Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Zaqy Mohamad was the Guest-of-Honour at the 2021 Total Defence Day Commemoration Event held at the Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC) today. The event, organised annually by the Ministry of Defence, was also streamed live on the We are Total Defence Facebook page. In his opening remarks, Mr Zaqy described how Total Defence has guided Singapore's fight against COVID-19, and how our collective efforts have enabled the nation to navigate through the pandemic.
Read MoreIn 1965, The Float @ Marina Bay in front of us did not exist. The reservoir upon which this platform is floating on did not exist. The constantly evolving and unfolding skyline on the shores of this reservoir that you see in front of us also did not exist. Singapore has come a long way since independence. In the last 54 years, we have built a home that we can be immensely proud of.
Read MoreSenior Minister of State for Trade & Industry and Education Mr Chee Hong Tat officiated at the N.E.mation! 2019 awards presentation ceremony at the School of the Arts, Singapore this afternoon, where he presented prizes to the winning teams from the Student and the Youth Categories.
Read MoreThe Ministry of Communications and Information, and the Ministry of Defence today launched "Digital Defence" as Singapore's sixth pillar of Total Defence. The launch was officiated by Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-Charge of Cybersecurity Mr S Iswaran, who called on Singaporeans to take steps to be secure, alert and responsible online, and come together as a nation to keep Singapore safe, in both the real and virtual worlds as the nation advances towards a digital future. The Total Defence Day Commemoration Event was also attended by Senior Minister of State for Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman and Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Ms Sim Ann at the Fort Canning Green.
Read MoreMinister for Trade and Industry Mr Chan Chun Sing, along with some 100 participants at the inaugural Maritime Nation Forum, commemorated Total Defence (TD) Day on its eve this afternoon at the Singapore Maritime Gallery. TD Day is commemorated annually on 15 February to mark the day Singapore fell to the Japanese during World War II in 1942. After the TD Day commemoration segment, Mr Chan held a dialogue session with the participants discussing the challenges that Singapore faces as a maritime nation. Participants at the Maritime Nation Forum included professionals from Singapore's maritime industry and security sectors, students from post-secondary education institutions, and members of the INSPIRIT community from the National Youth Council. Also present at the event were the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) Head Naval Operations Rear-Admiral Ken Cheong, President of the Association of Singapore Marine Industries Mr Abu Bakar Bin Mohd Nor, and Assistant Chief Executive (Development) Miss Tan Beng Tee.
Read MoreN.E.mation! is an annual inter-school digital animation competition organised by Nexus, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF)'s Central National Education Office, for students from secondary schools and pre-university centres to express their thoughts on Total Defence. The competition has been very well received since its launch in 2007, reaching more than 16,000 participants over the last 10 years. With the help of industry professionals, students with no experience in animation were trained to produce broadcast-quality clips for many platforms, including free-to-air television. Some of these clips have won awards at international animation festivals.
Read MoreThis weekend Singaporeans will celebrate the Chinese New Year. All over Singapore, families will gather to feast and wish one another good fortune and health. In 1942, the Chinese New Year was also in February, 15th February to be exact. But on that day, there were no celebrations. Instead people feared for their lives when Singapore fell to Japanese invaders. Hope was lost as the future seemed ominous and uncertain.
Read More"We have to remain united regardless of how we see our social aspirations. We have to be able to uphold this diversity and stay united as one people, and say that being together regardless of our diversity is what makes us strong. And the values we get if we work through those issues is what gives us our resilience and our strength, and our adaptability to handle whatever life throws at us. Whether it is the Japanese occupation or the much less dramatic things that we have experienced since then. We talk about SARS, the financial crisis, various other disasters, but they pale in comparison to the reason why we celebrate, or honour, Total Defence Day, on the day that we do. Because it is not really something to celebrate. It is something to remember, and make sure it never happens ever again."
Read More"Minister of State for Communications & Information and Education, Dr Janil Puthucheary, officiated at the N.E.mation! 11 awards presentation ceremony at the National Gallery Singapore this afternoon, where he presented prizes to the winning teams of the annual N.E.mation! competition. This includes the champion team, MADEit from Cedar Girls' Secondary School, as well as the first and second runners-up cedar3 from Cedar Girls' Secondary School and [Blank Space] from Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School respectively."
Read More"But the responsibility to defend Singapore ultimately rests on Singaporeans and Singaporeans alone. 50 years ago, we pledged at the founding of our nation that we would never allow the circumstances that occurred in 1942 to recur. NS for all Singaporean males was started so that we could build a strong SAF that can defend Singapore."
Read More