Last week, we wrote about how the Ministry of Home Affair’s SGSecure smartphone app received loads of poor ratings by full-time national servicemen (NSFs) — who claimed that they were forced to download the app — with many leaving one-star reviews on the iOS and Android app stores.
The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) has some PR recovery to do in the wake of it becoming the butt of jokes, especially since a majority of the reviews stated that those who didn’t download the app were threatened with punishment by their superiors.
Since news of SGSecure’s debacle spread, Mindef itself has come out to declare that it is actually mandatory for all servicemen under the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and all Mindef personnel to download the app.
According to The Straits Times, the app is part of a counter-terrorism programme that’ll be implemented in phases, Mindef said in a statement on Friday (Jul 28). “In the first phase, Mindef/SAF personnel are required to download the SGSecure mobile application and complete the e-learning modules embedded within.”
“Subsequently, Mindef/SAF personnel will be put through scenario-based community response training, to provide them with the knowledge to protect themselves and those around them in the event of a terror attack.”
Mindef said that the move is in line with Singapore’s efforts to step up counter-terrorism efforts in Singapore by equipping its personnel to be prepared citizens and active responders in the event of a terrorist attack.
Meanwhile, an unnamed platoon sergeant told ST that he was instructed to ensure his men downloaded the app before booking out, and denied that he was told to dish out punishments, contrary to the App Store reviews. He explained they might have misunderstood their commanders’ instructions and published the reviews as a joke.
