Allan Wu's son & school friend build app to help NSFs navigate S'pore military service

Jonas Wu, son of television host Allan Wu, is currently serving National Service, and instead of just counting down to ORD, he and a fellow NSF have spent their little free time building an app for it.

Wu, who enlisted in January 2025, teamed up with his friend Ryan Jee to create ORD+, a homegrown app designed to help NSFs manage their fitness, finances and personal routines during service.

How it started

In a video by @safrasg, Jee said:

"It was a random night and I received a call from Jonas, 'Yo Ryan, we got to build an app. I have a crazy idea.'"

The two have been friends since their time at St Joseph's Institution International.

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What gap they were trying to fill

According to SAFRA's NSman Magazine, the idea grew out of a frustration both founders shared early in their service.

Jee told the magazine:

"During BMT, I realised that a lot of important information and practical knowledge is often learned only through trial and error, or passed down informally from seniors."

Wu added that he noticed that support was unevenly distributed among enlistees from different backgrounds.

"Fitness, finances and personal growth all existed in silos," he told the magazine.

"Some people were already equipped with systems and habits, while others struggled quietly."

The two envisioned ORD+ as a one-stop tool that any NSF could use.

Managing time

Neither Wu nor Jee had a coding background. Development work was squeezed into weekends and late nights after book-out, with Wu even taking additional JavaScript courses along the way.

"Some days it would take five to six hours just to get a single page right," Wu told SAFRA's NSman Magazine.

"Managing time with my family was tough," he added. "Spending hours in my room sometimes made my parents wonder what I was doing."

What the app does

ORD+ includes fitness tracking, a budgeting tool, journaling, SAF-related information and an ORD countdown feature. The countdown, which displays a dynamic progress circle, has become one of its most talked-about features.

In the @safrasg video, the app is built to address the confusion many NSFs feel when they first enlist, noting there was no single place to find the information they needed. ORD+ could ease the mental load of service life.

Support & what's next

According to SAFRA's NSman Magazine, plans for ORD+ include deeper personalisation, improved fitness and financial insights, and potential integration with platforms such as Apple Health.

The app is still in development and open to funding.