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| 27 Sep 2019 11:00 (GMT+8)

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.

COLLAPSE ALL
ACCORD MEMBERS

In the ACCORD term 2024 – 2026, ACCORD is co-chaired by Mr Heng Chee How, Senior Minister of State for Defence, and Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower. SMS Heng 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 Mr Shawn Huang, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education & Finance. SMS Zaqy 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 Heng Chee How

Senior Minister of State for Defence

Co-Chair of ACCORD (Main), (E&B) and (EI)

2.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad

Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower

Co-Chair of ACCORD (Main) and (F&C)

3.

Mr Kok Ping Soon

Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Business Federation

Co-Chair of ACCORD (E&B)

4.

Ms Trina Liang

Managing Director, Sidra Capital

Co-Chair of ACCORD (F&C)

5.

Mr Shawn Huang

Senior Parliamentary Secretary

Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance

Co-Chair of ACCORD (EI)

6.

Mr Don Wee Boon Hong

Member of Parliament, Chua Chu Kang GRC

7.

Ms He Ting Ru

Member of Parliament, Sengkang GRC

8.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim

Member of Parliament, Chua Chu Kang GRC

9.

Mr Neil Parekh Nimil Rajnikant

Nominated Member of Parliament and Chairman, Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry

10.

Mr Alan Goh

Chief Executive Officer, Sport Singapore

11.

Mr Alfred Fox

Chief People & Culture Officer, Surbana Jurong Group

12.

Ms Alice Seow

Principal, ITE College West

13.

Mr Anbarasu Rajendran

Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Indian Development Association

14.

Mr Ang Yuit

President, Association of Small & Medium Enterprises

15.

Mr Azhar Bin Othman

Deputy President, Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry

16.

Mr Benjamin Boh

President, Restaurant Association of Singapore

17.

COL(NS) Chew Heng Wee

NS Commander

18.

Mr Chris Coburn

President, Australian Chamber of Commerce, Singapore

19.

DAC(NS) Darric Teo Chai Jing

NS Commander, SPF ‘J’ Division

 

20.

Mr Dave Ng

Chairman, Singapore Logistics Association

21.

Mr David Chua

Chief Executive Officer, National Youth Council

22.

Ms Dawn Teo

2nd Vice President, Singapore Hotel Association

23.

BG(NS) Dinesh Vasu Dash

Chief Executive Officer, Agency for Integrated Care

24.

Mr Edward Leong

Chief Executive Officer, SAFRA National Service Association

25.

Mr Ernie Koh

President, Singapore Retailers Association

26.

Ms Deepika Sodhi

Principal, Global Indian International School (East Coast Campus)

27.

Mr Hao Shuo

Chief Executive Officer, Singapore National Employers Federation

28.

Mr Gavin Kinch

Principal, Anglo-Chinese School (International)

29.

Ms Jeanne Liew

Principal & CEO, Republic Polytechnic

30.

Mr Jens Rübbert

President, European Chamber of Commerce (Singapore) and Vice-President, Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce

31.

Mr Kenneth Lee

Director, Character and Citizenship Education, Ministry of Education

32.

Mr Kho Choon Keng

President, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry

33.

Mr Kia Siang Wei

Group Director (Partnerships), People's Association

34.

Ms Koh Yan Ping

Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations

35.

Ms Lee Siew Li

Executive Director, Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations

36.

Mr Lennon Tan

President, Singapore Manufacturing Federation

37.

Prof Ling San

Deputy President and Provost, Nanyang Technological University

38.

Mr Loh Chee Kong

Chief Editor, CNA Digital and TODAY

39.

Ms Low Peck Kem

Chief HR Officer and Advisor (Workforce Development), Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office and President, Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management

40.

Mr Martino Tan

Deputy Managing Director and Managing Editor, Mothership.sg

41.

Mr Nicholas Alchin

Head of College, United World College of South East Asia

42.

Prof Phoon Kok Kwang

President, Singapore University of Technology and Design

43.

Ms Samantha Tan

Digital Content Creator, SGAG

44.

Ms Shona Lall

Executive Director, Heartware Network

45.

Ms Stefanie Ang

Head of Division, Team Nila, Sport Singapore

46.

LTC(NS) Suhaimi Bin Zainul Abidin

Chief Executive Officer, Quantedge Capital Pte. Ltd.

47.

Mrs Tan Chen Kee

Deputy Director-General Education (Schools) and Director of Schools, Ministry of Education

48.

Prof Tan Oon Seng

Dean, Special Projects and Centre Director, Singapore Centre of Character & Citizenship Education

49.

Ms Tricia Ho

Member, Families for Life

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 found here

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.

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