Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD)

Actions
| 27 Sep 2019 11:00 (GMT+8)

The Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD) was established by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in January 1984 as a channel for the community to provide feedback on issues concerning Singapore's defence.

Following recommendations from the Committee to Strengthen National Service (CSNS) in 2014, MINDEF reviewed the structure of ACCORD to deepen engagement with employers, educational institutions, family members and members of the broader community, as well as to facilitate initiatives from the community that better support national defence and National Service (NS).

ACCORD was restructured with three Councils formed under its ambit, namely, the Employer and Business (E&B), Family and Community (F&C) and Educational Institutions (EI) Councils.

EXPAND ALL
ACCORD Main

ACCORD (Main) maintains oversight and synergises the Councils' efforts and serves as a channel to represent the views of stakeholder groups (including the three Councils) on defence matters.

ACCORD (Main) is co-chaired by the Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Heng Chee How and Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower Mr Zaqy Mohamad.

Membership

ACCORD (Main)

S/N

Name and Appointment

S/N

Name and Appointment

1.

 Mr Heng Chee How

 Senior Minister of State for Defence

 Co-Chair of ACCORD (Main), (E&B) and (EI)

2.

 Mr Zaqy Mohamad

 Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower

 Co-Chair of ACCORD (Main) and (F&C)

3.

 Mr Kok Ping Soon

 Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Business Federation

 Co-Chair of ACCORD (E&B)

4.

 Ms Trina Liang

 Managing Director, Sidra Capital

 Co-Chair of ACCORD (F&C)

5.

 Ms Gan Siow Huang

 Minister of State

 Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Manpower

 Co-Chair of ACCORD (EI)

6.

 Mr Don Wee Boon Hong

 Member of Parliament, Chua Chu Kang GRC

7.

 Ms He Ting Ru

 Member of Parliament, Sengkang GRC

 

8.

 Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim

 Member of Parliament, Chua Chu Kang GRC

9.

 Mr Kho Choon Keng

 President, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry

10.

 Mr Kurt Wee

 President, Association of Small & Medium Enterprises

11.

 Mr Abu Bakar Mohd Nor

 President, Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Chairman, M Kapital Holdings Pte. Ltd.

12.

 Ms Low Peck Kem

 Chief HR Officer and Advisor (Workforce Development), Public Service Division, Prime Minister's Office and President, Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management

13.

 BG(RET) Ishak Ismail

 Chairman, Families for Life Council and Principal Consultant, i-Grow Partners Pte Ltd

 

14.

 Mrs Sher-li Torrey

 Founder & Director, Mums@Work and Director, Career Navigators

15.

 Mr Edward Leong

 Chief Executive Officer, SAFRA National Service Association

16.

 Ms Joanna Portilla

 2nd Vice President, Singapore Council of Women's Organization

17.

 Mr Peter Lam

 Principal & CEO, Temasek Polytechnic

 

18.

 Mrs Tan Chen Kee

 Deputy Director-General Education (Schools) and Director of Schools, Ministry of Education

19.

 Mr Nicholas Alchin

 Head of College, United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA)

 

20.

 Ms Melissa Maria

 Principal, Global Indian International School (SMART Campus)

21.

 Prof Tan Eng Chye

 President, National University of Singapore

22.

 Prof Tan Tai Yong

 President, Singapore University of Social Science
ACCORD EMPLOYER & BUSINESS (E&B)

The ACCORD (E&B) Council serves as a forum for better engagement of the business community on NS issues, as well as to strengthen collaboration between the community and MINDEF/the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

Membership

ACCORD (Employer & Business)

S/N

Name and Appointment

S/N

Name and Appointment

1.

 Mr Heng Chee How *

 Senior Minister of State for Defence

 Co-Chair of ACCORD (Main), (E&B) and (EI)

2.

 Mr Kok Ping Soon

 Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Business Federation

 Co-Chair of ACCORD (E&B)

3.

 Mr Kho Choon Keng *

 President, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry

4.

 Mr Lennon Tan

 President, Singapore Manufacturing Federation

5.

 Mr Sim Gim Guan

 Executive Director, Singapore National Employers Federation

6.

 Mr Kurt Wee *

 President, Association of Small & Medium Enterprises

7.

 Mr Abu Bakar Mohd Nor *

 President, Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Chairman, M Kapital Holdings Pte. Ltd.

8.

 Mr Neil Parekh

 Chairman, Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry

9.

 Mr Azhar Othman

 Deputy President, Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry

10.

 Ms Low Peck Kem *

 Chief HR Officer and Advisor (Workforce Development), Public Service Division, Prime Minister's Office and President, Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management

11.

 Dr Claus Georg Albert Trenner

 Honorary Secretary, Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce

12.

 Mr Donato Federico

 Past President, European Chamber of Commerce (Singapore) and Executive Director, Credit Suisse Singapore

13.

 Mr Thomas Sim

 Board Member and Chairman, Human Capital Development, Singapore Logistics Association and Academic Director, The Logistics Academy, Singapore Logistics Association

14.

 Mr Alfred Fox

 Chief Executive Officer, AETOS Holdings Pte Ltd and Chief People & Culture Officer, Surbana Jurong Group

15.

 COL(NS) Tan Khong Wee

 COS(DIV HUB), HQ 3DIV and Director, L-TAC Machine Tools Pte Ltd

16.

 Mr Ernie Koh

 President, Singapore Retailers Association

17.

 Mr Haslam Preeston

 Vice-President, British Chamber of Commerce Singapore and Director of Human Resources (SEA), Dairy Farm International Retail Group

* denotes members that are also represented in ACCORD (Main)

ACCORD FAMILY & COMMUNITY (F&C)

The ACCORD (F&C) Council recognises that there is a role everyone can play in the defence of our nation, regardless of one's age and gender. The council focuses on engaging the community, including women to raise their awareness of NS and gender greater support for NS and defence. One notable initiative of ACCORD (F&C) is the "We Support NS" Campaign that rallies the support of our merchants, businesses and community to show support for NS and recognising the contributions of our national servicemen in their own ways.

Membership

ACCORD (Family & Community)

S/N

Name and Appointment

S/N

Name and Appointment

1.

 Mr Zaqy Mohamad *

 Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower

 Co-Chair of ACCORD (Main) and (F&C)

2.

 Ms Trina Liang *

 Managing Director, Sidra Capital

 Co-Chair of ACCORD (F&C)

3.

 BG(RET) Ishak Ismail *

 Chairman, Families for Life Council and Principal Consultant, i-Grow Partners Pte Ltd

4.

 DAC (NS) Patrick Daniel Han Chi Kwang

 NS Commander, SPF 'E' Division, Mentor and Director, Work Injury Compensation Department, Occupational Safety and Health Division, Ministry of Manpower

5.

 Mr Edward Leong *

 Chief Executive Officer, SAFRA National Service Association

6.

 Mr Kia Siang Wei

 Group Director (Partnerships), People's Association

7.

 Ms Joanna Portilla *

 2nd Vice President, Singapore Council of Women's Organization

8.

 Mrs Sher-Li Torrey *

 Founder & Director, Mums@Work and Director, Career Navigators

9.

 Mr Mark Mah

 Executive Director, Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations

10.

 COL (NS) Darren Tan

 Commander 27th Singapore Infantry Brigade and Member, SGFamilies

11.

 COL(NS) Yee De Biao

 Unit Commander, 41A Public Shelter and Resilience Unit and Director, Credit Suisse

12.

 Ms Tan See Leng

 Executive Director, HeartWare Network

13.

 Madam Zuraidah Abdullah

 Chief Executive Officer, Yayasan MENDAKI

14.

 Mr Anbarasu Rajendran

 Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Indian Development Association

15.

 Mr Kor Kian Beng

 Deputy Chief Editor, TODAY

* denotes members that are also represented in ACCORD (Main)


ACCORD EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS (EI)

The ACCORD (EI) Council aims to raise the awareness of, and boost the support and recognition for NS among students, parents and educators in MOE schools/Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), as well as the Foreign System Schools (FSSs) and Privately Funded Institutions (PFIs).

Membership

ACCORD (Educational Institutions)

S/N

Name and Appointment

S/N

Name and Appointment

1.

 Mr Heng Chee How *

 Senior Minister of State for Defence

 Co-Chair of ACCORD (Main), (E&B) and (EI)

2.

 Ms Gan Siow Huang *

 Minister of State

 Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Manpower

 Co-Chair of ACCORD (EI)

3.

 Mr Peter Lam *

 Principal & CEO, Temasek Polytechnic

4.

 Ms Alice Seow

 Principal, ITE College West

5.

 Mr Nicholas Alchin *

 Head of College, United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA)

6.

 Mrs Tan Chen Kee *

 Deputy Director-General Education (Schools) and Director of Schools, Ministry of Education

7.

 Mr Kenneth Lee

 Director, Character & Citizenship Education, Ministry of Education

8.

 Prof Tan Eng Chye *

 President, National University of Singapore

9.

 Prof Tan Tai Yong *

 President, Singapore University of Social Sciences

10.

 Mr Alan Goh

 Chief Executive Officer, Sport Singapore

11.

 Ms Melissa Maria *

 Principal, Global Indian International School (SMART Campus)

12.

 Mr Bradley Bird

 Principal, St Joseph's Institution International School

13.

 Ms Sharma Poonam Kumari

 Cluster Superintendent, East 5, Ministry of Education

14.

 Prof Chua Kee Chaing

 President, Singapore Institute of Technology

15.

 Ms Samantha Ng

 National Youth Council (NYC) INSPIRIT Youth Leader

16.

 Mr David Chua

 Chief Executive Officer, National Youth Council

17.

 Mr Fauzi Aziz

 Digital Content Creator and Marketing Consultant

18.

 Mr Syed Zakir Hussain

 Associate Editor, The Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

19.

 Mr Martino Tan

 Deputy Managing Director & Managing Editor, Mothership

* denotes members that are also represented in ACCORD (Main)

ABOUT THE NS MARK

In 2013, the Committee to Strengthen National Service (CSNS) recommended the introduction of an NS Mark accreditation scheme to strengthen community recognition and support for NS. The Advisory Council for Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD) led the development of the accreditation scheme, through extensive consultations between the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the Singapore Armed Forces and the various stakeholder groups.

Launched in August 2016, NS Mark is a national-level accreditation scheme that recognises businesses and organisations which have put in place policies and human resource practices that support NS and Total Defence (TD). These include initiatives which support NSmen in better balancing their family, work and NS commitments. The scheme also aims to rally stronger community support for NS with the NS Mark recipients leading by example.

Click here for more information on NS Mark and its application process.

ABOUT THE TOTAL DEFENCE AWARDS

The Total Defence Awards (TDA) were first introduced in 1986 to recognise businesses - specifically employers and civil resource owners - for their contributions towards Total Defence. Both CSNS and ACCORD recommended enhancing awards for companies with pro-NS policies or human resource practices, and individuals or employers who are supportive of NS.

The revamped TDA was launched in 2015 to recognise a broader spectrum of NS advocates beyond businesses, to include educational institutions, family and community organisations as well as individuals. The Home Team NS Awards has also been integrated with the TDA. The revamped TDA, which comprises a single highest tier award - the NS Advocate Award - aims to strengthen advocacy for NS by encouraging others to play their part in supporting our national servicemen.

The TDA consists of the NS Advocate Award across four categories - Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Large Companies, Organisations and Individuals. The NS Advocate Award is the highest accolade awarded to individuals, businesses or organisations for their exemplary support towards Total Defence and in particular, NS. From 2017 onwards, the top NS Mark (Gold) accredited companies and organisations would be selected for the NS Advocate Award. The NS Advocate Award is conferred for a period of three years, and will be presented at the annual TDA.

More Resources
     
Suggested Articles

Last Updated on 14 Nov 2023