Senior Minister of State for Defence joins more than 700 families at 'Celebrating NS50' Picnic

Senior Minister of State for Defence and Chairman of the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD), Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, joined more than 700 families at the Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC) this evening for the Families for Life 'Celebrating NS50' Picnic. The National Service (NS)-themed picnic is jointly organised by the Families for Life Council and SDC, and is one of the ACCORD Family and Community (F&C) Council's ground-up initiatives to commemorate 50 years of National Service (NS50).

As part of his visit, Dr Maliki interacted with families and cheered on their children as they attempted the indoor mini obstacle course. Speaking at the event, Dr Maliki said that family support is the strongest form of motivation for national servicemen. He said, "Our boys (and) men have been in NS for the last 50 years, and not just them, but their family members and their employers in every sector in Singapore have shown support for NS. This year we celebrate NS50, I am very happy to see the celebrations coming out from all walks of life. We see partners from all the community coming together… We are also very happy to see an organisation like ACCORD working very hard to partner all the other community organisations." Dr Maliki added, "We look forward to such support, we look forward to us celebrating NS100, so that Singapore can continue to prosper, the next generation will continue to have what they have today, and hand over what we are giving to them to the next generation."

Mr Ching Wei Hong, Families for Life Council Chairman and ACCORD member, added, "Families play a key role in supporting our national servicemen, enabling them to focus on their commitment in upholding our nation's defence. It is heart-warming to see many past and present national servicemen with their families at the 'Celebrating NS50' Picnic today, strengthening their familial ties over food, activities and conversations. The Families for Life Council is happy to collaborate with the ACCORD F&C Council on this initiative, and looks forward to more joint efforts that help to strengthen families' support for national servicemen."

As part of the picnic, families had the opportunity to view a static display of Army vehicles, such as the V200 Armoured Personnel Carrier and the Light Strike Vehicle, and try out the Individual Marksmanship Trainer, as well as take part in activities such as camouflage face-painting and trying on of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) uniforms. Picnic-goers also learnt about and deepened their appreciation for NS through the NS50 and National Day Parade exhibitions. They also had the chance to go on a guided coach tour of SAFTI MI and Pasir Laba Camp, conducted for the public for the first time, where they caught a rare glimpse of SAF officers' training grounds, such as the SAFTI Tower, SAFTI MI Parade Square, Peng Kang Hill, Multi-Mission Range Complex, and Leaders' Square. To end off the picnic, families were also treated to a movie screening of 'Boss Baby' under the stars.

ACCORD was established by the Ministry of Defence in January 1984 as a channel for the community to provide feedback on issues concerning Singapore's defence. Following the Committee to Strengthen NS (CSNS)'s recommendations in 2014, ACCORD was restructured into three Councils formed under its main ambit - an Employer and Business (E&B) Council, an Educational Institutions (EI) Council, and a Family and Community (F&C) Council - to better engage the business, education and community sectors. The F&C Council aims to garner support and engender greater commitment to NS and defence from key stakeholders - family, community, women, New Citizens, and Permanent Residents - through raising their awareness of NS and the need for defence, deepening the engagement with them, and providing support and recognition for their contributions to NS.

In addition to the 'Celebrating NS50' Picnic, other ACCORD F&C Council ground-up initiatives to commemorate NS50 include the Dads For Life Camp @ Army Open House 2017 in May, as well as the "We Support YOU in NS" initiative which seeks to show support for NS and appreciation for our national servicemen by partnering merchants and retailers to offer discounts and privileges.