Sunday, August 10, 2008, 10:03 PM
NDP Extracts- The Singapore Spirit
Defining a Nation and its People- by Jermyn Chow
Article provided courtesy of The Straits Times
The world admired the way the Americans picked themselves up after the Sept 11 attacks in 2001. The tragedy pulled them together like nothing since World War II.
On display was the American spirit at its finest: the construction worker and firefighter who pitched in to clear the rubble at Ground Zero; the student and Wall Street type who wrapped themselves in the American flag, lined the streets and let out loud, jubilant cheers of “Thank you!” as each fire truck and rescue vehicle passed them by.
On show, too, was the American attitude – the can-do, in-your-face gumption.
Ditto the Britons when the London Tube was hit by a series of coordinated bomb blasts in July 2005.
Singaporeans, too, when put to the test, have shown the Singapore Spirit.
In 2003, when the nation – and its stricken economy – rallied to battle the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), then-prime minister Goh Chok Tong described a “national spirit” he said he had never seen before.
“Our country bonded with stout hearts, tenacity and determination. Sars did not break Singapore,” Mr Goh said in his National Day Rally speech.
That never-say-die attitude was also noted when everyone pulled together as a nation to weather the economic downturn in the late 1990s, the recession in the 1980s and the double-digit inflation in the 1970s.
More recently, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has drawn on that spirit in describing how the nation reached out to the victims of the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004.
“It’s a spirit which will hold us together as one united people, each one doing his part, each one contributing to remaking our nation and building our home and, together, we will make it a vibrant, global city called home,” he said in his National Day Rally speech the following year.
That spirit is more than just the sum of Singaporean characteristics – the tendency to queue, the Singlish, or the penchant to complain “when the bus doesn’t come, when the taxis don’t come, about rising prices, and everything else”, as observed by 45-year-old taxi driver Vikram Pilai.
It is also more than the fixation on being No. 1 – first, best, state-of-the-art. What the Singapore Spirit captures is the nation’s resilience, its can-do attitude, and the will to build a nation where there was none.
It alludes to the ways in which the nation has tried to excel, and what drives it. And it is these characteristics that likely inspired the theme for the nation’s 43rd National Day Parade on Aug 9 – Celebrating the Singapore Spirit.
From show of military might to high-tech festivities- by Tessa Wong
As torrential rain poured on Aug 9, 1968, then social affairs minister Othman Wok was leading a People’s Defence Force contingent on a route march from the Padang to Farrer Road.
It was the first National Day Parade (NDP) to get rained on. But the sun shone through later, and the starch from his uniform dissolved and hardened to form uncomfortable crusts on his skin.
Now 83, Mr Othman recalled: “I could hear the boys saying ‘So suay!’, but we pressed on. We had to march properly.” Suay is Hokkien for “unlucky”.
But stoic determination was to be a hallmark of the parade and the new nation.
Just like Singapore, much has changed in the NDP’s 43-year history. It has become more high-tech and sophisticated, but parade veterans agreed that, at its heart, it has not changed.
Mr Karim Namazie, 66, who did the parade’s TV commentary in English from 1968 to 1976, said: “It has become better; there’s been more money and thought put into it, but the spirit of celebration has always been the same.”
In the early days, military displays took precedence, as the NDP aimed to inspire confidence in the newly independent nation. The mood became more festive in the 1970s.
Mass dances and floats were key, with many incorporating images synonymous with Singapore’s work ethic, such as bees, cogs and hammers.
Filmmaker Tan Pin Pin, 38, has seen the parade evolve. In 2006, she studied all 40 years of parade footage to create a video installation for the National Museum of Singapore’s history exhibit. “It may seem didactic, but it reflected what was important to Singapore then and now,” she said.
Between 1975 and 1984, the parade was decentralised every other year to take the celebration out to the heartland.
In 1976, it moved to the National Stadium, creating a more collective experience. It was more interactive by
the mid 1980s, with flashcards and torchlights handed out to spectators.
By the 1990s and the 2000s, celebration had clearly become a priority, with the focus on high-tech entertainment put together by theatrically trained parade directors and awesome military spectacles.
It has become Mardi Gras-like, said interviewees.
The shift in mood reflects a maturing of the nation, said National University of Singapore geography professor Lily Kong.
Newly independent countries tend to have military displays to assert their might; those which have enjoyed sovereignty for a while have more relaxed, enjoyable affairs, she noted. “It’s more about us having fun now. We’re letting our hair down and showing we’re a confident nation coming of age."
1966: “I was very proud that I was able to participate, and able to restore confidence to the people of Singapore that we were prepared for any eventuality,” recalled former minister for social affairs Othman Wok (above), now 83, on his marching with the People’s Defence Force as an officer cadet in Singapore’s first National Day Parade in 1966. Mr Othman went on to lead the contingent in 1968, 1970 and 1973.
1974: “Floats back then were kitschy, yet heartfelt in the presentation of their messages. I am not sure if this earnest presentation will be bought by our youth these days,” reflected filmmaker Tan Pin Pin, on this float in the 1974 parade which depicted a man being punished for being lazy. She said it captured the way the parade heavily promoted the spirit of diligence and nation-building in its early years.
1997: Parade spectators whip out banner scarves from their goodie bags a part of an audience mass display. The parade began to have more audience participation by the mid-1980s, which fostered a greater sense of inclusiveness and unity. Items such as flashcards, torchlights, colour coordinated clothes, umbrellas and oversized foam hands have been used throughout the years for such displays.
