Malays were virtually excluded from conscription from the beginning of the draft in 1967 until 1977[11] and, after the policy was eased, were assigned mainly to serve in the police and civil defence (fire brigade), not active combat roles.[11] In 1987, Lee Hsien Loong (then Second Minister for Defence) stated that If there is a conflict, if the SAF is called to defend the homeland, we do not want