Then all the more reason why they should not be allowed to be exempted from doing something "not difficult". What are they afraid of? Why is the system so afraid of asking them to do so? 2½ years NS, 15+ years of reservist, about 17 ICTs, manys BCTCs, countless IPPTs, maybe RTs, recall activations, etc....
Hey, the NSmen I deal with are almost always happy to be back in camp to catch up with old friends, knock down cheap beer and stout.
A good few of them see IPPT as a 400-dollar bonus every year.
It is all about how people assimilate all these "features of Singapore life" into their lives.
As for the foreigners who have made Singapore their permanent homes - their children have been serving, and as far as I can see, are given the exact same treatment as everyone else. But it is a new phenomena, it is merely the first generation; and you never know, given the right attitude, they may perform better than "actual" Singaporeans (which is again, not very hard to do).
There is a perfectly good reason why guys complain about ICTs, BCTCs *publicly*...