National Day Parade Preview – How I Felt After The Event

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If someone was to ask me couple of years ago how I felt about National Day Parade (NDP) as a first generation immigrant, frankly speaking, I could only connect at that symbolic level. Not that being symbolic diminishes the importance of the event. Quite the contrary, the power of something as symbolic as a country’s flag and the image of her leader raise emotion and brings hope to the citizens. Question reminds: how can I get connected to even this symbolic level as an immigrant?

I was born as a British Subject and brought up in an environment when people worship money as God. I have lived, studied, and worked in various different countries excluding my tour destinations (in chronicle order) – Hong Kong, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Singapore, United States, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Mauritius. There is no perfect world. However, whenever I returned to Singapore after an overseas trip before I took up the citizenship, I always felt at home. And still am. There are many things that Singapore is not. For me, I love what Singapore is. And I have accepted what Singapore is, is not, and her past as one single package. No one has asked me to be a citizen. When I have counted exactly 2 years of stay from my passport (I had many business trips back then), I headed to the then SIR building on the next day with all my papers ready – alone – and sent in my application. Now you see why I have no problem in connecting to this symbolic level from day one.

In the past couple of years, I have had the honor and opportunity to work with the Singapore Armed Force (SAF) in the capacity of an external consultant. I have visited units across the three services and met with officers from the ground to the top. SAF Officers are all humans, of course, just like you and I. They all have their worries and concerns (like the early retirement at 45 that was not what they signed up for), some may wonder what the non-military jobs are like for them, but they do share a strong set of core values that I witnessed throughout my course of work. And it is because of all these great people I have met as well as the people from the unit that leads the NDP effort for the second consecutive year that give me a new perspective on what NDP is about.

NDP is part of nation building. It is also part of the effort to raise image (under the umbrella of “Total Defence” as well as the government) and identity (of citizens) that in turn, links to nation building. By definition, a nation comprises of people who speak the same set of languages, culture, and history living in a particular area under the same government. And it is what NDP is about – people. It is because tickets are not sold but rather distributed, at the preview, I have seen the very young and the very old. I have seen people from all walks of life. To me, it was as though we have taken a small portion of Singapore – be it as people, or the Total Defence force, or our military assets, or our government – and put it into one area for this special celebration that people all connect with one another. But that was not all. As the event of the actual day will be broadcast nationwide, viewers from home will be joining the celebration as well.

A lot of people have put in a lot of hard work to make it happen. My heartfelt thanks to all of them. Is it an event worth celebrating at this scale? Sure it is. It is the founding of our nation. And how would you feel if you have to participate in organising the event including all the previews (extra work on top of your normal work duty and you have to start doing it one year in advance) not just for one year, but two? After the show, I messaged my friend from SAF (who helps organising the event) to thank him for the tickets and told him that I have thoroughly enjoyed the event. His reply was:

Me too. Every show is a wonderful journey of a brand new experience.

I don’t think all who participate in the event actually think like he does. Would have been nice though.

Now, I have actually wanted to include some videos and pictures I have taken into this blog but it will make this blog a bit too long to read. And since I am still in the mist of sorting the videos out, it may take another day or so for me to publish them in my website. But I promise you, the videos and pictures should be out as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and your patience. Staying tuned.

12 thoughts on “National Day Parade Preview – How I Felt After The Event

  1. cynthia

    I have to say the parade exceeded my expectations. I was skeptical about the whole experience initially, but in the end I was quite impressed. In fact, in some part of it, I got goosebumps !

    Definitely a different experience – seeing it on TV and being there in person.

  2. eastcoastlife

    sigh….. I miss the ‘Live’ performance.

    I’m so happy that you have found a home in Singapore. Many foreigners don’t feel like you and they take Singapore as a stepping stone. It is a great place to live despite the many fines and red tape. 🙂

  3. wilfrid

    Cynthia – Glad you like the experience. Ya, I know you didn’t really want to attend but it was more for me. Thanks for coming with me though 🙂

  4. wilfrid

    ECL – The ‘Live’ performance is really good. I was pleasantly surprised. As for “fines” and “red tape”, oh well, in other countries, it is called “bribes” and “bribe-able procedures”. There is no perfect world ya? 🙂

  5. Lani

    I was part of the NDP performance itself in yr 2000. We were on ‘live’ performance on every preview session, it got a bit numb. Until the actual day performance, the atmosphere was totally different, the experience is amazing, performing to a whole stadium of people and everyone was so HIGH! Not to mention the fireworks…. righ above yr head.

  6. wilfrid

    Wow Lani … you were part of the NDP performance?! Must have been a great experience (lots of hard work I bet). You are right, though in the preview that I attended (though it has the firework as well … shown in my next blog), the atmosphere was different. The crowd was not that hot, I agree.

  7. sing chyun

    glad to learn that both cynthia and you loved the preview.

    i was involved in the marching contingent for one of the years. yes, the electrifying ambience is enough to bring tears to everyone who’s proud to be a Singaporean.

    Majulah Singapura!

  8. sing chyun

    Wilf,

    It just happened during my 2.5-year NSF stint, when my unit was involved in the marching. 🙂 Preparations started early in April that year. Our Sundays were burnt, practising the march at Padang. But in the end, we marched out-of-steps on the actual day. Very malu. Ha ha.

  9. Pingback: These Are The Moments I Am Not Too Proud To Be A Singaporean

  10. Pingback: Vidoes And Pictures From The National Day Parade Preview, Enjoy!

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