Give women opportunities to contribute to Singapore

National Service (NS) unfairly penalizes men for two years of their lives and requires them to return for two to four weeks every year for ten years but with good reason: national security. Sadly, it robs men of economic and social security, opportunities and mindshare during their most productive and innovative years. Because of NS, the Singapore man is viewed as "uncompetitive" when compared to foreigners and local women. It is time we did something about the problem, without compromising national security, while creating greater value for all Singaporeans.

Firstly, I must applaud the women who suggest that childbearing is a national sacrifice and that men should not complain about NS. Mothers help us maintain a Singaporean Singapore and care for the young and no amount of writing can do justice to the wonderful job they do. I salute the mothers of Singapore: Thank you for keeping our country going, your sacrifice is clear for all to see.

However, as shown by Singapore's plummeting replacement rate, there are far too few Singaporean mothers. Instead, there is a growing number of free-loaders who do nothing for the country, while hiding behind the guise of potential motherhood. Their deceit forces Singapore to depend on so many foreigners for essential services . These free-loaders use their gender to take advantage of the opportunities denied to Singapore men by NS. I believe it is time to give everyone, regardless of race, religion or gender, the opportunity to earn their rights by delivering on their responsibilities as citizens.

I suggest that at age 18, every citizen, male or female should be invited to serve. For men service will be compulsory, but women would have a choice:

1. NS track
Two years of full-time service before the age of 21, but no need to perform reservist duty. The female NS trainee would be trained and deployed to care for the sick and aged, solving the labor supply problems we face in the aged and health care sectors. This kind of service will inculcate the values of empathy and build a more caring society.

2. Birth track
Assuming her reproductive system is healthy, the woman pledges to bear a child by age 30.

However, should the woman on the Birth track fail to bear a child by age 30 for any reason, she will be put on the NS track immediately to help care for the sick and aged. Two years of full-time service, followed by ten years of reservist duty.

This should solve some of our problems with NS inequality, aged and health care. As the old Total Defense chestnut goes: There's a part for everyone.

Abundance is not an excuse for incompetence

The standard Singapore government/GLC response to any problem: Blame high volume

• No 3G service? 
• Too many subscribers
• MIO TV disruption? 
• Too many channels
• Euro/World Cup TV subscription expensive? 
• Too much competition
• Train disrupted? 
• Too many passengers
• Toxic/contaminated food? 
• Too much food to check
• Traffic jam? 
• Too many cars
• Housing expensive? 
• Too many couples
• Education quality sucks? 
• Too many demanding students
• Not enough babies? 
• Too many distractions
• Dead bodies in reservoir? 
• Too many copycats
• Dead Bangla and Indonesia maid found in water tank?
• Too many contractors
• Lack of focus in Parliament? 
• Too much Opposition
• Flood? 
• Too much rain

With one exception:

• Ministerial pay too high? Too little talent

If you can think of any others, just add it into the comments and I'll update the post. 

Remembering Dr Goh Keng Swee

"He who has ambition will do his better in order to satisfy himself. He will stick to his work and see that he is the best man that ever has done that work. Our ambition must be to make ourselves useful to our country, our people and ourselves." - Dr Goh Keng Swee (6 October 1918 – 14 May 2010), the architect of Singapore.

I believe we have a bankruptcy of character. Great minds often come with great character, something unusual and not universally accepted. Singapore's attempt to sterilize character, removing anything remotely like an outlier has resulted in a bland and unimaginative country, incapable of solving the simplest problems. We must learn to embrace the odd ones, the diversity, and have faith in the ingenuity of those we shunned in the past. People should not be made to fit a system. A system should be made to fit the needs of the people.