Introduction

National Service (NS) was introduced in post-independence Singapore in 1967 to provide an enduring source of trained manpower for Singapore's defence needs. Presently, all medically fit male citizens and second-generation Permanent Residents (PR) are required to serve NS. Aside from this latter group, foreigners do not need to serve NS. The sizeable increase in the number of foreigners in Singapore in recent years has drawn sharp attention to this fact. In a ministerial forum with then Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong held in 2010, university student and Operationally Ready National Serviceman Lim Zi Rui rued, “With all the changes in policies and the influx of foreign talent, I really don't know what I’m defending anymore.” His remark was an oblique reference to the perception that foreigners were benefiting from Singapore's prosperity and security provided by Singaporean citizensoldiers like him at no cost to themselves. Lim's remarks reflect a wider resentment towards the explosion of Singapore's foreign population of PRs and non-residents on temporary immigration passes.

Whereas in 2000 there were only just over a million foreigners in Singapore, by 2010 this figure had ballooned to over 1.8 million. In comparison, the number of citizens increased by only 244,800. This surge, as dramatic as it seems, belies the far more complex effects – both good and bad – of Singapore's immigration policies the other chapters explore. To the Singaporean, however, such a nuanced understanding is less relevant in light of the acutely palpable influx of foreigners who allegedly impinge on their lives. Many Singaporeans now see foreigners as competitors for limited opportunities, resources, and even living space. That the majority of these foreign competitors do not have to serve NS to enjoy these opportunities adds insult to injury. This perception of “free-loading” by foreigners at the expense of Singaporeans, or that the former views it as being less important than the latter, could result in a potential societal fault-line in Singapore. In particular, as the only category of non-citizens to have access to what are perceived to be similar state-sponsored benefits as citizens, PRs have been singled out from among the foreign population as a group that should share the burden of obligations expected of citizens, namely serving NS.