National Day Parade 2009

This year's National Day Parade (aka NDP) was very well done. It makes last year's parade pale in comparison. Last year's parade was after the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, and I thought it lacked a central theme.

This year, my wife commented that the NDP was sort of like a crash course in the history of Singapore, probably to help assimilate new citizens into the Singaporean way of life. I thought that this lent a central theme to the whole show, bringing the various events and items together. The performances were like a history lesson starting from the change from Temasek to Singapura, and subsequently the development of Singapore from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s till the present day.

The use of terrorism to showcase the Home Team's ability to meet unconventional threats was a good idea and very well executed. The showcasing of the SAF's assets to meet a particular threat, rather than rolling in the tanks in normal parade fashion, was a well executed demonstration of the SAF's warfighting capabilities which sends a very clear deterrent message to everyone watching. The economy may be bad, but don't use Singapore as a punching bag, or try to pull a fast one here, because we have a well-trained and well-equipped team that will make it hurt for those who try.

The recitation of the pledge and the singing of the national anthem is always a very emotional event for me. It reinforces what it means to be Singaporean. At 8:22pm, when the Pledge Moment was telecast, I could hear my estate reciting the pledge together with the rest of Singapore.

"Home is where the heart belongs."