Defer Benjamin Davis from National Service

MINDEF has rejected Singapore youth international Benjamin Davis’ application to defer him from National Service to further his footballing career with new club Fulham. They have done so on the grounds of “his potential being limited”, his lack of experience in representing Singapore, and his apparent lack of potential in winning medals for the country in sporting events. Do they have a crystal ball? Do they know if he will win a medal or not? Plus, isn’t having a local athlete in one of the best leagues in the world already enough pride for our little red dot? Moreover, ironically, they claim that football has little chance in winning medals, but yet they don’t even give the teams the chance to do so (flashback to the recent decision to exclude our U23 team from the Asian Games contingent). They are not footballing scouts or anything, how can they determine ones potential based on how they think? It is obvious that they are trying to limit sport development in Singapore, especially football, since it has the biggest risk of possibly affecting the economy from increased participation, after all it being the most popular sport in the world. Sign this petition to demand MINDEF to relook Benjamin Davis’ application for NS deferment. After all, deferment is different from exemption, it doesn’t hurt to grant one person a deferment.