Debated in Parliament on 21 Oct 2013.
Mr David Ong asked the Minister for Defence if the Ministry will consider providing a more flexible approach to National Service enlistment for our top male athletes so that they can continue to excel at their sport whilst at their prime.
Deferment from full-time National Service (NS) may be granted in exceptional circumstances to individual sportsmen, who are assessed to be potential medal winners at international competitions, like the Olympic Games, and bring national pride for the country. Individuals will have to show why deferment is necessary for them to train full-time and compete successfully at international competitions. Each case will be assessed individually in consultation with MCCY.
Earlier this year, MINDEF received an application from the parents of Joseph Schooling to defer his full-time NS, as he is due for enlistment in 2014. Included in the appeal, were detailed plans which outlined his training schedule and targets with the goal to represent Singapore and compete successfully in the swimming competitions of the 2016 Olympic Games. MCCY supported the appeal for deferment as they assessed that, based on his previous achievements in international competitions, Mr Schooling had the potential to do well in the next Olympic Games. As this appeal satisfied all the conditions for deferment of exceptional sportsman, the Armed Forces Council has decided to grant deferment to Mr Schooling for full-time NS till 31 August 2016 in order for him to train and do well in the 2016 Olympic Games. Mr Schooling will be enlisted for full-time NS once his deferment ends. We wish Mr Schooling every success and hopes that he will do well in the next Olympic Games.
Thank you, Mdm Speaker. I thank the Minister for the response. The sporting fraternity, especially our male athletes, are placing greater emphasis for a longer term investment in terms of sports development, overseas coaching and training, including competitive exposure with top athletes. I have two supplementary questions. First, while MINDEF's flexibility in allowing our elite sportsmen to defer NS on a case-by-case basis is welcomed, can the Ministry provide clarity in its pre-requisites for granting such deferments, and the classification of exceptional sportsmen? Can the Ministry also look at establishing a NS deferment scheme for our elite male athletes and that the eligibility criteria can be made known to our sportsmen for both individual and team sports as this will help them to invest and plan ahead for their sporting career with confidence, and not worry about whether they could
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be deferred later on.
There are specific criteria. Our criteria are explicit, so, let me repeat them. They can be considered for deferment in exceptional circumstances and are assessed to be potential medal winners at international competitions, like the Olympic Games, and bring national pride for the country. They have to show why deferment is necessary for them to train full-time and compete successfully at international competitions, and cases will be assessed in consultation with MCCY.
Mdm Speaker, I am glad to hear that Joseph Schooling's application for deferment is approved. I would like to ask: besides the Olympic Games, will the Ministry consider the Asian Games as well? The Olympic Games is the pinnacle, but along the way, there are many other international tournaments.
We do consider those, in other words, competitions apart from the Olympic Games, but they must be sufficiently high level and are exceptional.
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