Singapore National Day, NDP 2013: An American’s Perspective

• By Jimmy Hoffman
• 14 August, 2013
• No Comments

HAPPY 48th BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!

On Friday Singapore celebrated its 48^th Birthday.  A day full of fun festivities held all over the island.  A day culminating with the National Day Parade held at The Float @ Marina Bay.  NDP has always been the most significant event since Singapore’s independence and an important focal point for all Singaporeans.  The first NDP was held on August 9, 1966, one year after Singapore’s separation from Malaysia.  While broadcasted all over the island and throughout regional TV networks, a lucky 30,000 were able to watch the event live.  In order to get a ticket you had to be selected via a lottery.   To enter the lottery you needed to enter your national ID number, which meant you had to be a Singaporean or Permanent Resident.  Using my skills that obtained me several Yankee playoff tickets I was able to get myself a ticket to NDP 2013!

Before we get to NDP 2013 lets have a brief history lesson on how Singapore came to be what it is today.  The earliest known settlement on Singapore was in the second century AD and was eventually raided by the Portuguese in 1613 who burned down the settlements.  After this Singapore would not be heard from again until 200 years later when Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived in 1819.  Raffles signed a treaty on behalf of the British East India Company to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post.  In 1824 another treaty was agreed upon giving the British possession of the entire Island. The Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya during World War II culminating in the Battle of Singapore where the British were defeated.  The Japanese occupied Singapore until the surrender of Japan in September of 1945, which gave possession of Singapore back to the British.  Singapore declared its independence from the United Kingdom in 1963, uniting with other former British territories to form Malaysia.  Two years later on August 9, 1965 Singapore gained its independence from Malaysia becoming the Republic of Singapore.  Which leads us to today, 48 years later, at the National Day Parade 2013.

Going in to the parade I was not too sure what to expect. On my first trip to Singapore, in February of this year, I saw the stage being constructed and wondered what it was.   Now, 6 months later, I was going to find out!  When I arrived at NDP2013 a sea of people wearing red and white greeted me.  Red and white are the colors of Singapore’s flag.  Red for equality and brotherhood of man.  White for purity and virtue.  After about an hour and multiple security checks I was finally on my way into The Float @ Marina Bay.  I was also given a gift bag, which was a backpack full of goodies from food and drinks to flags and clappers.  From there I went to my seat and sat down for the show.  The live televised portion of the show consisted of three main parts, the dynamic defense display, the parade and ceremony, and the show.  You can watch these portions in their entirety in the video embedded below.  Please note I have added time stamps in red to the rest of my article referencing time in this video.
 

The pre-parade portion of NDP consisted of performances from several Singaporeans.  This was a perfect way to entertain the crowd prior to the parade festivities.  It was also a way for the hosts to introduce themselves to the audience and get the audience prepared, as audience participation is part of NDP.  This years theme for the NDP was “Many Stories… One Singapore”.  The lead in to the live televised portion of the festivities told the stories of Singaporeans from all walks of life.  Explaining how each of these men and women overcame obstacles becoming better people, while also contributing to Singapore.  The overall statement from these videos was you cannot take peace and prosperity for granted.  An all to true statement in the world we live in today.  After the lead in, a high school choir performed as the 99 members of parliament entered the grandstand.  Parliament members in Singapore act as a bridge between the community and the government.  Next it was time for the dynamic defense display.

DYNAMIC DEFENSE DISPLAY 22:55 :

The Dynamic Defense Display is a way for Singapore to show off their military hardware and assets from the home team.  During this segment several scenarios were displayed by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF), and Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF).  Displays showing new military technology, new police programs, and fire and rescue techniques.  I have seen parades in the past where these types of organizations have marched past a street crowd, but what I saw at NDP was completely different.  Most organizations provided a scenario, in which they showed how they would overcome the problem to find a solution.  I was most impressed with the Singapore Police Force who acted out a scenario of a hostage takeover 24:55.  For a moment I thought I was watching the stunt show at Universal Studios Singapore and not at NDP!  The dynamic defense segment ended with hundreds of kids coming out in military uniforms showing off the future of Singapore’s defense.  I thought that this portion of the show was the perfect propaganda needed to get young Singaporean’s in the correct mindset to join one of these services.  All male Singapore citizens and non-first generation permanent residents will be required to put in two years of their time into either the SAF, SPF or SCDF once they reach 18 years of age.  After the dynamic defense display it was time to start the parade and ceremony.

THE PARADE AND CEREMONY 39:35 :

First we were introduced to Master War Officer Chua Hock Guan, who was the Parade Regimental Sergeant Major for NDP 2013.  He commanded the Parade contingents to march out on to the stage.  After the contingents were out on stage Mr. Guan relinquished command of the parade to the Parade Commander, Lieutenant colonel Sng Meng Wah.  Mr. Wah called for the entry of the 32 regimental colors, the 3 state colors as well as guard of honor contingents behind them.  After that the senior parliaments secretaries, mayors, ministers of state and senior ministers of state were welcomed and took their seats.  Followed by the first two prime ministers of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong.  When Lee Kuan Yew was announced and shown on the big screen the crowd went wild 55:30.  A standing ovation was given with almost everyone waving a Singapore flag.  Lee Kuan Yew was the first prime minister of the Republic of Singapore and held the position for 3 decades, from 1959, before Singapore declared its independence from Malaysia, up until 1990.  He is also known as the father of Singapore and is credited with bringing Singapore from a developing country to one of the most developed nations in Asia.  Even former U.S. President Richard Nixon praised Lee’s leadership.  When he took his seat on NDP 2013 all I could do was get chills!

After another school choir performance the audience was asked to rise for the entry of Singapore’s third and current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong.  The eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew took his seat after a nice round of applause.  The choir then sung the song “Count on me Singapore”.  This song encouraged future development and positivity by building a better world and counting on the resources of Singapore.  After the song it was time to stand for Tony Tan Keng Yam’s arrival 1:04:50.  Tony Tan is the President of Singapore.  Once he arrived, the Majulah Singapura (onward Singapore), Singapore’s national anthem was played.  This followed by a fly by of five F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Republic of Singapore Air Force, saluting the nation.  Three F-15 Strike Eagles followed with their afterburners on.  A nice way to wake up anyone sleeping in the nearby hotels.  After that the parade commander asked the president to inspect the parade, which the president agreed to do.  As the president was inspecting the parade a 21 gun salute was being held in his honor.  The president did stop along the way to talk to several military members.  What was chatted about is unknown, but I am sure very special for both parties.  The president approved the inspection of the parade and took his seat.  Four more F-15 Strike Eagles flying in diamond formation and five F-16 Fighting Falcons showed off their precision flying skills.  The next segment of the show was the march pass of all of the marching contingents.  These contingents represented the marching guard contingents, the five pillars of total defense (military, civil, economic, social and psychological), the 25 other contingents being made up of the SAF, uniformed groups, local organizations, and civilian contingents.

THE SHOW 1:30:45 :

After the march pass it was time for the nine part variety show, which showed off the uniqueness of Singapore.  The first part, play, showed how children of Singapore play and tell stories.  The stories being told came from their elders.  These stories included how Singapore got its name and how it was formed.  While the kids were telling these stories hundreds of people formed a rectangle behind them and used their multi-colored uniforms to form pictures.  This was a neat twist and from a distance the rectangle looked like a giant LED screen.

The second theme was build 1:38:10 and displayed how all of the different cultures representing Singapore have worked together to build up Singapore to what it is today.  The participants of this rock ‘n’ roll segment consisted of current Singapore workers from all different industries and sectors.

The build theme moved right into the re-invent theme 1:44:00, consisting of techno music and hundreds of bmx bikers, in-line skaters, skateboarders and parkour runners.  This segment encouraged pushing the limits of our abilities and imagination to come up with new and innovative ideas and techniques.

The next segment, express 1:47:40, explored the differences in the people and places from the east, west, north, and south parts of Singapore.

The fifth segment was represent 2:00:30 and started with the Merlion.  The Merlion is a mascot for Singapore and has the head of a lion and the body of a fish.  The head represents Singapore’s original name, Singapura, meaning “lion city” and the body represents Singapore’s origins as a fishing village.  This segment also featured many of Singapore’s athletes who have represented the Singapore flag in international competitions.  This segment showed that all backgrounds can contribute to Singapore’s story.

This portion of the show brought notable appearances from:

Team Singapore Synchronized Swimmers (3 gold and 4 silver medals in the South East Asia Federation Championships 2012)

Team Singapore Wheelchair Basketballers (ASEAN Para Games 2008 representatives)

The Singapore Lions Football Team (Malaysian Super League 2013 Champions)

Team Singapore Gymnasts, including Lim Heem Wei (first Singapore Gymnast to qualify for the Olympics)

Team Singapore Wushu (martial arts) Exponents featuring Emily Sin (Gold medalist at World Wushu Championship 2011)

Team Singapore Table Tennis featuring Feng Tianwei (Bronze medalist of London Olympic Games 2012) and Isabelle Li (Silver Medalist of Youth Olympic Games 2010)

Team Singapore Equestrians featuring Laurentia Tan (Most medals for a Singapore Paralympian representing Singapore in both the Beijing and London Paralympics) and Maximillian Tan (represented Singapore in the London Paralympics)

The sixth segment and my favorite was aspire 2:13:40.  This part started off by showing videos of several Singaporeans who have made a significant difference in their community.  Each of these Singaporeans have gone out of their way and done their own little part to make Singapore a better place.  This was a great inspirational segment, which showed us to aspire for greater things.  This portion really showed how anyone can accomplish anything they put their heart into.

The seventh part of the show was embrace 2:22:45.  This part told us to embrace Singapore’s diversity as one Singapore.  This portion consisted of 68 Singaporeans who came together via a nationwide search to form the Sing The Nation Choir.  This was a first for NDP and showed how all different cultures from all over the island can come together as a team to perform as one.  This choir performed this years theme song, “One Singapore”.  The main message of this song was that together as one we are so much more.  This song ended with the start of the fireworks that everyone around Marina Bay had been waiting for throughout the afternoon.

The eighth segment was love 2:29:00 and featured the light up the sky with love firework display.  This portion consisted of a sing a long medley of songs ending in a firework finale and the last boom while reciting “one Singapore”.

After this portion of the show the crowd was asked to stand a recite the National Pledge:

We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society based on justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.

After the National Pledge we were treated to a final round of fireworks while the Majulah Singapura was performed for one last time.

After this President Tony Tan exited the venue.  Before his exit he went around shaking hands of many of the shows participants and acknowledged the crowd.

 

For those of you who actually paid attention to this whole article you may be wondering where the ninth part of the show is?  Well the ninth part of the show was entitled party.  This part was mostly for the 4,000 participants who put in up to 4-6 months of their time preparing for todays event.  They took over the entire stage and celebrated their accomplishment until long after I had left.

My American Take on NDP 2013:

As I walked into NDP I knew it would be a great opportunity for a blog post.  I thought to myself somewhere in the blog entry I would have to include “29,999 Singaporeans and 1 American”.  I guess I accomplished that now, however I must say that while watching this event, I too felt like a Singaporean.  Don’t get me wrong, I am still proud to be an American, for the most part anyways.  As an American I have to say that on National Day in Singapore and for most of the duration of my three-month stay here, I have been proud to say I am living in Singapore.  Singapore’s harsh penalties for crime make it one of the world’s lowest ranked countries for crime and corruption.

Looking back on the parade today and looking back on my three months stay here I can say that NDP was a perfect way to motivate and excite anyone who has stayed in Singapore for any length of time.  The statements and themes throughout the show were ones that not only Singaporeans, but everyone around the world should follow.

On my first visit to Singapore I was able to play hard.  I met new friends and exchanged stories from each other’s past.  Since that point I was able to build up the courage to leave my friends and family behind for the potential opportunities here.  Re-inventing my initial job hunt strategy so I could finally get job interviews.  Expressing myself though this very blog.  All while representing the true values I believe in.  From this point forward Singapore has taught me to keep aspiring for greatness.  Embrace the challenges ahead and seize every moment I have.  Also, too make sure I don’t forget about the love I have for my friends and family back home who have got me to this point and have been there for me when I have been down.  Victory has not yet been obtained, but I am not giving up yet and I am looking forward to the party once I get there!

For more of my travels click here