Military police outrider named NSF of the Year
Today marks the day Singapore fell to the Japanese 80 years ago in 1942. The Straits Times' Lim Min Zhang speaks with five people who have gone beyond the call of duty to strengthen Total Defence - introduced in 1984 - to emphasise how every Singaporean plays a part in the country's defence.
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As a military police traffic outrider during national service, Corporal (NS) Ummar Adib Ibrahim Al-Johar was part of a team that escorted military assets from one camp or training site to another on public roads.
The full-time national serviceman (NSF) was also given the additional administrative responsibility as the Mileage IC for his unit, for which he had to keep proper records of the mileage covered by his fellow riders. Riders who do not clock enough distance on the roads are sent for re-training to ensure that their skills remain current during operations.
For his professionalism and meticulousness, the 23-year-old, who completed his full-time service in 2020, was recognised as NSF of the Year in 2021.
He said it was important for an outrider to maintain a professional image and not appear tired or "slack" when they were in the public eye.
The banking and finance undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University has maintained a positive attitude towards national service. "Some people may see it as just another two years, and try to just go through and tahan (Malay for tolerate) it.
"To me, if you're given two years to experience something that is uniquely Singaporean because every Singaporean son has to go through it, I feel you can try to make the best of it."