NDP 2007 Appreciation Function
Yeah, I promise to upload the NDP Appreciation Function on blog. This NDP Appreciation Function is host to thank the organisers and the sponsors for the success of the NDP 2007. The main extract of the NDP 2007 can be viewed below.
Speech by Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, at the NDP 2007 Appreciation Reception
Posted: 27 Aug 2007, 2055 hours (Time is GMT +8 hours)
First, thank you for receiving me, I feel a bit awkward, because I feel that it’s I who should stand up and salute you, all of you who have put in so much for making the National Day Parade a resounding success, so I applaud and thanks to you.
It was an excellent job, you know it, you saw the looks on people’s faces, when you went back and told your family that you were a participant of the National Day Parade, I’m sure there was an inner glow and great pride, so I don’t have to tell you that it was spectacular. You have made Singaporeans proud and our National Day special. I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to everyone here tonight for making NDP 2007 such a spectacular success.
The “NDP 2007 Special Moments” video captured many of the highlights. But a 5-minute video cannot do justice to the many hours of sweat and sacrifice, and I am told that there were many hours of sweat and sacrifice many times. I know that you wanted to expose the show to many more audiences and because of that, you came back many times and I know that you put in great effort to give Singaporeans a National Day to remember.
This NDP’s organisers and participants can rightly claim many “firsts” in this year’s NDP celebrations. As we have said before, the most significant was our move from the traditional venue at the National Stadium to a totally new venue – the floating platform at the Marina Bay conceptualised by the Singapore Combat Engineers and constructed specially for this NDP celebrations. As Minister Teo Chee Hean said – he’s away – this was not a “top-down” initiative, but a ground-up one. In fact, if I can quote him, “chuay dai zi” (making things difficult for oneself). The brief, really was to organise an NDP, after the National Stadium was decommissioned. He said to the Organising Committee to look at the alternate possible sites. They looked around, Marina South was a possible site. They came back and they said, “Unexciting.” So they said, “Can we build a floating platform?”
This was the time when Minister Teo Chee Hean must have said, “Chuay dai zi. You want to do it, You carry on. But build it before the time, the budget and go for it.”
This reflected a strong desire and self-motivation to give to Singaporeans something special; not give enough to be at the site you’ve chosen, let’s look at possibilities, let’s not be bound by man-made constraints and let’s think the impossible. You will now agree with me that you overcame challenges and turned them into winning solutions.
One challenge was the seating capacity. Many of you know, the old National Stadium can seat 60,000. The venue at Marina Bay can only accommodate 27,000; so the Organising Committee said how can we allow more Singaporeans to watch this wonderful spectacle? As a result, the practices were opened to the public. I was told, about 150,000 Singaporeans had the privilege of seeing the NDP and I am not sure this includes all the people standing by the side.
The venue at the Marina Bay also provided other new possibilities. With the floating platform set in a waterfront setting, the organisers could use the waters in the bay and the skies above as natural extensions of the performance stage. Visually stunning. In fact, when I remembered when the Organising Committee presented the concept, our brief back to them was “No no no, too ambitious. Work out the logistics, make sure no one falls into the water.” Because they were talking about these floating animals, walking at the side of the pontoon.
But good soldiers listen to only some parts, and for the first time, the SAF put up an integrated defence display, our dynamic display, many people were wowed. We showed the three Services, the Army, Navy and the Airforce, we showed what the Third Generation SAF was capable of. And with the city skyline as a natural backdrop, the light, sound, water and pyrotechnics, water fountains that gyrated with the music, and even our Special Forces doing a rappelling under the Fireworks Curtain. Even though that was somewhat unplanned. I am glad no one was hurt. But people said the NDP made very clever use of the space.
Last but not least, we used the locations around it. For the first time, there was a National Day Festival from 18 July to 26 August, with many side events that brought many people in. And not only have Singaporeans noticed, others from as far as Edinburgh, Malaysia, Indonesia, are saying they should follow Singapore, this gives us a problem because we are not always the poster boys for the people around us. But it tells us of the message that has gone out.
To me, the most significant contribution of the organisation, the participants and the sponsors who made this possible was how we demonstrated the “can-do” spirit. Every year, we choose a different theme, this year’s NDP theme “A City of Possibilities”. I thought to myself what would have happened if we chose the parade to happen at Marina South. So to me, the real achievement was that you walked the talk, you made people believe through the NDP show that we are a city of possibilities, that we can achieve great things, if we act on our dreams and not be daunted by obstacles.
It is a reflection of what is possible with good leadership, teamwork, determination and effort and it was possible because Singaporeans from all walks of life wanted to make this possible, wanted to show others that we can achieve great things. It required wholehearted dedication, considerable sacrifices made, lots of practices and I have received numerous compliments from people from all walks of life. Because after the National Day Parade, there is usually post NDP dinners and you get snippets from visiting dignitaries. Many said it was a world class show. Others was impressed by the attention to detail. Someone said to me, that your SAF boys are very polite. I said, “Not really, they will shoot you if need to.” How is it that we managed to bring in tens of thousands, on time, smiling, making all the drinks. It showed the attention to detail. How you can take the sponsor stickers out of the bag, because previously, it’s okay to leave it in the bag, but previous feedback was that if you leave the tag there, people will not use it, which defeats the purpose of the bag. The multi-coloured strip that you can strip down, and the attention to detail. The result was that we left an indelible impression on thousands of spectators and people outside Singapore. The only people who should be worried are the people in next year’s committee because you have set a high standard and I know that that next year there is Beijing Olympics to compete with. I am sure next year’s committee has taken note of this year’s details and things to improve on. There are always things to improve on.
So, my sincere thanks to the many corporate and individual sponsors who have contributed generously to make this celebration possible because every National Day Parade is a milestone for us and I certainly hope for the sponsors that you continue to join us and to make these exciting moments and challenges possible for us.
NDP 2007 showcased basically, how Singaporeans from all walks of life came together to make possible a most spectacular celebration of our nation’s independence. The Parade fired the imagination of many Singaporeans and gave real meaning to the vision of Singapore as a “City of Possibilities”. Indeed, it was a powerful statement about Singapore and how we have a lot to look forward to as a Nation, together.
Once again, on behalf of the Government of Singapore, I thank all of you for making NDP 2007 a resounding success and a very meaningful celebration for many Singaporeans. I wish you all the best in the years ahead and look forward to your continued support for future NDPs.
Here are some photos that I have taken . . .
The evening’s programmme
The invite
My dear’s invites
Front Cover of the Cert Holder
The Gold Award awarded to my firm.
The inner cover of the Cert Holder
The back cover of the Cert Holder
Detail of the Award, designed by Singapore Mint
Detail of the Award, designed by Singapore Mint
And since NDP 2007 has come to a close, it’s time to start off with NDP 2008. This year we are looking at new challenges and the latest technologies to project NDP 2008. And in view of the fact that the details of NDP 2008 are of high confidential. I shall not disclose it, as it might or will jeopardise the planning of NDP 2008.
Front Cover of the Photo Album
Inner Cover of the Photo Album
Detail of the Photo
