NATIONAL service (NS) enlistees who are also national athletes graded B2 and above, may be eligible for time off and full-pay unrecorded leave during their full-time national service.

This arrangement allows these NS athletes to train and participate in major competitions such as the South East Asian (SEA) Games, Commonweawlth Games, Asian Games and Olympic Games, without having to defer their NS obligations.

This was announced in a written answer by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), to a question posed by Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP), Ms Joscelin Yeo, during a parliament session on Monday.

She asked the Minister whether requests for deferments will be considered for A1 athletes or those who are under the Project 0812 or Special Assistance Scheme.

Dr Balakrishnan replied that the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) recognises that NS enlistment can affect the performance of the athlete and efforts have been made to minimise the impact of NS on the sports training schedules of Singapore's top athletes.

In his reply, the Minister also said that MINDEF will consider NS deferment requests on a case-by-case basis.

In the past year, 64 national athletes enlisted in NS.