Commentary: Is modifying National Service for Olympians good or bad? It’s too early to say

SINGAPORE: Should the National Service (NS) programme be modified for athletes who have performed well at the Olympics or shown potential to do so?

I was heartened to hear Member of Parliament Poh Li San on Oct 16 raising the possibility in parliament as a way to better support Singapore’s talented sportsmen in their quest to achieve sporting excellence while also fulfilling their NS commitments and contributing to national defence.

More debate and discussion around such issues is a critical part of building a stronger and more robust sporting culture in the country, and hopefully becoming a true sporting nation in the future.

The key suggestion from Ms Poh was that in a modified programme, athletes who have already delivered good results at the Olympics, or who have demonstrated potential to perform at the highest stage of global sport, would be able to serve basic military training (typically three months), attend some specialist training, and then be seconded to SportSG where they would serve out their remaining NS commitments by focusing on training and competing in their sport.

Whenever their sporting journey concludes, they would then slot back into their NS training for the remainder of their commitment.

This would allow athletes in their physical prime to avoid missing out on opportunities to compete with the world’s best.

The objective is commendable, and is in fact something that policymakers in Singapore, including the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), have been trying to address through various efforts. 

These include allowing more flexibility for full-time servicemen to take leave for training and competitions should they represent Singapore at major events, postponements or early enlistment into NS that may align