We refer to the letter by Caleb Tan (What happened to Singapore's efficiency?, June 24).

Mindef requires all pre-enlistees to undergo medical screening to ascertain their physical employment standard for deployment during national service (NS).

This may involve referrals to public healthcare institutions (PHIs) for specialist evaluation and advanced diagnostic tests.

Pre-enlistees referred to these institutions will be provided with a Letter of Identity (LOI) for verification so that they do not have to pay for these consultations.

To obtain the LOI, pre-enlistees going for their follow-up appointments can inform NS Call Centre either through e-mail to contact@ns.sg, the NS Call Centre 24-hour hotline on 1800-367-6767, or through the NS Portal (www.ns.sg).

The LOIs are then sent by mail to the pre-enlistees prior to their medical appointments. Since February, pre-enlistees also receive their LOI through the NS Portal.

Pre-enlistees can show their LOI at the PHIs. Should pre-enlistees not have their LOI at their medical appointment, LOIs are faxed to the PHIs on the spot on an expedited basis.

Pre-enlistees are encouraged to utilise the NS Portal for their pre-enlistment procedures, including updating of appointment details and retrieving the LOI.

Lee Chung Wei

Director Manpower

Ministry of Defence