331 Mindef volunteers lauded for contributions

Besides leading Singapore's Covid-19 effort at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Professor Leo Yee Sin also keeps herself updated on measures put in place at army camps to curb the spread of such diseases.

Since January, she has been volunteering as the chairman of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Infectious Diseases Specialist Advisory Board.

The board is one of 42 Ministry of Defence (Mindef) boards and committees seeking to engage external experts to allow the ministry to stay updated on the best practices in different industries, from medicine to law to engineering.

While Mindef has over the years strengthened its capabilities in areas such as surveillance, detection and response, and there has been no Covid-19 outbreak in camps so far, there is no room for complacency, said Prof Leo, 61.

"I think all of us are very glad that the years of strengthening the ability to do prevention and response bear out in terms of the challenge by Covid-19... But we still need to strengthen this," she told reporters last week, adding that there will be new viruses in the future that will challenge humankind.

Prof Leo is among 331 volunteers serving on the 42 Mindef boards and committees to whom Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen has written letters of appreciation.

But an annual dinner to recognise their contributions will not take place this year due to Covid-19 restrictions, Mindef said in a statement yesterday.

This year, 212 appointment and reappointment certificates and letters will be delivered to the Mindef volunteers.

These volunteers, who are industry experts in both the private and public sectors, also link the ministry and the public by promoting public awareness of defence and inspiring support for national service, said Mindef.

Dr Ng wrote in the letters that volunteers play crucial roles in strengthening national defence, and their expertise and experience fill gaps in Mindef's capabilities.

"The peace and security that Singaporeans enjoy are a result of your efforts to strengthen the SAF," he said.

Another of the volunteers is Adjunct Associate Professor Lee Cheng, 54, chairman of the SAF Psychiatry Specialist Advisory Board and a psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health, who believes that the emotional and mental health of servicemen is no less important than the physical aspect.

The board's work includes ensuring that national servicemen who have psychiatric conditions but are still able to serve are given suitable Physical Employment Standards, which determine the roles that servicemen can take on during national service.

"We have servicemen who may have emotional distress but are still very keen to serve, because they feel that this is also a test of their resilience and ability to cope," Prof Lee said.

Accountant Selvam Varathappan, 62, a member of the Board of Visitors to the SAF Detention Barracks, said his experience has given him a different perspective on the difficulties that some servicemen face.

The board visits the detention barracks once a month to listen to feedback from detainees and check on their living conditions, although Mr Selvam - who has volunteered for about six years - is rostered once a year.

He said that for certain offences, such as being absent without official leave, some did so not because they wanted to run away, but because they had to work two or three jobs to provide for their family.

Of his experience listening to detainees, he said: "I realise that this is a side of Singapore that we may not have come across. I actually look forward to helping out every year."