Should women do National Service now? Societal cost will 'far outweigh' benefits, says Ng Eng Hen
SINGAPORE: The “societal cost” of enlisting women into National Service (NS) now will “far outweigh” the benefits, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen told Parliament on Monday (May 9).
“Women will be delayed in their entry into the workforce. The immediate effect will be an accentuated decline in the size of our local workforce, and a reduction of household incomes,” he said.
“Even if women are enlisted for non-military National Service roles to augment our healthcare and social services, it may make manpower shortages in other industries worse. Over the long term, it will impose a great cost not only on women themselves, but also on their families, children and spouses and society as a whole.
“Is that cost justified to send a signal or to reverse stereotypes? From the Government’s perspective, no. I think most Singaporeans would say no too, from a security perspective.”