Goh Keng Swee, Singapore’s first defence minister and founder of the Singapore Armed Forces, during the initial years of Singapore’s independence, reported the following to the Defence Council:
“It is foolish to allow ourselves to be hypnotised by the disparity in the population ratios between Singapore and its neighbours. What counts is the fighting strength of the armed forces, not the size of populations. After five years of recruitment, we can mobilise an army of 150,000 by mobilising reservists and recruiting older men and women for non-combat missions.”
“Eventually, we have to build a field army that consists of 250,000 men aged between 18 and 35 years. We should not ever underestimate the potential of such young people full of energy, vigour, the incentive to start a war and on a high level of education.”
Today, Singapore’s population is five million. The country’s army consists of 72,000 highly trained soldiers. Singapore has the ability to deploy all of its combat arms outside its borders.
In emergencies, this army is capable of recruiting between 500,000 and 800,000 reserve forces, who are already trained, ready for duty and know their combat missions.
Qatari newspapers recently published news about a conscription project in Qatar, and I think such a project will be met with acceptance from the people, especially if it proves serious and honest, free of favouritism.
We need to teach our children commitment, discipline and the fighting spirit. The question, however, is: Is this project alone enough to achieve this?
Our lifestyle, education and culture are full of flaws that have to be fixed before people are taken to military training camps. Our young men do not know anything about the military, except for the uniform and the salute.
These youth have some traits and habits they have to remove first, such as obesity, laziness, counting on the tribe, family, acquaintances and servants to get all they want, and believing that money can do anything for them. Trainers will not be able to deal with these youth, who have been raised in luxury, unlike us.
To bring about change in these young people’s lives, schools must teach them military skills and discipline. They must be taught to respect their teachers and the law at different stages of their education.
All this should be done before schools and the society send their problem individuals to military camps.
We need to admit our flaws before trying to remove them, despite the fact that this can be a little harsh. It is the only way to get a serious, well-educated, disciplined young generation able to deal with challenges.
During my studies at Saladin Primary School, my sister was studying at Aminah bint Wahab School, which was nearby, and I would see her carrying lots of things related to embroidery, knitting, housekeeping and cooking, which she had to do.
These skills girls acquire during their primary studies develop their entrepreneurship, self-reliance, and thinking, which are qualities we have lost, unfortunately. In some countries, they teach girls simple accounting and money management as well.
Men who finish their training at military camps should marry women who are able to do housework, manage expenses and raise the kids without that killer luxury, as requirements for weddings have became unreasonable, with religion not taken into account at all.
These requirements start with the number of servants and end with the brands of cars and their colours. Therefore, the point here is not just building capable young men but building families that can face all of the swings and reversals of life.
A project like this must be a national project that should involve students during their education in order to make them disciplined and mentally and physically fit to bring their backpacks to the camps.
After these students finish their education, they will be ready to train in using weapons and work in groups to defend the nation, free of all the flaws that have accumulated in their minds, because during military training everybody is equal in their clothes, food, training and sleep.
Military training for youth is not new. Many countries have their own experience of it and some have developed and modified it and others are still suffering from lack of effectiveness in developing it. I really wish to see training that is not limited to some months but something that shapes our children’s lives; an integrated system that includes education, considering all the challenges we need to prepare our sons to face.
