SINGAPORE ARMED FORCES (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister of State for Defence (Mr David T.E. Lim): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be read a Second time."

The Bill before this House seeks, inter-alia, to amend the SAF Act to rationalise the disciplinary powers for dealing with officers of the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and above, and to establish a new scheme of service for SAF military Warrant Officers and Specialists. The new scheme of service, to be called the Premium Plan, is intended to replace the current Pensionable, Full CPF and Contract schemes of service.

Summary Trial System for Senior Officers

Sir, I would like to highlight the key aspects of the Bill. Clauses 1 to 10 propose refinements to the summary trial system for SAF senior officers by empowering the Service Chiefs to summarily try errant officers of the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Correspondingly, the jurisdiction of the Chief of Defence Force and the Senior Disciplinary Committee should be realigned.

[Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair]

4.55 pm

The Minister of State for Defence (Mr David T.E. Lim): The SAF (Amendment) Act 1994 was passed by Parliament on 26th February 1994. One of the amendments empowers the Chief of Defence Force to summarily try officers of Lieutenant-Colonel rank and a Senior Disciplinary Committee to summarily deal with officers of Colonel rank and above.

The SAF has, since then, further rationalised the summary trial system for its senior officers. It is now proposed that the Service Chiefs, ie, Chief of Army, Chief of Air Force and Chief of Navy, be vested with powers to summarily deal with officers of Lieutenant-Colonel rank, the Chief of Defence Force be empowered to deal summarily with officers of Colonel rank, and the Senior Disciplinary Committee be given the authority to summarily deal with officers of the rank of Brigadier General rank and above.

Although there have been very few cases of officers of the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and above who have had to be summarily dealt with, the proposed amendments will provide Service Chiefs and the Chief of Defence Force an appropriate and responsive means of dealing with offences committed by their senior officers.

Parliament is requested to approve the amendments.

Premium Plan and SAVER-Premium Fund

Sir, I now turn to the amendments concerning the Premium Plan and the SAVER-Premium Fund. The subsequent clauses of the Bill seek to establish the legislative framework for the implementation of the Premium Plan for military Warrant Officers and Specialists. Provisions are also made for consequential amendments to the Pension Fund Act.

Sir, allow me to briefly explain the rationale for the introduction of the Premium Plan, and how it relates to the SAVER Plan for military Officers which the House had endorsed in March 1998.

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is the guarantor of our national security. The SAF is a credible deterrent because of the dedication and professionalism of its personnel. To maintain this edge, the SAF must be able to recruit, train and retain enough quality Officers, Warrant Officers and Specialists who are able to meet its high standards of commitment and professionalism.

It is with this objective in mind that MINDEF formulated the "New Partnership" programme for our military Officers in 1997. The "New Partnership" programme is a total revamp of the manpower management system of the SAF, making fundamental changes to the career structure, remuneration package and career management and performance management of our personnel. As part of the "New Partnership", in 1998, MINDEF implemented the SAVER Plan, which replaced the Pensionable, CPF Plus and Contract schemes, for uniformed Officers.

But it is not enough to revamp the manpower management system of the Officer Corps alone. The SAF requires good people at every level to ensure that it can continue to perform its role effectively. The non-officer corps is just as important, as it forms the backbone of the SAF. A review was therefore commissioned in 1998 to revamp the career structures and remuneration mechanisms of military Warrant Officers and Specialists. As part of this review, MINDEF has developed a new scheme of service, to be called the Premium Plan, to support the career structures of military Warrant Officers and Specialists, in the same way the SAVER Plan supported the career structure for military Officers.

The Premium Plan will meet the needs of Warrant Officers and Specialists at different stages of their careers. Under the Premium Plan, MINDEF will provide a gratuity for the serviceman after his 10th year of service, and thereafter contribute an amount, based on his monthly salary, into his Premium Plan accounts.

Because the objectives and mechanisms of the SAVER and Premium Plans are broadly similar, funds in both Plans will be pooled and invested as a joint "SAVER-Premium Fund". Investment returns from this Fund will be credited into each serviceman's individual accounts. The Fund would adopt a similar structure of governance and the same Board of Trustees as the existing SAVER Fund.

The accumulated balance in the Premium Plan accounts will be given to the servicemen when they retire after serving a full career with the SAF. Those who leave earlier will get a smaller sum, depending on their length of service.

Finally, this Bill also empowers the Armed Forces Council to make provisions for loans and other benefits out of both the SAVER Plan and the Premium Plan. This would include the provision of flexible benefits for servicemen and their families under the Premium Plan.

MINDEF intends to implement the Premium Plan on 31st March 2000 for all newly-enlisted Specialists. Existing Warrant Officers and Specialists will be offered an option to convert to the Premium Plan, and transfer the accumulated benefits from their current schemes of service to the new Plan.

Sir, quality manpower is a key pillar of the SAF's defence capabilities. The Premium Plan aims to attract the quality manpower that the SAF needs, by providing first class careers in the SAF that are both challenging and rewarding.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr David T. E. Lim].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.