[Singapore’s tough laws when it comes to conscription, compulsory for all Singaporean men and permanent residents above the age of 18, have also complicated the aspirations of 17-year-old Ben Davis, who in June signed a two-year contract with English Premier League club Fulham F.C. — the first Singaporean to ink a professional contract with a top-tier club in the most recognized soccer league in the world.]
By
Shibani Mahtani , Reporter
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Singaporean novelist
Kevin Kwan talks during a 2017 interview in Hong Kong.
The Singaporean
government says that Kwan, author of the book that inspired
the hit film “Crazy Rich
Asians,” failed to register for national service as
required. Kwan left
Singapore when he was 11 and has lived in the
United States since then.
(Vincent Yu/AP)
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SINGAPORE
— The author of “Crazy Rich
Asians,” the book on which the new film is based, has put the country of his
birth on Hollywood’s map and helped propel its glitzy skyline and its
super-wealthy elite onto theater screens worldwide.
He is also a wanted criminal there.
Author Kevin Kwan’s crime — skipping two-year
mandatory conscription in the Singapore armed forces — and the recent case of a
prominent young athlete who has not been allowed to defer his obligation have
thrust the city-state’s debate over national service to the forefront, leading some
to question how relevant the stringent, inflexible requirements are to the
young country’s growing aspirations and changing demographics.
Singapore’s Ministry of Defense said Thursday
that Kwan “failed to register for National Service in 1990, despite notices and
letters sent to his overseas address.” Kwan, who did not respond to a request
for comment, left Singapore at the age of 11 and now lives in the United
States. He tried to renounce his citizenship in 1994, an option Singaporeans
with dual citizenship have when they turn 21, but his request was rejected, the
defense ministry said.
If he returns home and is convicted, he could
be imprisoned for up to three years or fined. He did not show up for a
red-carpet premiere of “Crazy Rich Asians” in Singapore on Tuesday, which
featured the film’s Singaporean cast members.
Singapore’s tough laws when it comes to
conscription, compulsory for all Singaporean men and permanent residents above
the age of 18, have also complicated the aspirations of 17-year-old Ben Davis,
who in June signed a two-year contract with English Premier League club Fulham
F.C. — the first Singaporean to ink a professional contract with a top-tier
club in the most recognized soccer league in the world.
Davis’s request to defer his national service
requirements was rejected by the Singapore government, which argues that Davis
would be serving his own career aspirations, rather than the goals of
Singapore.
“There has been no indication, commitment or
plans as to how Mr. Ben Davis would help football stands in Singapore, if
deferred,” Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in Parliament this month. “To grant
deferment to Mr. Ben Davis to pursue his personal development and professional
career would be unfair to the many others who have served their [national
service] dutifully as required, and not at a time of their choosing.”
Harvey Davis, his father, has insisted to the
government that his son plans on completing his national service requirements,
pointing out that his other two sons have fulfilled theirs. The question, the
elder Davis said, is one of timing, because Ben should have “the best
opportunity to play at the highest possible professional level in the U.K. and
Europe.”
Singapore’s mandatory conscription is modeled
after countries such as Israel and Switzerland. The country of 5.6 million
residents has no standing army and relies on a reservist army of men trained
during their two years of compulsory military service. Known as National
Servicemen, they make up 80 percent of Singapore’s military defense system.
South Korea — which has long contended with a
hostile nuclear power to its north — has similar requirements, but it grants
Olympic medalists or those who win gold medals at the Asian Games a complete
exemption. Singapore offers a deferment to athletes who win medals on the
country’s behalf at major sporting events, but it has only offered this to
three young men in the past 15 years.
'The Enlistment Act is blind'
Singapore argues that its small size makes it
vulnerable to attack, and invests in defense — including an annual parade
marking its day of independence, complete with a large marching contingent and
elaborate air force flyovers — to deter potential enemies.
“The government’s strong position is one that
it is going to maintain, and there’s a strong basis in terms of Singapore’s
defense and strategic needs for the government to maintain that position,” said
Tim Huxley, the executive director of the International Institute for Strategic
Studies in Asia, who wrote a book on the Singapore Armed Forces. He argues that
instability in such countries as Malaysia and Indonesia could still pose a
“direct threat to Singapore’s interests and physical security.
Last year, Singapore toughened punishment for
those who flout the law, and it has since jailed 13 defaulters. The strict
implementation of the law, the ministry said in response to questions from The
Washington Post, “is the reason why strong support [for national service] has
been maintained for over 50 years.”
“In court, in every case, each of them gave
reasons why he did not enlist as required,” said Ng, the defense minister. “But
in every case, in every judgement, the courts dismiss these personal reasons,
convicted and sentenced them to jail because, harsh as it is, the Enlistment
Act is blind to ‘personal convenience and considerations,’ no matter how
talented the individual, no matter how exceptional his circumstances.”
Some, however, are questioning the
government’s rigidity amid Singapore’s changing demographics and aspirations to
produce talents across all fields. The city-state is highly reliant on
immigration, and citizens make up only 60 percent of Singapore’s population.
More than one in three marriages there are between a Singaporean and
non-Singaporean, meaning more and more young men have the option to leave the
country, skip their military requirements and take up their alternate
citizenship.
Still, Singapore allows citizens to renounce
their status only after they turn 21, three years after men must join the
military. Davis — who holds Thai, British and Singaporean citizenship — could
opt to give up his Singaporean citizenship, but he would be likely to face
penalties if he did that before serving in the military and ever returned to
Singapore.
Many in the soccer-crazy country have backed
Davis, arguing that the government’s decision is unduly inflexible and
discourages exceptional talent. Swimmer Joseph Schooling, who won Singapore’s
first gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, beating American swimmer Michael
Phelps, encouraged Davis to “follow his dreams”, according to local media
reports.
In barring Davis’s deferment, analysts say,
the Singapore government is speaking to Singaporeans, rather than those with
the option of leaving, worried that more will be emboldened to find ways around
military service.
“The inflexibility is built in and will only
get worse” as more cases like Davis’ and Kwan’s arise, said Donald Low, a
Singaporean economist and associate partner at Centennial Asia Advisors. “It is
not tenable, and it is not going to satisfy people.”
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