National Day Parade – military advertising gone nuts

Singapore has many different people but how do they get moulded into singaporean citizens who will all pull together under one national identity? A few decades ago the concept of mandatory national service was given life whereby at the age of 18 all males must perform two years national service and then remain available for some years after, performing a week or so duties every year. Just to keep active.


As an idea, it’s worked very well and there are many relationships that are formed in those two years and which remain for many years after. These men have pulled together for the same aims and for the same nation and as such have the same sense of national pride.


Every year the military joins in on national day, 9 August, to celebrate the anniversary of Singapore exiting from the Malaysia Federation in 1965. The National Day Parade (NDP) brings together all things Singaporean and fosters that national pride. To rehearse for the NDP (which is essentially the leaders speaking to the people about how great Singapore is and promenading their military might to the masses) the military spends six hours every weekend for two months shifting tanks and guns and fighter-jets about the city streets and above the towering sky-scrapers to make sure that if anything goes pear-shaped, the president and prime-minister can make a sharp secure exit in their shiny plane.


Now, I’ve been present for one national day a few years ago, and noted that from the beginning of July everyone flies the S’pore flag from their balcony to show that they are good citizens and a few thousand go to see the national day parade; either at the Padang or another large venue. I’ve spoken to a few locals about whether they’re excited about it and to be honest, the answer has been a resounding “no”. Most people would prefer to work and earn money rather than take the day off and watch the event. Most people would prefer to be able to drive about the City on a Saturday night without massive traffic jams for two months (which will then role into three months when the inaugural Youth Olympics in August and then the F1 Grand Prix in September come to town) and from the looks of one irate pale-face at a gridlocked Mountbatten/Nichol Highway junction it’s just about everyone who is ticked about it.


It’s not my national day, it never will be and I’ll probably end up working anyway, so as long as the endless rehearsals stay out of my way, I’ll stay out of theirs.
Interestingly, I read in the weekend paper (I-S Magazine, if anyone wants a controversial read, http://is.asia-city.com/ but find the paper version, much better) that as Sweden votes to cease its policy of mandatory national service, Singapore chooses not to reduce the minimum two years.  There's vocal dissent in the ranks as local authors speak about their incredulity at their nation's spending on defense. "not one of the neighbours would want to invade Singapore; it has no natural resources, is dependent upon other countries for water and has no strategic importance any more".  Well, contentious indeed.


Shovel