A Peep at Eunos NDP Heartland Celebrations

Changi Simei, Singapore, 24 July 2010

 

As I write this blog, the NDP Official Website’s clock shows that we  are 14 days away from our 45th National Day. Well the time is always right. It is always ticking away without us realising we don’t have much time to spare….so treasure the precious time to contribute to the well beings of others.

 

 This afternoon 24 Jul 2010, the six of us, Ms Jo, Ms Suhani, Ms Bok, Steve Chia, Sukhminder Singh and I gathered at City Hall to watch the full works of NDP  primarily to co-ordinate with mediacorps on the “go live” touch points for our Eunos Celebrations. We want to present the best of South East District to every home in Singapore. Much had to be done to ensure  “perfect” timings.

   

I spoke to the Chairman of the NDP Exco, COL Bennedict Lim that  nothing beats being physically present at the Padang to feel the “heart beats’ of the live NDP. Though we sat in a room watching the live telecast, it was test of using our “eyes to listen” and “ears to see” in our effort to co-ordinate our programmes with the Padang.  

 

Steve was surprised to hear the reversed functions of our eyes and ears as we see with our eyes and hear with our ears. He thought, I might have slip but how effective they are in their traditional roles? In reality, many times our eyes don’t see and we turn a blind eye. We hear but we don’t listen. Therefore, the reverse in traditional roles require mastery at the higher order. A little philosophical but a concept easy to understand but difficult to practise in reality.          

 

Nonetheless, the 5 hrs spent at the City Hall was worth the effort. We reviewed our earlier plans comparing it with the EXCO’s plan. We micro managed the details of our programmes in view of the tight window of in live telecast. We coordinated with one of the emcee present through the “ASK” approach of asking, seeking and knocking. We asked and we received the answers, we sought and we found the answers and we knocked with others opening their doors for us to ask and seek. Nonetheless, it was the team effort that I was impressed with as we harboured one common vision to present the best the residents in South East District.       

 

In the process of ASK, we made changes and fine tuned our original plan to overcome the presence of live telecast challenges. I am now more confidence than earlier on the success of our national day celebrations at South East after the City Hall’s session. From now till 9 Aug 2010, our plan would  continue to evolve for the better especially in perfecting the timings up till the final word “Go” on 9 Aug 2010.  

 

Change is constant and there is nothing to fear. What is more fearful and is a sure formula for failure is the reluctant or resistant to make changes. Fortunately, members of my team are “change adopters”. To be frank, there were apprehensions at the early stage of our planning that we may not have the expertise to “fly”  flag like the Olympic Games.  That’s was a reality but we were determined to ensure that our flag would fly. There were many trials and experiential learning pull us through as each time, we learned some thing new, modified the lessons learned and try again to create the “flying” flag. It is now confirmed that our flag would be the one and only “flying” flag,  true to the theme of this national day of “live our dreams, fly our flag”.

 

Briefly during the short break, I stood on St Andrew Road to feel the heart beats of Singaporeans. The spectators were great as they came in Red and cheers as though the NE show was National Day. Indeed it was like National Day with full complements of military hardware and vehicles from the Home Team. I love to see the Leopard Tanks driving past me for me to reminisce the time when I was in the Armour formation many years ago.   

   

It is now 14 days, 0 hour, 55 minutes and 01 seconds. Soon it will be 13 days to go and so forth. I am excited to celebrate the 45th National Day as a sovereign and free nation.

 

  

 

  

 

Live Our Dreams, Fly Our Flag…our aspirations

Changi Simei, Singapore, 18 July 2010

 

Last year 2009, the Changi Simei Citizens’ Consultative Committee organised a National Day Parade Live  @ Changi Simei to bring the National Day Parade closer to our residents. We attracted nearly 2500 residents from all walks of lives decked out in patriotic colours, namely red and while seating in a picnic style joining other fellow residents celebrating our 44th National Day. The celebration climaxed we recited our National Pledge and sang our National Anthem. It was a truly a night where we “Come Together – Reaching Out, Reaching Up” expounded by the National Day 2009 Theme with patriotism filled the air.

 

  

Last year, we also set a new record for the Singapore Book of Record. We created a 8000 birthday cards national flag (photo left) which became a focal point for residents’ to gather and took photographs of them and their families. The flag was our residents’ contributions in coming together to write their well wishes on these 8000 birthday cards for Singapore.        

 

 

On 15 July 2010, as the Chairman of the Programme Sub-committee, NDP Heartlands Celebrations @ South East, I represented the organising committee to release our programmes at South East during the media release. This year, besides the NDP at Padang, there are 5 other districts organising the NDP Heartlands Celebrations. Our celebrations is at the open field at Eunos MRT, a site selected in view of its accessibility. Our Eunos’ site will be ready by 3 pm as we have lined up exciting pre NDP live programmes. 

 

  

The 2010 National Day will see thousands of Singaporeans living in the South East District coming together to celebrate the 45th National day. These thousands of Singaporean will attempt to form the map of Singapore Island to celebrate Singapore’s 45th National Day. Residents will enter the “Singapore Island” which is about half the size of a football field from 6 entrances symbolising the coming together to build a One People, One nation Singapore. This will again set a new Singapore Book of Records for the “Most Number of People Forming the Map of Singapore”. In addition, residents will join voices to sing the “Happy Birthday” song and wave the Singapore flags in unison. The segment will be feedback live to spectators at the Padang and our our national televisions by media corp.   

 

In addition to forming the “Singapore Island”, we would also be creating a “perpetually flying” National Flag at a height of 10 metres to be launched by Mr Raymond Lim, Minister for Transport at about 8 pm. From my understanding, our national flag is the one and only flag in Singapore that will flutter perpetually regardless of wind condition on National Day. We want to bring out this year National Day Theme of “Live our Dreams, Fly our Flag” to capture our hope for a better future and our flying flag symbolises our pride, our sense of identity and belonging…of course a free and sovereign country to live our dreams. Eversince  we conceived the idea of a fluttering flag about 2 months ago, much time have been put in to design the air flow system to ensure that our flag will flutter in the air. After many trials with each trial learning and improving on the original design, we succeeded today (18 July 2010). We hope to fly this flag on National Day during the pledge taking.    

The significant highlight of the evening is the “One Voice 2010”. At 8.10pm, everyone is encouraged to join in to sing the national anthem and recite the pledge in one voice as a symbol of unity. The national pledge was crafted by the late Mr S Rajaratnam in 1965. I have been saying the pledge since 1965.

 

Besides the key highlights, our programmes also include a Pre-NDP performances by well-known local artistes like Mark Lee and Henry Thia, a Jeremy Illusion Show, percussions, performance by motivators (photo left) from Touch Community Services. To engage our residents, instead of one LED screen, we have made provision for another two LED screens to enhance the experience of our 5000 to 6000 residents at our heartlands celebrations. Ms Lim Pei Fen and Mr Suzhairhe from Media Corps radio and TV are the main hosts.

Our many street magicians, balloon sculptors, face painters, jugglers etc will also perform at close range right infront of residents to engage them. Fancying a magician performing his tricks in front of you and you may even learn one or two tricks from them. There will be a carnival with national day theme games with prizes to be given. Free ice creams, cold drinks and a packet of dinner will be provided to residents with tickets (dinner will be provided for ticket holders only in view of the large numbers of residents). Even the 40 strong motivators would be mingling with our residents in a fun-filled afternoon before the NDP Live Telecast in a fun-filled environment celebrating our 45th National Day.  

The national day greetings and messages from our 14 Members of Parliament in SE District would also be beamed at different times on our large LED screens as part of their participation in our NDP at Eunos. The roving cameramen on site would also be capturing candid shots of residents and beaming them live on our local screens as part of our programme. 

To create a celebratory mood on the high, fireworks as high as 50 metres would be fired off in synchronisation  the fireworks at Padang. There will be a second burst of fireworks at the grand finale after the passing of the mobile column which comprises 35% of new vehicles. The mobile column would give a glimpse of the firepower of the SAF (Leopard tank on the left) and also the latest equipment in the Home Team.  The mobile column will rumble along Sims Avenue.

Each constituency is given 300 NDP Heartlands Celebrations tickets to be registered at the community centres in SE District on a first come first serve basis. I would like to clarify that the tickets are for the allocation of the limited NDP Fun Totes (fun bags) and dinner pack. For those without tickets, it does not mean that they cannot join the celebration. They can still join in the celebration with their families.

My programme sub-committee has been working tirelessly to bring out the celebratory mood of residents. Come and support us even if you are not given the NDP heartland celebration tickets. Do join us to create a new record and to showcase the spirit of South East District. We will live our dreams and fly our flag this national day.

The Sound of Freedom….

Changi Simei, Singapore, 9 May 2010….

                             

On 9 May 2010, the Minister of State for Defence (MOS), Associate Professor Koo Tsai Kee hosted a visit to the Republic of Singapore Airforce’s (RSAF) Paya Lebar Air Base (PLAB) for some 150 grassroots leaders from the various constituencies. The visit is part of a series of regular visits to Singapore Armed Forces units as part of Mindef’s effort to develop greater understanding between the community and of our Air Force.

                                   

During the visit, we were briefed on the operational capabilities of our Air Force and how our Air Force maintains its combat readiness and currency of pilots through flying training in-country and in friendly countries. We also had a glimpse of cutting edge technologies in our Air Force for example the multi role fighter aircraft the F15SG which had just flown back to Singapore from the United States two weeks ago. In fact, we were the first group of Singaporeans given the honour of climbing into the cockpit of the two F15SG on display. (All photographs on airplanes were through yahoo.com)

     

We were also updated on how our Air Force overcome the challenge of our limited air space to train our pilots locally and at the same time to cater to need of civilian air traffic to maintain Singapore as an international air hub.Many may thought that the sky has no limit but in reality there are restrictions in the sky for example, our military pilots are prohibited from intruding into Malaysian’s air space during take off. It will take less than 30 seconds from take off to enter Malaysian’s air space thus some overflight in residential area is inevitable to keep within our Singapore air space.

Many years ago, I lived under the flight path of civilian aircrafts landing at Paya Lebar international Airport (photo left. source through Yahoo.com)) and believed me, the noise was really unbearable. We even had a Concorde flying past my house to land in 1972. Was there any noise abatement measures taken by the civil authority many years ago? I could say, there was none unless today, we were briefed by an officer from the Air Force about noise abatement measures taken as part of corporate responsibility to the community. What are the measures?

– During take off and landing, pilots are told to fly at a lower airspeed and flying at higher altitude to curb noise.

– For night flying and circuit training around air bases, trainings are stopped by 11 pm. In reality, we will told that circuit flying stops at around 9 pm.

– During examination periods, flying operations are curtailed and more stringent restrictions apply. No routine flying is allowed, except for operational taskings.

– To minmise in country flying training, 50% of flying training is now being carried out overseas.

– In addition, our pilots also spent 20% of flying time in flight simulators.

– For engine ground test, the Air Force constructed “hush house” to contain engine noise generated and such engine runs are not permitted beyond 9 pm.

                                             

Looking at these measures, my impression is that our Air Force is sensitive to the need of the community and is very serious and is pro active to mitigate the inconvenience cause to the community living around air bases. We are indeed lucky but despite these measures, Singaporeans still complain about noises instead of treating the jet noise generated by our military aircrafts as “sound of freedom”

I particularly like the analogy of the “sound of freedom” used by MOS during the dialogue to reinforce the importance of Air Force. MOS further elaborated that the other sound may be the “sound of missiles”. Should we hear the “sound of missiles” it may well mean that we are doomed as our air defence umbrella provided by our Air Force has been breached. I tend to agree with MOS the “sound of freedom” represent our freedom as a nation to do what we want to do to achieve our aspirations. I cannot imagine life in an occupied land. (photo left. Source from Yahoo.com)

After the visit, I am confident that our Air Force is capable of defending our sky as stated in its mission “To defend Singapore against any aerial threats. To deter war and should deterrence fail, achieve a decisive victory as part of the SAF”.

I can associate with Associate Professor Koo Tsai Kee’s “sound of freedom” analogy.

15 February…total defence day

In my earlier blog on 11 Feb 2010, I have recounted the last battle before Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 Feb 1942. Unless we travel back in time, we may not be able to fully appreciate the sufferings and pains under occupation and the atrocities committed by invading troops. 

 Since the end of the war, the post war generation, pre and post independent generation and Gen Y have lived in relatively peaceful environment. Though there were wars in other parts of the world in the last 68 years but Singapore was largely being spared. The confrontation with Indonesia from 1962 to 1966 was the nearest undeclared war we had but the fight was away in East Malaysia less the explosion at MacDonald House at Orchard where the perpetrators (Indonesians Commandos) were caught and hung after a trial in our court of law.  Collateral damages of 2 killed and 33 injured during the bomb incident. 

It has been a long time, so much so that in these days we generally take peace as given and peace is to be secured by the various security agencies. My observation is that we are now rather complacent and prefer to “mind my own business”.

                  An infiltrator being arrested at West Coast        

In the past, conflicts between countries were generally settled through conventional military warfare with heavy losses of properties and lives. In today context, miliary warfare is just one of the dimensions. Potential aggressors can wage a war of attrition in non-conventional ways to mask their intent. The non conventional ways of causing destruction includes the creation of social disorder by exploiting differences in race, language, religion, culture, social or wrecking the economy through trade boycotts, trade sanctions or economic sabotage. Destruction can also come in the form of psychological warfare using fears to create distrusts to weaken our national resilience. Since 911, terrorism has gained prominent to create fears and distrusts through collateral damages. The recent terrorists attacked in Mumbai was one good example of mindless and senseless killings of innocents.    

Nearer home, remember the President who labelled us as the Little Red Dot out to create trouble in the mid 1990? About the same time, we had another Prime Minister who wanted us to subscribe to the “Abang and Adek” framework of state to state relationships and threatened to turn off the tap when we refused his proposal to increase the selling price of water. In the 1980s, another Prime Minister who threatened to send warships to Singapore  when we decided to impose canning to control the rising illegal workers population and it so happened that the thousands of them were from his country. 

In recent years, sands which we need most for our construction industry became an issue with countries refusing to sell sands to us citing exporting sands hurt their eco system. Well, these countries are not far away countries but our immediate neighbours. In the current political climate, many politicans will like to  trivalise issues for their own political gains. A miscalculated decision will adversely affect our livelihood.

The threats and treating Singapore as their bogey man will not go away in view of the geo politics in the region. It is made easier because of our small geographical size and a small population. It is also easier to blame us for their woes vis-à-vis our country’s wealth as we have the highest per capita income in the region. We cannot choose where to locate our small island on the world map but we can choose how to respond to these threats to reduce our vulnerability.

At home, just last week, we woke up to a rude shock to read from our newspaper that a pastor was hauled up by our security agency for his inappropriate comments on other religions during his pulpit and his comments were posted on-line.  Such is the thin line that we are treading. If we are not careful, such trivialisation can destroy our social fabric and cohesion in a pluralistic society. Race, language, religion and culture are sensitive topics which can weaken our national resilience and such irresponsbile loose talks may still occur in the future.  

Learning from our domestic experiences and the experience from others involving in conflicts, the concept of Total Defence (TD) was launched on 15 February 1984.  TD aims to draw on the different strengths and abilities of Singaporeans to play their part in the defence of Singapore. The date 15 February is significant as it reminds us that on this day, 1942, Singapore fell to the Japanese. To prevent such scenario from being repeated as the world is evolving, it encourages everyone to play a part in defending the country from conventional and non conventional conflicts.   

But what is Total Defence? Total Defence provides the framework for a comprehensive and integrated response to deal with all kinds of threats and challenges. Whether it is a security threat such as global terrorism, or a national crisis like SARS, H1N1, TD brings together all relevant government agencies, private sector organisations and all Singaporeans in a coördinated effort to deal effectively with these threats and challenges. It is when we take personal responsibility for and get involved in the defence of Singapore that we are playing our part to help keep Singapore safe and secure. Gone is the idea that the defence of Singapore rests with the SAF.  

There are 5 pillars that represent every key sectors in our society in Total Defence are military, civil, economic, social and psychological defence .

Military Defence is the mission given to the SAF to secure Singapore’s continual peace and security through deterrence and diplomacy and should these fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory over the aggressor”. SAF maintains a high state of operational readiness 24/7.

 

Civil Defence is about ensuring Singaporeans know what to do in times of an emergency. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) supports this aspect of Total Defence. Hence, it is crucial to rope in Singaporeans to help their neighbours in time of emergencies as emergency resources are scarced.   To reinforce the numbers of SCDF regulars, volunteers are needed and trained in first aid, rescue and evacuation procedures and shelter management.

Economic Defence is the continual maintenance of our economy to compete with other countries. This is done through remaining relevant in the global economy and implement economic systems to make sure that the Singapore economy does not collapse in times of crisis.

Social Defence is about keeping the social fabric strong and ensuring that Singaporeans live in harmony regardless of race or religion. This is important because Singapore is a multi-racial and multi-religious society.

Psychological Defence is about loyalty, commitment to Singapore, and having the will power and resilience to overcome challenges. This is the component that would determine if Singaporeans will stay to fight or abandon the country when it is in trouble.

The Total Defence Concept is now on its 26 years of implemenation since 1984 where each and every Singaporean has a part to play to keep our country safe and secured. However, no matter how powerful the Total Defence concept is, it will come to nought if we do not embrace it and adopt the “who cares” attitude. Today is 15 February, it is time for us to reflect on how we can keep our country safe and secured without war, terrorism and domestic conflicts in race, language and religion.

No Chinese New Year Reunion Dinners 68 Years Ago….

68 years ago, the eve of Chinese New Year fell on 14 Feb 1942 but there was no celebration but sadness and anxiety. The streets were empty as there were no one on the street. Shops with shutters were rolled down. There were no re-union dinners,  families were separated or broken and deaths were imminent. These scenes were described by my late mother. Bombs destroyed her neighbour’s home but she and her family members were safe, otherwise I would not be here to blog. 

1 million people sought shelters at the city to await for their uncertain future as 14 Feb 1942 was the day the last battle for control of Singapore was fought at Pasir Panjang area. Earlier  the Japanese had already controlled the Bukit Timah Road’s approach into the city. For the people in Singapore then, there was little hope for the year but fear and trepidation. This is what the new generations cannot understand on the need to treasure peace and not to take peace for granted.

We knew the outcome…. the Great Imperial British Empire surrendered to the Japanese. That signalled the start of the Japanese occupation of 3 years and 6 months. It was not living happily ever after but massacres of civilians after the fall of Singapore. The Japanese changed the name of Singapore to Soynan-to (In Japanese: 昭南島 Shōnan-tō, literally Light-of-the-South Island) and ruled with martial laws.

Although, the British troops was supposed to defend us but the last battle to defend Singapore was not fought by British soldiers but by members of the “C” Company,1st Malay Regiment.  The company was led by a 2nd Lieutenant (2LT). 2LT Adnan Saidi, a platoon commander was entrusted to defend Pasir Panjang Hill. He and his men fought a 2 days running battles with the Japanese from 13 Feb 1942 to 14 Feb 1942.

The battle for Pasir Panjang Hill was one of the fiercest battles that took place in Singapore. The battle was remembered for patriotism, loyalty, bravery, fighting spirit and courage in adversity which were displayed by the soldiers of the Malay Regiment. These soldiers fought till the last man standing instead of surrendering even though they were out-numbered and out-gunned by troops from the Japanese 18th Division.   

The fall of Singapore started to unfold on 8 Feb 1942 with 13,000 Japanese troops making an amphibious landing at Saribum area (North West Sector) and Pulau Tekong (East Sector). The Australians defending the East Sector successfully replused the Japanese’s diversionary attack to mask the main thrust at the North West. The main attacking force, after landing at Saribum, the Japanese advanced force advanced rapidly south towards Pasir Panjang and Bukit Timah with the defending troops withdrawing from their successive defence lines. These troops could not find the motivation to fight but flight to stay alive.

With light resistance, soon the Japanese troops reached Pasir Panjang area. They regrouped and planned to launch the final attack at the city just in case Lt General Percival would not surrender.  I wondered what would be the numbers of casualties if the Japanese really launched the attack. It might be very high as there were 1 million people in the city.

To gain access to the city, the ridge of Pasir Panjang was of strategic important. The capture of the ridge offered another corridor into the Alexandra area  and into the city. Besides offering an unimpeded movement southward, the Japanese would have also overran the British Military Hospital at Alexandra and their supply and ordances bases which would further sink the morale of the defending troops. The hospital and logistical facilities were the last remaining military pride of the defending troops. Therefore, the ridge would be defended at all costs.

The task of defending the ridge was assigned to 2LT Adnan and his men from “C” Company. The company prepared their defensive positions at Pasir Panjang Village. They fought the Japanese 18th Division and held them at bay with rifles and without supporting artillery fires from the nearby British or the Australians. The Britishs and Australians witheld their artillery fires to conserve ammunitions and they were more interested to defend their own defensive positions.  The relentless Japanese’s assaults of a ratio of 10 Japanese to 1 Malay soldiers resulted in high casualties in “C” company in return for delaying the Japanese troops entering the city. After the 1st day battle on 13 Feb 1942, the Malay Regiment’s positions were untenable and 2LT Adnan and his men retreated to Bukit Chandu or the Opium Hill (the name was derived from an opium processing factory at the foot of the hill). Bukit Chandu was their last line to fight for another day. (photo left. source from Yahoo.com)

2LT Adan and his surviving men understood their mission and perhaps they also realised that the next battle would be their last.  Nonetheless, they dug in, ready to defend without fearing deaths.

The Japanese troops made two assaults and 2LT Adnan and his men repulsed the first assault while taking hits and heavy casualties. The second Japanese assault was of greater intensity and it was the beginning of a total destruction for the Malay Regiment. The Malay soldiers were by then had run out of ammunitions. When the Japanese broke through their defence line, soldiers of  the Malay Regiment fought in hand-to-hand combat with bayonets. They fought bravely as one by one, they fell. 2LT Adnan who was injured was captured during the final battle.  The Japanese did not treat his injury or given him the PoW status. Instead, they tied him to a tree and tortured him for putting up a stubborn defence. 2LT Adnan was excuted by the Japanese for his courage to stand against the Japanese troops.    

The Japanese Occupation of Singapore begun on 15 Feb 1942 shortly after 5.15 pm with the hoisting of a the Japanese Rising Sun Flag over the tallest building in Singapore, the Cathay Building. The Japanese flag was to maximise the psychological impact of the official surrender. All hostilities were ceased at 8.30 pm on 15 Feb 1942. The Japanese were now the conqueror and they now could do what they liked without fear of anyone and not even the United States.

After the surrender, the Japanese massacred  many Chinese whom they were suspicious of being anti-Japanese and those who had supported China in the Sino-Japanese War in the Sook Ching Operations. Other races in Singapore were also not spared and the residents suffered great hardships. Basic essentials were rationed.

My late mother accounted her experience during the Japanese Occupation. One account which etched in my mind was the atrocities committed by the Japanese troops of killing infants and expectant mothers. Those who steal were shot without trial and their corpses’ were displayed to warn others. I may not have seen these brutal acts, but the imagination caused discomfort and what if these victims were my kins?  I counted myself lucky for not being there on 15 Feb 1942. 

I have taken the defence of Singapore seriously till this day. I do not know how the Gen Y’s thinking on serving national service. Many would prefer to be left alone and let others defend the country for them while they pursue their interests, lifestyles and wealth. The first Iraq-Kuwait war in the 1989 was one such example, where the Kuwaitis’ defence buckled in a couple of hours against the onslaught of the Iraqis as there was no motivation to fight to defend the country. It may happen to us again as after three generations, the mindset of the new generation on defence our country may have changed in relations to societal and environmental changes. My mother who had witnessed the war had passed away at the age of 82 and soon the post war generation which is my generation are counting our days. We could only leave the defence to the next generation.

I leave it to reader to ponder over lives under occupation by a foreign power.

Watch out for Part 2 on 15 Feb 2010.