SAF Marks Total Defence Day in 50th Year of Formation

Second Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing delivering his speech at the N.E.mation! 9 Awards Ceremony at VivoCity.

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) commemorated Total Defence Day this evening with a Weapons Presentation Ceremony on board the Landing Ship Tank (LST) RSS Endurance for the recruits of the 9th Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment (9 SIR). The ceremony, held for the first time on board an LST, is significant as these recruits were presented with their rifles for the first time. It signifies taking on responsibility of not only their rifles but also the defence of the country as National Servicemen. The ceremony was held at 6.20pm which was the time that the British surrendered to the Japanese in 1942.

Present at the commemorative event were Second Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing, Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Ng Chee Meng, Chief of Air Force Major-General (MG) Hoo Cher Mou, Chief of Navy Rear-Admiral Lai Chung Han, Chief of Army MG Perry Lim, senior SAF officers and pioneers.

Earlier in the day, Mr Chan was also the Guest of Honour at the N.E.mation! 9 awards presentation ceremony where he presented prizes to the winning teams. Millennium Dragons from CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School was awarded the top prize, a fully-sponsored learning trip to visit renowned animation studios in the United States. HigherThanYou from Cedar Girls' School, and Chunky Monkeys from Singapore Chinese Girls' School were the first and second runners-up respectively. These students competed with more than 1,700 others to produce animation clips around the theme of "Believing in Singapore: Because This is Home". The theme was developed with the National Library Board in consultation with the SG50 Economic and International committee in support of SG50 celebrations. The stories reflected on the values, principles and convictions that will continue to shape the home that we want for Singapore and our future generations.

During the awards ceremony, Mr Chan highlighted the role of pioneers in nation-building and commended the students for producing clips that reflected the spirit of our pioneers and their contributions. Addressing the students, he said, "Your efforts have also paid tribute to the pioneer generation, who so believed and gave us this country of ours. If the 1965 generation did not believe in this country, then we would never be called Singaporeans today." On the note that 2015 marks 50 years of the formation of the SAF, Mr Chan said, "The most powerful weapon that Singapore and the SAF have is... the desire and the willingness to fight for our independence, to remain independent so that we can determine our destiny for years and generations to come."

After witnessing the Weapons Presentation Ceremony, Mr Chan viewed the Ceremonial Sunset - a long-standing naval tradition - on board the RSS Endurance. Total Defence Day is held annually on 15 February to mark the day Singapore fell to the Japanese during World War II in 1942. It reminds us that we cannot take our defence and security for granted and that everyone has a part to play in defending our country.

REC Aiman Hafiz Bin Nor Anuar receiving his SAR-21 weapon from Commanding Officer of the 9th Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Darren Ler.

Mr Chan with the winning team Millennium Dragons from CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School.

Mr Chan with pioneers before the Weapons Presentation Ceremony and Ceremonial Sunset.

Navy personnel taking part in the Ceremonial Sunset on board the RSS Endurance.

More Resources

Fact Sheet: About N.E.mation! 9

Speech by Second Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing at The N.E.Mation! 9 Awards Ceremony

Tribute clip to SAF wins top prize at animation competition