Speech by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the National Day Parade Appreciation Function

Good evening,
Chief of Defence Force,
Chief of Army,
Chief of Navy,
Chairman EXCO of the organising committee,
and most of all,
All of you.

Introduction

Tonight's dinner is really a small token of appreciation for a very big thank you for all your hard work and your sponsorship. Every National Day is a very warm event and I know that there are many months of preparation as we have seen in the slides and the pictures. For the previews, some of us go down; myself, CDF, Chief of Army, Chief of Navy, Chief of Air Force because we know that the many of the participants are there from 10am and they don’t finish till at night. As Alvin was sharing with me, because you commit to it through so many months, some of you witnessed change-of-life events. He was sharing with me how somebody had been without a job during the initial phases of the preparations but the good news was that while he was participating, he found a job. The other one was quite a sad story. Her husband had passed away, and she had, despite having the wake on Wednesday and Saturday, insisted that she would still be one of the participants. When I spoke to the participants, I sensed that they were not doing this because they were asked.

There's a real commitment over the months, and for many of them they have participated year after year in their own ways, I enjoy talking to them and just asking them in different ways how often have they done this, why do they do this, and I get very frank answers and I know they are sincere answers. But of course the challenge for us, MINDEF and the organizing committee that we appoint each year, is that with each passing year it becomes even more challenging. You saw all the visual spectacle of it, we're very thankful for your sponsorship and for your enthusiasm, but for every new organizing committee, it's a tough job.

How do you outdo last year's show? Public expectations have become much higher and I can imagine the organizing committee's difficulty and dilemma. If I stick to the tried and tested, people will say it's so boring seeing the same thing year after year. But if I try something new, I take a risk as there may be people who say I don't like this. And I hear that even for this year's show, some people like certain things, while some people don't .

Whatever it is, it is harder to please and through these social media platforms, you can be sure that we get instantaneous feedback even while the show is going on. And Singaporeans are more forthcoming and candid in their feedback and you have to just accept this as a new norm but continue to be focused on what this parade means. I want to thank all of you for your commitment to give of your best and despite rising expectations, you were able to maintain high standards that everyone expects of our NDP. So well done to all of you and I am particularly thankful and grateful that this year's NDP was such a success.

As you remember, it incorporated traditional elements but refreshed with new items. There was of course the ever popular parade and ceremony segment and for those of you who watched it, the dynamic defence display was cleverly introduced through a boy's dreams of being the commander.

The sing-along in the prologue was lively and roused the audience to get into the right mood - there was a song for everyone, for every generation, including the popular "Home". I know that many Singaporeans especially liked the Onward March, where for this year differently, they marched through the audience. It was a visual spectacle that moved the crowd. There was a rich tapestry of dance, song and theatre enhanced by a multimedia experience. It took a few weeks for us to sharpen it, and from feedback, I think it worked very well on the final day. The physical props also were impactful. The Cube wowed the people. In fact, the most common complaint was, 'there is too much going on, I think I missed something.' But that's what a good show is. They say if they can see everything, then we’d probably haven't given them enough. The fireworks synchronized to music and the lasers lighting up Raffles Place, and many people were really wowed by that. All in all, the organising committee deserves congratulations for a job very well done. Some spectators that I spoke to said that this was their best NDP so far.

Apart from the celebrations on the day itself, this is an event that brings Singaporeans together. The range of outreach events such as the Step Up Singapore Dance Campaign, the NDP 11 - FLIP Video design competition and the NDPeeps portal ensured that our National Day celebrations reached out to all Singaporeans. The NDPeeps portal has now become a mainstay of the social media landscape and has amassed more than 50,000 members. We will continue to tap on this wide variety of channels and platforms to engage as many Singaporeans as possible at home and abroad.

Tribute to Participants

This is a Singaporeans' show. It is a show about ourselves, not a show that we put up to impress people, and it is a show that we want to bring ourselves together. And it is made possible only through the hard work and determination of thousands of participants, 16,000 all in all, volunteers, partner organizations and, of course, the SAF.

There is an outpouring of thanks and appreciation from the public through print and social media and I would also like to extend my appreciation to the corporate and individual sponsors who made this all possible by your generous contributions to our celebrations.

Let me share two online contributions. This particular online blogger said "Unity is the sense of togetherness with different people working together for a common goal". And another said, "The Singapore Spirit is a spirit that every Singaporean has." So these individual affirmations and expressions are basically how we gauge whether we have been successful with rousing and reminding Singaporeans that there are certain things worth fighting for in Singapore, and that there are certain things that bring us together. So "Majulah! The Singapore Spirit" has certainly been a good theme and reminded us that we need to come together as one united people.

I hope that you have enjoyed this experience and I hope that you leave this NDP 2011 with fond memories, wonderful stories, and good friendships. I wish all of you every success in the coming year, and look forward to your continued support for every National Day Parade in the years ahead.

Thank you very much.

More Resources

MINDEF thanks NDP 2011 Participating Organisations and Sponsors