ACCORD
The Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD) engages employers, educational institutions, families and the community to strengthen public support for National Service and Total Defence.
Last updated 21 August 2025
The Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD) was established by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in January 1984 as a channel for the community to provide feedback on issues concerning Singapore's defence.
Following recommendations from the Committee to Strengthen National Service (CSNS) in 2014, MINDEF reviewed the structure of ACCORD to deepen engagement with employers, educational institutions, family members and members of the broader community, as well as to facilitate initiatives from the community that better support national defence and National Service (NS).
ACCORD was restructured with three Councils formed under its ambit, namely, the Employer and Business (E&B), Family and Community (F&C) and Educational Institutions (EI) Councils.
ACCORD members
In the ACCORD term 2024 – 2026, ACCORD is co-chaired by Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Defence and Sustainability and the Environment, and Mr Desmond Choo, Minister of State (MOS) for Defence. Currently, SMS Zaqy co-chairs the Employer and Business (E&B) Council with Mr Kok Ping Soon, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Business Federation, and the Educational Institutions (EI) Council with Ms Jasmin Lau, Minister of State for Ministry of Education and Digital Development and Information. MOS Choo currently co-chairs the Family and Community (F&C) Council with Ms Trina Liang, Managing Director, Sidra Capital.
ACCORD MEMBERS | |||
S/N | Name and Appointment | S/N | Name and Appointment |
1. | Mr Zaqy Mohamad Senior Minister of State Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment Co-Chair of ACCORD Main, E&B and EI Council | 2. | Mr Desmond Choo Minister of State for Defence Co-Chair of ACCORD Main and F&C Council |
3. | Mr Kok Ping Soon Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Business Federation Co-Chair of ACCORD E&B Council | 4. | Ms Trina Liang Managing Director, Sidra Capital Co-Chair of ACCORD F&C Council |
5. | Ms Jasmin Lau Minister of State Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Digital Development and Information Co-Chair of ACCORD EI Council | 6. | Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim Member of Parliament, Fengshan (East Coast GRC) ACCORD Main Council |
7. | Ms He Ting Ru Member of Parliament, Sengkang GRC ACCORD Main Council | 8. | Mr Lee Hong Chuang Member of Parliament, Jurong East – Bukit Batok GRC ACCORD Main Council |
9. | Mr Alan Goh Chief Executive Officer, Sport Singapore | 10. | Mr Alfred Fox Chief People & Culture Officer, Surbana Jurong Group |
11. | Ms Alice Seow Principal, ITE College West | 12. | Mr Anbarasu Rajendran Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Indian Development Association |
13. | Mr Ang Yuit President, Association of Small & Medium Enterprises | 14. | Mr Azhar Bin Othman Deputy President, Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry |
15. | Mr Benjamin Boh President, Restaurant Association of Singapore | 16. | COL(NS) Chew Heng Wee NS Commander |
17. | Prof Christian Wolfrum Deputy President and Provost, Nanyang Technological University | 18. | DAC(NS) Darric Teo Chai Jing NS Commander, SPF ‘J’ Division |
19. | Mr Dave Ng Chairman, Singapore Logistics Association | 20. | Mr David Chua Chief Executive Officer, National Youth Council |
21. | Ms Dawn Teo 2nd Vice President, Singapore Hotel Association | 22. | Mr Edward Leong Chief Executive Officer, SAFRA National Service Association |
23. | Mr Ernie Koh President, Singapore Retailers Association | 24. | Mr Gavin Kinch Principal, Anglo-Chinese School (International) |
25. | Mr Hao Shuo Chief Executive Officer, Singapore National Employers Federation | 26. | Ms Jeanne Liew Principal & CEO, Republic Polytechnic |
27. | Mr Jens Rübbert President, European Chamber of Commerce (Singapore) and Vice-President, Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce | 28. | Mr Kenneth Lee Director, Character and Citizenship Education, Ministry of Education |
29. | Mr Kho Choon Keng President, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry | 30. | Mr Kia Siang Wei Group Director (Partnerships), People's Association |
31. | Ms Koh Yan Ping Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations | 32. | Ms Lee Siew Li Executive Director, Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations |
33. | Mr Lennon Tan President, Singapore Manufacturing Federation | 34. | Mr Loh Chee Kong Chief Editor, CNA Digital and TODAY |
35. | Ms Low Peck Kem President, Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI) and Chief HR Officer and Advisor (Workforce Development), Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office | 36. | Mr Martino Tan Deputy Managing Director and Managing Editor, Mothership.sg |
37. | Mr Neil Parekh Nimil Rajnikant Chairman, Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry | 38. | Mr Nicholas Alchin Head of College, United World College of South East Asia |
39. | Prof Phoon Kok Kwang President, Singapore University of Technology and Design | 40. | Ms Samantha Tan Digital Content Creator, SGAG |
41. | Ms Stefanie Ang Head of Division, Team Nila, Sport Singapore | 42. | Mr Stephen Geoffrey Miller President, Australian Chamber of Commerce Singapore |
43. | Ms Shona Lall Executive Director, Heartware Network | 44. | LTC(NS) Suhaimi Bin Zainul Abidin Chief Executive Officer, Quantedge Capital Pte. Ltd. |
45. | Mrs Tan Chen Kee Deputy Director-General Education (Schools) and Director of Schools, Ministry of Education | 46. | Prof Tan Oon Seng Dean, Special Projects and Centre Director, Singapore Centre of Character & Citizenship Education |
47. | BG(NS) Terry Tan Koon Woo NS Commander | 48. | Ms Tricia Ho Member, Families for Life |
49. | Ms Deepika Sodhi Principal, Global Indian International School (East Coast Campus) | 50. | COL(NS) Yee De Biao Unit Commander, 41A Public Shelter and Resilience Unit |
51. | Mr Zakir Hussain Associate Editor, The Straits Times, SPH Media | 52 | Mdm Zuraidah Abdullah Chief Executive Officer, Yayasan MENDAKI |
Key achievements
The fifth (25 August 2022 to 24 August 2024) term of ACCORD not only deepened engagement with their targeted stakeholders but achieved the following tangible outcomes through the respective councils:
The ACCORD Employer & Business (E&B) Council recognised 347 business partners for their support of NSmen and engaged businesses to reach out to 57,000 NSmen. In addition, two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) were signed to promote lifelong learning for NSmen.
The ACCORD Family & Community (F&C) Council engaged over 1,000 families through Pre-NS Talks and expanded support for NS abroad, involving over 2,000 pre-enlistees and their families in virtual visits to the Basic Military Training Centre. Separately, the outcome for community and women's support nearly doubled, thanks to outreach efforts of the council and its partners.
The ACCORD Educational Institutions (EI) Council prepared over 11,500 pre-enlistees for NS through the NS Info Sharing Sessions and engaged 13,000 students in Total Defence exercises. The council and its partners also reached out to 3,000 post-NS youths to bolster their commitment to Singapore. ACCORD's participation in TD40 and their commitment to driving ground-up initiatives significantly contributed to the success of the inaugural Exercise SG Ready and TD Convention.
The full details of the fifth term of ACCORD’s achievement can be downloaded here [PDF, 5 MB]
About the NS Mark
In 2013, the Committee to Strengthen National Service (CSNS) recommended the introduction of an NS Mark accreditation scheme to strengthen community recognition and support for NS. The Advisory Council for Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD) led the development of the accreditation scheme, through extensive consultations between the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the Singapore Armed Forces and the various stakeholder groups.
Launched in August 2016, NS Mark is a national-level accreditation scheme that recognises businesses and organisations which have put in place policies and human resource practices that support NS and Total Defence (TD). These include initiatives which support NSmen in better balancing their family, work and NS commitments. The scheme also aims to rally stronger community support for NS with the NS Mark recipients leading by example.
Click here for more information on NS Mark and its application process.
About the Total Defence Awards
The Total Defence Awards (TDA) were first introduced in 1986 to recognise businesses - specifically employers and civil resource owners - for their contributions towards Total Defence. Both CSNS and ACCORD recommended enhancing awards for companies with pro-NS policies or human resource practices, and individuals or employers who are supportive of NS.
The revamped TDA was launched in 2015 to recognise a broader spectrum of NS advocates beyond businesses, to include educational institutions, family and community organisations as well as individuals. The Home Team NS Awards has also been integrated with the TDA. The revamped TDA, which comprises a single highest tier award - the NS Advocate Award - aims to strengthen advocacy for NS by encouraging others to play their part in supporting our national servicemen.
The TDA consists of the NS Advocate Award across four categories - Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Large Companies, Organisations and Individuals. The NS Advocate Award is the highest accolade awarded to individuals, businesses or organisations for their exemplary support towards Total Defence and in particular, NS. From 2017 onwards, the top NS Mark (Gold) accredited companies and organisations would be selected for the NS Advocate Award. The NS Advocate Award is conferred for a period of three years, and will be presented at the annual TDA.