Ministry of Home Affairs Retire uniformed officers based on health, fitness
Although the raising of the retirement age for Home Affairs uniformed officers is good news for existing officers (Retirement age for uniformed officers to be 58 by 2030, March 3), I believe more can be done.

As a former officer, I think retirement in an outfit such as the police should be based more on physical fitness and health, rather than the age of officers. In other words, an officer in his 50s or even 60s, who is still fit and healthy, should be allowed to continue to work despite his age. Conversely, younger officers who are physically unfit or have health problems should not be in the organisation at all.

Retirement age in such outfits should serve only as a guide, not as an iron-clad rule that all officers are subjected to regardless of their fitness and health.

In a rapidly greying society like Singapore, older and mature officers still play an important role due to their experience. Although the role of policing has changed dramatically through the years, the ability to interact with the community and cultivate the people's trust remains equally important and unchanged. This requires not only experience, but also maturity of the officers.

We should value and retain the services of such officers, instead of asking them to retire when they are still capable of performing the job.

Seah Yam Meng

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/retire-uniformed-officers-based-on-health-fitness

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