PHYSICAL FITNESS OF NATIONAL SERVICEMEN AND RESERVISTS

Mr Sia Khoon Seong asked the Minister of Defence, in view of the important role of physical fitness in our national defence, what steps are being taken to ensure that our National Servicemen and reservists are of adequate physical fitness.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong (for the Minister of Defence): Mr Speaker, Sir, military training is by its nature physically tough and demanding on active national servicemen and reservists alike. Unless they are physically fit, they will not be able to withstand the rigours of military training and exercises. During the last three years, great emphasis has been given to physical training to stress the importance of physical fitness to all national servicemen. In developing the physical fitness of active national servicemen, the SAF hopes to inculcate a permanent physical fitness consciousness and habit which they will follow and maintain in civilian life. Physical fitness tests are conducted at regular intervals to monitor, control and improve the physical fitness standards of our reservists.

Let me elaborate on the physical fitness programme for full-time national servicemen. During the period of full-time national service, national servicemen are exposed to a wide range of physical fitness programmes which include physical conditioning exercises, long distance runs, combat obstacles course, route marches, swimming, Tae Kwon Do, as well as participation in sports and games which include rugby, football, basketball, etc. The Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT), the Standard Obstacle Course Test, the Swimming Proficiency Test and Tae Kwon Do Grading Test are all conducted at regular intervals to ensure high standards.

The following test results in 1981 would give some indication of the progress of the SAF physical fitness programme:

(a) Individual Physical Proficiency Test

After three months of Basic Military Training (BMT), more than 90% of recruits pass the IPPT which consists of four test exercises: chin-up, push-up, sit-up and a 2.4 km run. All who fail are given additional training and retested until they pass. An illustration of the improvement in physical fitness of our young national servicemen is that although 40% of the recruits cannot perform even three chin-ups at the time of enlistment, most of them are able to satisfy the IPPT's eight chin-ups within 12 months. I can assure Members of this House that a chin-up is indeed difficult.

(b) Standard Obstacle Course

Standard Obstacle Course tests are conducted once in Basic Military Training, once in the first year, and once before ROD, at progressively higher test standards. More than 80% pass in each of these three tests. Those who are familiar with the Standard Obstacle Course Test will know that it is indeed a strenuous test of stamina, endurance and ruggedness, as it requires a soldier, in full battle order, to run a distance of 1,300 metres and to clear all combat obstacles in 10 minutes.

(c) Swimming

Swimming lessons are conducted in BMT for all recruits who cannot swim. All recruits are required to swim a distance of 30 metres using breast stroke and be "drown-proof" for 90 seconds. Generally, all recruits are able to do this by the end of their BMT. During the second year of service, soldiers are upgraded so that they are required to be able to swim 100 metres.

(d) Tae Kwon Do

Tae Kwon Do is introduced to combat troops after BMT. A total of five gradings are conducted during the two years of national service. As a result of the training provided during national service, many of our soldiers and reservists take up Tae Kwon Do seriously and continue this martial art in their civilian life.

Reservists

Let me now elaborate on the physical fitness programme for reservists. After full-time national service, reservists are required to pass the Individual Physical Proficiency Test every six months. In 1981, of the more than 100,000 reservists who took the IPPT, 83% passed at first try, Those who failed were retested, Persistent failures without just cause were given additional training within residence at Pulau Ubin. Despite the short period of in-camp training each year, the SAF makes full use of the programme to emphasize physical fitness wherever possible. Reservists know that they can save themselves a lot of trouble and muscular aches and pains if they keep themselves physically fit the whole year round, instead of exercising only one or two months before each IPPT.

To further assist reservists to keep fit, the SAF has started the following schemes:

(a) Keep-fit Apparatus at Community Centres

From October 1979 to February 1980, the SAF in collaboration with the People's Association installed 22 sets of keep-fit apparatus at selected community centres, jogging tracks, SAFRA, and the National Youth Leadership Training Institute. They are specifically located in densely populated areas so that reservists can make full use of them. The keep-fit apparatus consists of the following:

(1) three sets of Parallel Bars

(2) one set of Wall/Chin-Up Bars Combination

(3) one set of Horizontal Ladder.

(b) Formation of Jogging and Keep-fit Clubs at Community Centres

Furthermore, the SAF collaborated with the People's Association to form jogging and keep-fit clubs. Reservists staying near each of these community centres are sent letters by the People's Association inviting them to participate. The scheme was launched in April 1980 using reservist Physical Training Instructors to assist.

The SAF will spare no effort to ensure that through its national servicemen and reservists the keep-fit habit will propagate throughout the entire population. Several part-time familiarization courses on physical fitness have been conducted for members of the People's Association, the National Youth Leadership Training Institute as well as for other youth leaders in community centres. It is hoped that as more and more people respond to these efforts our programme for ensuring that physical fitness will be a life-time commitment by our population will succeed.

Mr Ng Kah Ting (Punggol): Sir, may I ask the Hon. Minister of State whether a survey has been conducted to ascertain the number of reservists making use of such physical fitness apparatus set up in community centres, noting the fact that these community centres are open from about 2.30 p.m. or 3.00 p.m. in the afternoon.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, the SAF closely monitors the usage of the keep-fit apparatus. In isolated incidents where the apparatus is not fully utilized, these were removed and placed in other more densely populated centres.

Mr Ng Kah Ting: Would the Hon. Minister of State consider removing the physical fitness apparatus now sited at Kangkar Community Centre and relocate it at the Punggol Community Centre in Tampines Way?

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, keep-fit apparatuses are usually installed after surveys have been made concerning the number of people participating, within any community centre. As a general rule, Members of Parliament are also consulted prior to the installation of such apparatus. I am obviously unable at this particular moment to confirm whether or not the Member for Punggol was consulted in this particular installation.

If the Member for Punggol would provide me with evidence to suggest that the Kangkar keep-fit apparatus is not being fully utilized, we will only be too glad to take it away. As to whether it would be installed at the new location, we will have to examine that place first, before we decide whether it could not go to some other more worthwhile location.

Mr Ng Kah Ting: I think the Hon. Minister of State was inviting a question from me when I responded to his question that where a physical fitness apparatus is under-utilized - and that is where I meant that the physical fitness apparatus at the Kangkar Community Centre is underutilized - he said that this apparatus should be located at more densely populated areas. The Punggol Community Centre has been built within the Punggol Estate, which has got some 21 blocks comprising 3,091 housing units.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, I thank the Member for Punggol for giving me all the detailed statistics. We will look into the numbers and I assure the Member that if the need for the apparatus to be relocated exists we will carry out the relocation.

Encik Saidi Haji Shariff (Kaki Bukit): Sir, I hope the Hon. Minister of State can do the same thing for Bedok North. We have a physical fitness apparatus which is situated in the sports area, away from the blocks of flats.

Anyway, my supplementary question is this. May I know whether the Hon. Minister of State is satisfied with the present physical activities programme and facilities provided for our reservists, so that at any one time if we round-up from the road 100 national servicemen or reservists, they are physically fit and ready to fight.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, if the apparatus at Bedok North is also under-utilized, which at the moment I am unable to say whether it is or is not, I can assure the Member that it will be looked into. If it is under-utilized, I think there obviously must have been a shift in population in new housing estates. If we are able to confirm that the shift is sufficiently significant to warrant a relocation of the apparatus, we will carry it out in Bedok North, just as I have assured the Member for Punggol.

Regarding the physical fitness of our reservists, the Member for Kaki Bukit obviously did not pick up the number which I gave, which was 83% of more than 100,000 reservists are found to be physically fit in the first test. And we continue to carry out a re-test until they pass. So we are talking of about close to 100% passes of more than 100,000 reservists.

Encik Saidi Haji Shariff: Mr Speaker, Sir, normally only when these soldiers are called up for tests will they prepare themselves.

Mr Speaker: What is your supplementary question, Encik Saidi?

Encik Saidi Haji Shariff: My supplementary question is this: is the Hon. Minister of State satisfied, particularly with the physical toughness of our reservists? This is because I believe there is a difference between physical fitness and physical toughness. Can I just add something to support my question, Sir?

Mr Speaker: You are making a speech on this. You should just ask your supplementary question, Encik Saidi.

Encik Saidi Haji Shariff: Sir, is the Hon. Minister of State aware, and talking from my experience in taking a group of youths for overland expeditions and mountain climbing, they are all reservists, ex-national servicemen, I found that they could not take the hardship and endurance in going through jungle tracks and climbing mountains -

Mr Speaker: Order. That is not a supplementary question.