract, and all contracts are breakable with a monetary penalty. But when it comes to scholarship contracts, it is well-known that interwoven into the terms is an equitable obligation to serve the hand that groomed you. It is a matter of commitment.

My personal view is that young people today are not as committed to the causes that they enter into as the generation before them. It is cowardice when we do not hold ourselves responsible for the consequences of our actions, especially when we already know what the consequences are, right from the outset.

To find fault with a system that is not a problem is to condone irresponsible behaviour that weakens the quality of our people.

Monica Wong (Ms)

 

[ILaidLeiaB4Solo]

Nothing wrong with scholarship bonds

FIRST of all, let me express my deepest sympathy to the family of the late Captain (Dr) Allan Ooi. I am sorry for their loss and understand the pain and anguish they must be feeling.
My letter is focused on the 12-year bond for medical scholarship holders in the Singapore Armed Forces, and queries over its 'breakability'. There are two points about scholarship bonds that cannot be overlooked in the current debate.

Although it is said that at the tender age of 17, young people may not have the maturity to 'sign their lives away', it must be remembered that the consideration for a bond is an expensive education with ample allowance for daily necessities. Those who do not qualify for these scholarships have to dig deep into their pockets, or take a bank loan that must be repaid with interest.

Furthermore, scholarship holders are selected because they are regarded as having the potential to be leaders in their organisations. It is common knowledge that they enjoy a career progression in the civil service that is different from that of non-scholarship holders - what is known as the 'fast track'. Upon graduation, they are promoted faster and are therefore better paid than non-scholarship holders.
In other words, there is no deprivation when one enters into a bond as a result of a scholarship. We should not pick on bonds, especially when we bear in mind that for every scholarship awarded, someone else truly willing to serve it out may be deprived of it.

er...hello? how about that lady godiva from holland village who is under astar scholarship at ikea university?

Second, the issue of bond-breaking is not merely a financial one, but also a moral one. True, it is a contract, and all contracts are breakable with a monetary penalty. But when it comes to scholarship contracts, it is well-known that interwoven into the terms is an equitable obligation to serve the hand that groomed you. It is a matter of commitment.

My personal view is that young people today are not as committed to the causes that they enter into as the generation before them. It is cowardice when we do not hold ourselves responsible for the consequences of our actions, especially when we already know what the consequences are, right from the outset.

To find fault with a system that is not a problem is to condone irresponsible behaviour that weakens the quality of our people.

Monica Wong (Ms)

Can't wait to see what they do with lady godiva. keep her also die, don't keep her also die.

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

3 officers freed from bonds

THREE Singapore Armed Forces officers have been released prematurely from their bonds since 2000, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean revealed in Parliament on Monday.
But Mr Teo said all officers who join the SAF and take up sponsorship are aware that they have a moral obligation to serve out the full period of their sponsorship bonds, which goes beyond the legal obligation to pay back liquidated damages if an officer does not fulfil the bond.

'The SAF has a range of important leadership or specialist roles available that serve the organisational needs while catering to officers with different interests and aptitudes,' he said when responding to questions from Tampines GRC MP Irene Ng.

'Officers too are expected to do their best to fulfil their obligations to the organisation, unless there are strong and extenuating circumstances such as medical reasons, that prevent the officers from doing so.'

Mr Teo told the House that an officer who wishes to be released early while under bond can submit a formal application through the proper process.

The application will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and the officer will be counselled and interviewed by his superior officers.

'Since 2000, we have allowed 3 officers to be released prematurely from their bonds,' said the minister.

Ms Ng's question was prompted by the recent death of Republic of Singapore Air Force medical officer Allan Ooi, who was serving a 12-year medicine scholarship bond.

Capt (Dr) Ooi went absent without official leave (AWOL) for five months before being found dead in Melbourne, Australia, last month.

In their letter, his family sought answers from Mindef about the circumstances before he went AWOL and called for an independent inquiry.

Mindef's reply noted, among other things, that Capt (Dr) Ooi did not submit an application for early release and did not respond to his superior's offer to be posted to an appointment of his choice.