If I had another political life, I would want to do it again

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.

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FROM A1 ning. 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.

Dr Ng credited the SAF's adaptability to its strong fundamentals and leadership, which gave him the "luxury to scenario-plan... to sometimes pontificate, sometimes deal with counterfactuals".

"All I had to do was point out that, look, these assumptions, we have to take them seriously, and we have to restructure to meet future needs."

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 said yes as he felt that he would be able to balance being a breast cancer surgeon with being a backbencher, but after the election, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong asked him to join the Government.