Volunteers with expertise in areas such as healthcare, psychology and communications could be given opportunities to serve in their specialist areas in the proposed Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Volunteer Corps, said Second Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing yesterday.

Laying out details of the proposed Corps, he added that volunteers who wish to serve in other military functions, such as protecting and controlling access to key installations in Singapore, could be trained for these roles too.

Mr Chan said the Defence Ministry (MINDEF) is “seriously working” on the proposal for a new SAF Volunteer Corps and will look into developing basic modules to teach volunteers relevant basic military skills and values. “This will allow the broader community — in particular women, new citizens and first generation PRs (Permanent Residents) — to better understand and contribute to our defence,” he said as Parliament debated MINDEF’s budget. “Specific training will then be conducted according to needs. In order for meaningful contributions to be made, volunteers could commit to performing various operational duties for a certain period of time.”

His comments followed months of public engagement by the Committee to Strengthen National Service. At several focus group discussions, several women, new citizens and PRs have expressed their desire to contribute more to national defence as volunteers. XUE JIANYUE