Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on S'pore's place in the world, SAF's evolution and 24 years in politics

Straits Times

13-05-2025

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen in an interview with the media at Mindef HQ on May 13, 2025. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
SINGAPORE – Nearly a quarter century since he took off his surgical scrubs to don party whites, Dr Ng Eng Hen still looked at issues - including Singapore's survival - with an oncologist's trained eye.
'Basically, when you're presented with a problem, you ask: what is the root cause?' he said. 'Rather than trying to get at the symptoms, what's the core diagnosis?'
Dr Ng had been asked how Singapore can stay secure and relevant in a more uncertain world. The answer always has to come from asking itself what is its place in geography and history, he said.
'Some people wish the world to be friendlier, protect small countries, to find space for all countries, but that's not the reality,' said the 66-year-old in his farewell interview with local media at the Ministry of Defence on May 13.
'For Singapore, I would say the starting point is we take the world as it is - not as we wish it to be, no matter how much we wish it to be,' added Dr Ng, who has helmed the defence portfolio since 2011 and was first elected as an MP in 2001.
Singapore's strategy, he said, has been to make itself useful to neighbours, major powers and middle powers alike, through a mix of defence cooperation, dialogue facilitation, and by being a trusted interlocutor.
He pointed to Singapore's longstanding defence ties with the United States, which allow American forces access to Singapore's air and naval bases.
As a facilitator, it does not see itself as mediator or broker, but has been able to provide neutral ground for landmark meetings, such as the Trump-Kim summit in 2018 between US and North Korean leaders, and the Xi-Ma summit in 2015 between the leaders of China and Taiwan.
And by going beyond scripted lines in meetings with his counterparts - while being sensitive and respectful - Singapore has built its credibility and expanded its diplomatic space, he added.
The point is for others to make time for Singapore and to find its views valuable - 'our equivalent of soft power', said Dr Ng.
This is especially salient today given the upending of global rules. Dr Ng likened trade-dependent Singapore to a shop in an MRT station - there is a living to be made if the trains keep running, but trouble once the frequency slows or stops.
'Once people decide that they're going to divert, use other tracks or bypass the station, or are not allowed to stop at your station or is rerouted elsewhere, it's beyond your limited agency and you have to make do,' he said.
The question is whether Singapore can get other countries to listen. 'If we can't, then we will have to live with the consequences. It will be a game of catch-up, and a very difficult game.'
Adapting the SAF
Dr Ng oversaw a major transformation of the SAF, rolling out long-term plans to modernise the military and strengthening its ability to meet evolving security threats facing Singapore.
He also led the establishment of the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) in 2022 and expanded Total Defence to include digital defence, recognising the growing risks of cyber attacks and disinformation.
When he took over in 2011, the SAF had already built up a strong reputation as a capable deterrent, described in its early days by founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew back in 1966 as 'a poisoned shrimp' that would make aggressors think twice.
But while the force has since grown larger - and 'quite poisonous at this point' - Dr Ng warned that such success risks breeding complacency if long-held assumptions go untested.
Responding to a question on lessons from recent conflicts, Dr Ng highlighted complacency as the SAF's greatest risk, warning that it can leave militaries 'untested' and reliant on 'outdated assumptions'.
One of his key priorities was preparing the SAF for the shifting nature of warfare, where battles are no longer limited to guns and tanks, but also take place in cyber space and the information domain.
Dr Ng said the line between war and peace had blurred, with aggressors seeking to undermine societies through cyber attacks, disinformation and social division—all while countries appear to be at peace.
'Whose job is it during times of peace? And that blurred the line between the hard stop, between peace and war, and the danger was for the SAF to say, well, this is somebody else's job.'
Under his watch, the SAF expanded its mission to address new security challenges, including cyber threats and disinformation, with the creation of the DIS It also enhanced counter-terrorism capabilities, restructured special forces, and broadened Total Defence to include more civilian agencies in national crisis planning.
In 2019, Mindef added Digital Defence as the sixth pillar of Total Defence, the first update to the framework since it was launched in 1984. This recognised the growing importance of cyber security and digital resilience in everyday life.
Throughout, Dr Ng said he relied on the SAF's professional leadership and deep bench of engineers and planners to push ahead with these changes.
'All I had to do was point out that look: these assumptions. And we have to deal with them seriously, and we had to restructure to meet future needs.'
Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen, praising servicemen from the SAF for their efforts in a military exercise on Pulau Sudong on Aug 2, 2011, which was part of a two-week-long drill to test the battle-readiness of Singapore's air force, navy and army units.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Unplanned journey into politics
Dr Ng's entry into politics was, by his own admission, unplanned. A cancer surgeon by training, he had spent two decades in public hospitals and four years building a private practice when he was approached to run for office in 2001.
He recalled receiving a phone call from Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, then Deputy Prime Minister, in between seeing patients, asking if he would consider joining the government. 'I had no clue what being in government meant,' he said with a laugh.
After speaking to then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, he agreed to take the plunge. He remembered Mr Lee asking him a simple but pointed question: 'What do you want to do in life?'
Dr Ng replied that if he were to enter politics, it had to be meaningful – that he had to see himself 'adding value' and 'being part of the solution, not a problem'.
But what he really wanted to know, he recalled, was how long it would take to figure out if he was suited for political life. Mr Lee's answer: six months.
Looking back, Dr Ng said that half a year was enough to know if the basic instincts were there, including the ability to grasp issues, shape policy, and make a difference. But the art of politics, he added, takes a lifetime to learn.
(From left) Dr Mohd Maliki Osman, Mr Sitoh Yin Pin, Mr Eric Low Siak Meng and Dr Ng Eng Hen. PAP introduced 4 new candidates on Oct 19, 2001 to contest for the then upcoming General Elections.
PHOTO: ST FILE
He described politics as the 'art of the possible', quoting 19th-century German statesman Otto von Bismarck, where getting the right outcomes often meant choosing between imperfect options and finding policies that could carry the ground.
Doing what was right was not always easy or popular, but he stressed that politicians must not simply follow what others want to hear. 'If you constantly do what you think others think is right, then…they should be in politics, not you,' he said.
More than two decades later, Dr Ng has served in multiple portfolios, including in the Manpower and Education Ministries, before taking over as Defence Minister from Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean in 2011. Along the way, he played a role in shaping policies such as CPF Life, strengthening the education system, and setting up the Workforce Development Agency, which is now Workforce Singapore.
But he is quick to acknowledge that no single minister can claim credit for Singapore's progress, saying it is satisfying simply to have contributed to building on the work started by others, knowing that someone else will continue that effort after him.
If he had another political life, Dr Ng said with a laugh, he would gladly do it all over again, though perhaps with a little less social media. While it can be rewarding at times, he admitted it is also unrelenting and had a dark side to it.
Like anyone else, he said, politicians are human and naturally want affirmation, but the daily flood of criticism is hard to ignore.
'You just have to learn to live with it,' he said, noting with a pause that it often takes a bigger toll on families than on the politicians themselves.
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