Part 4: National Day Parade 2020
For the first time in my life, I am actively involved in Singapore's 55th National Day Parade. This year, with the pandemic raging across the world, the whole spectrum of programmes for the celebration had to be rethought. Instead of gathering Singaporeans in masses to watch a parade plus evening show at Singapore's city centre, it became a daylong birthday bash with activities taking place in both the heartlands and virtual spaces. The graphic below encapsulates the whole gamut of events on 9 August 2020, the day of celebration.
If not for the title and the descriptions, I totally would have thought that this map was depicting what could happen when war befalls Singapore. With all the pyrotechnics and military vehicles, it bore an uncanny resemblance to the maps representing the Battle of Singapore during World War II which I read from the history textbooks. Maybe it was because of all the reminders of the significance of this battle when marching through the same paths taken by the battling soldiers during the course of my National Service that led me to draw comparisons between what I see today and the historical events of the war. Nevertheless, it was obvious how bustling the island nation was on the 9th of August.
Another remarkable thing about this year's NDP would be how the concept of celebrating the anniversary of my nation's independence had evolved from parades involving displays of military might and community spirit, to expanding the concept of a "parade" to include programmes that every Singaporean can enjoy and participate in, so as to make the celebration more personal and organic.
A pack for everyone
Preparations for the big day started only a month or two in advance due to delays caused by the reconceptualising of the National Day Parade. It had be done to ensure that celebrations were carried out in a safe manner to protect the public from possible community transmissions of the coronavirus. However, there were still many things we can do for NDP other than all the parading and performing. I am referring to the SG Together Pack, a rebranded fun pack which was the mainstay of the NDP of previous years and were mostly given to the parade audience.
As I have promised in my July 2020 Kaleidoscope post, I will be sharing my experiences working behind the scenes of the packing of this special pack. Unfortunately, as I take care not to divulge any confidential information that may compromise the nature of the Army's operations, there will be some details that I cannot go into.
The packing of the SG Together pack was a special time for my unit and I. As a soldier that had just enlisted this year and got drafted into the Second Singapore Infantry Regiment, I had the privilege of getting to contribute to the nation with my battalion (along with other units who were working in other camps). This would mark the very first operation undertaken by my battalion, and to do so before we were deemed to be operationally ready was a rare occurrence in the Army.
The packing area was extremely spacious, so as to accommodate the safe distancing measures between the various functional groups (each was the size of a platoon, or about 30 people, just in case you are wondering). Everyone wore masks and gloves to prevent cross contamination of germs. These were testaments to the many safety measures in place.
With these measures being enforced, we got to work in July. Production lines were set up, motivational speeches were given, and music boomed from the speakers throughout each day of packing. My company's role was special as we were not directly involved in the packing of items. Rather, we supported and facilitated the entire packing process through the delivery of raw materials that came from stockpiles, as well as packing the finished packs up and transporting it to their designated pellets before they would be distributed to collection centres around the country. It was a tiring job which involved a lot of walking and lifting, but it was fulfilling because I got to interact with so many new people. Taking on a support role also meant more hours spent on accounting for all the stock involved in the packing, and that was when my mental sums were put into good use.
At the same time, we had other obligations going on too. During the month of packing, there was very little training, but we did some exercises every week to maintain our heat acclimatisation regime. This acclimatisation was done to adjust the body to the heat from the environment and from the body through carrying of heavy loads and wearing of protective suits. There was also guard duty where we needed to patrol around the camp in order to keep it secure from outside threats.
Amidst the sweating and toiling, we had our fair share of fun. There were a wide variety of snacks given to us during tea breaks, including milk tea, ice cream and dim sum. The people leading the Army, our division and brigade also came to cheer us on. They even engaged in friendly competitions with the packers to see who could pack faster. No one had managed to beat the packers, because they were so well-trained and productive at their work that tens of thousands of packs were churned out in one day. Combined, it was as much as the fun packs that were produced for 3 years' worth of NDPs!
This period of time was a particularly memorable time for me as I had taken on an additional role as the safety advocate for my platoon. I took pride in my job, as I created makeshift handwritten infographics educating everyone on how to protect their backs, raised up safety risks to the higher-ups and provided possible solutions to mitigate them. I was overjoyed to learn that my work had earned the praise of my commanders.
Theme song
One of the things to watch out for before National Day is the rolling out of the theme song for the year. Having theme songs to mark the mood for each anniversary of Singapore's independence is a meaningful way for Singaporeans to reconnect with their national identity and rediscover what they are working so hard every day in this country for.
It is also interesting to see the mixed responses by locals to the new theme songs each year, as it can serve as a reflection of local attitudes toward the homegrown music industry. While many previous theme songs have starred renowned artists such as J J Lin and Sun Yanzi, I am heartened that more recent songs have been featuring a greater variety of music makers. I believe that regardless of talent, skill level and the number of achievements, it is crucial for every Singaporean artist to be given a fair chance at showing what they have to offer. For the creative industry to work, it must be based on organic and enthusiastic groups of young artists who have sufficient space to pursue their dreams. The National Day Parade is one such important space for them to showcase their skills and creativity.
Interestingly, the preproduction phase of the year's theme song, "Everything I am", occurred during the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak in Singapore. This meant that masks and safe distancing measures were included in the production process. However, masks had not been a thing then, when the decision by the authorities was to not wear one unless sick, so there are a lot of scenes that still did not felt like the pandemic even existed. The music video was slow-paced and zoomed in on the lives of everyday Singaporeans trying to adapt to the new normal and overcoming adversity. In doing so, it expresses the gratitude of the sacrifices made by many selfless Singaporeans for the betterment of all of us.
The tempo of this song is so hypnotically slow that rather than feeling galvanised by it, I could not wait for the song to end. Some helpful viewers have commented that watching the video at 1.5x speed will make the song sound better, and I wholeheartedly agree with this. I felt that although this theme song was well-intended, what we need is less of tired faces and lyrics that sound weak-minded, and more of positive beats and driven appearances of people prevailing against their adversities during this coronavirus crisis.
Fireworks security
Another highlight of my NDP experience this year was my active involvement in the security operations on the day itself. My role was to collaborate with the Singapore Police Force to facilitate the security of the fireworks installations and work with Safe Distancing Ambassadors and Enforcement Officers to enforce safety measures to minimise the risk of the virus spreading around the audiences.
To put this into context, fireworks were set in different locations around Singapore, which includes the heartlands, this year because of the safe distancing measures and the NDP Organising Committee's wish to bring NDP to everyone's homes. Indeed, in an age where everyone had to be separated, we are fortunate to share the same sky, which sets the stage for these loud and colourful aerial displays.
It was a really eye-opening experience, because I got to learn how to manage different kinds of people and deescalate any kind of situation to prevent conflicts from happening. I was heartened that most of my worries were unjustified as the audience had been very cooperative with the security and safety measures in place. This was a unique opportunity for me to contribute to my nation in a different way from military exercises.
Sadly, I did not get to enjoy much of the fireworks even though I was in front of the Singapore Flyer, where there would be the best view of the fireworks setting over the Singapore River, as the smoke produced by the fireworks obscured much of the night sky in front of me thanks to the wind blowing it towards me. Luckily, I can still see the fireworks online, and not just from the NDP show itself, to make up for my regret:
