Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen presented the Minister for Defence Award to 10 employers and civil resource owners at the Total Defence Awards (TDAs) presentation ceremony this evening. This is the highest accolade conferred on organisations which have shown exemplary support towards Total Defence.

In his speech, Dr Ng highlighted that strong support towards Total Defence has allowed Singapore to respond well to crises. Citing the recent haze situation as an example, he noted how individual Singaporeans and companies rallied together to protect the health of the vulnerable groups and to ensure smooth business operations. "These responses give us some assurance that our efforts in Total Defence are bearing fruit," he said.

Dr Ng also thanked the TDA recipients for their contributions. He said, "Without your strong support and unstinting commitment to NS (National Service), we would not have a strong SAF (Singapore Armed Forces), capable of deterring threats and defending Singapore." He added that employers who have gone the extra mile to support their Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen) during In-Camp Trainings have helped to ensure that the SAF remained at a high state of readiness at all times. 

The award presentation at The Ritz-Carlton was held as part of Total Defence Symposium 2013, which was organised to further strengthen the partnership between the Ministry of Defence, employers and civil resource owners. Earlier on, Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing chaired a panel discussion at the Employers' Forum, where employers shared and discussed about the best practices to support NS. Also present at the forum were Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Ng Chee Meng, Chief of Army Major-General Ravinder Singh, as well as members from the Committee to Strengthen National Service and the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence.

Support for Total Defence by employers and civil resource owners has grown steadily over the years, from 399 organisations honoured for their outstanding contributions in 2010 to 522 organisations this year.