Gurkhas have quite the long history with Singapore.

They have been involved with notable incidents such as the Maria Hertogh riots, Hock Lee bus riots, and even during the Konfrontasi.

For those who might not know, Gurkhas are an elite security force recruited from Nepal.

The Nepalese factor was recently put in the spotlight by Singapore People's Party (SPP) politician and lawyer, Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss.

Her remarks were in response to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's statement on how Singapore cannot outsource its security and defence to anyone else.

His remarks were made in the light of recent incidents in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) which resulted in the loss of lives.

Here is Chong-Aruldoss' first Facebook post on the issue.

Here are the questions she raised.

"Why does the Singapore Government retain an army of Gurkha soldiers? Being paid soldiers, aren't they mercenaries? Being mercenaries, aren't they loyal only to their paymasters and have no love of Singaporeans? What is the role of the Gurkha mercenaries in Singapore National Security? Can Singaporeans do their job being done by the Gurkha mercenaries? If not, why not? Whose interests do these hired hands / paid soldiers serve and protect?"

Her post sparked quite the debate in the comment section.

Some vouching for the loyalty of the Gurkhas.

With many reiterating the many accomplishments of the Gurkhas.

And some doing both.

Not questioning the competence

In Chong-Aruldoss' defence, she was not questioning the competence of the Gurkhas, a point she reiterated in a follow-up post.

In the post, she clarified that while she had no doubts about their competence, the difference between a contingent of citizens and a contingent of completely non-citizens should not be blunted.

And although some found her new argument more compelling, most remained rather unimpressed.

But as someone rightfully pointed out, arguing over loyalty or competence misses the point.

Rather it is important to provide context to what constitutes a contingent.

Today, about 15,000 applicants compete for 400 slots annually, from which 100 are reserved for the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

Which is absolutely minuscule compared to Singapore's armed forces as a whole.

For the issue of loyalty though, one Samoona Pun, who said she is the daughter of a Gurkha, had this interesting tidbit to share.

Moving.

Also on a slightly less eloquent defence.

Cool.

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Top photo taken from the Singapore Gurkha Photography Museum and Our Gurkhas Facebook page, from Kishore Kumar Gurung / SGPM Photo Collection