A PERSONAL YET UNITED EFFORT

Singapore has always been mindful of the precarious nature of its peace and security, and recognises that every Singaporean has to play a part in safeguarding the nation's security. PIONEER looks at how Total Defence has become more personal for Singaporeans as we mark 25 years of Total Defence in 2009.

The silence is pierced by the sound of an explosion, and mayhem ensues. Screams fill the air as confusion and chaos reign. Children and adults scramble for their lives, looking lost and aimless.

This war-time scene, complete with a series of heart-pounding action, unfolded right in the heart of Singapore, at Suntec City Tropics Atrium on 15 Feb.

Despite being a staged scene from the opening of the musical revue commemorating 25 years of Total Defence, it could very well be for real.

From the history books...

15 Feb 1942 was the day Singapore fell to the Japanese during World War II. While the harrowing scenes may be a distant memory to those who grew up witnessing the rampages of war, the current generation's closest encounter with terror and strife is gleaned from the pages of history books.

The peace in Singapore is not to be traded for anything else, nor taken for granted.

One of the key reasons for the peace we now enjoy dates back to April 1984, when the nation officially adopted the concept of Total Defence as the defence strategy of Singapore.

The concept, which aims to raise Singaporeans' awareness of their role in the defence of the country, was adapted from the experiences of countries like Switzerland and Sweden, where the citizens take defence personally.

That was something Singapore, a young, growing nation then, hoped to emulate.

...to real-life application

Fast forward the clock 25 years to the Singapore we live in today.

Nowadays, threats to our survival can come in many different forms and not just from hostile military forces. Over the years, we have faced various challenges such as financial crises, health epidemics and terrorist attacks.

The five pillars of Total Defence, namely military, civil, economic, social, and psychological defence, provide Singapore with an all-round, integrated framework to deal with these challenges.

There are many little things that we can do every day to help build a strong, resilient nation. For example, going for In-Camp Training, participating in emergency exercises, upgrading our skills, helping our fellow Singaporeans who are in need and showing pride in our country.

A personal affair

Rather than just dishing out information about Total Defence, the commemorative activities that marked 25 years of Total Defence sought to engage Singaporeans in a deeper way via personal reflection and participation.

Revolving around the central question of "What will you defend?", the Total Defence message stayed the same, but the approach was starkly different.

This year's campaign was designed to inspire Singaporeans to reach deep within their hearts to think about what they hold dear and would strive to protect should crisis befall the nation.

The campaign includes a myriad of initiatives ranging from creating awareness through outdoor and ZoCards advertising, to getting Singaporeans to participate in a What will you defend? online video contest and the third season of the Total Defence animation contest, N.E.mation!.

All this culminated in the commemorative event TD25, which featured a musical revue, five short films - each depicting students' thoughts on one of the five pillars of Total Defence - and a prize presentation for winners of the N.E.mation! III competition.

Under one roof

The musical revue Five Pillars, One Roof was a collaboration among artistes from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Music and Drama Company (MDC), students and professional performers, some of whom have volunteered their time to make this project a success.

With the help of local songs, the five pillars were artistically woven into stories about neighbours in a typical housing estate.

Beginning with the scene of an "auntie" dreaming about war in Singapore, the plot continued with various individuals dreaming about terror attacks on the MRT system and being told to leave the country one calls home.

The key message that everyone has something or someone they desire to protect reverberated throughout the revue. It also emphasised that when Singaporeans unite, Singapore can overcome any crisis.

Concluding with questions such as "what, how and why will you defend?", the revue left the audience to ponder over their personal stake in the defence of Singapore.

"This message really comes at a good time as Singaporeans are going through trying times in dealing with the economic crisis. There's always a need to look back at what is important and defend what is personal to us," said professional jazz singer Rani Singam, who stars as herself in the revue.

"I'm very excited and proud to be part of the production. Whenever I watch the National Day Parade, I'm just a spectator, but now I'm involved, so it's a very meaningful experience," she said.

Added Mr Jonathan Lim, who wrote and directed the revue: "Everyone needs to find their part in defence and know what is their contribution to this country they call their home."

Making it more personal

As he embarked on the creative project, the first time a musical is being used to encourage Singaporeans to reflect on the five pillars of Total Defence, Mr Lim was set on re-packaging the Total Defence messages in a way that was more audience-friendly and personal.

"The five pillars of Total Defence are very right, but they need to be packaged in a way that people will be willing to take them home in a more personal way," he told PIONEER.

"If everyone walks away thinking about what they want to protect and how they can go about doing it, our job in the musical is done."

A multi-platform, multi-channel approach

After 25 years, imparting the Total Defence message no longer falls squarely on the shoulders of government agencies.

A variety of media channels such as a YouTube-style online video competition and outdoor advertising were employed to reach out to the entire population and create a greater awareness of the campaign.

From 19 Jan to 13 Feb, Power 98 and 883 JIA ran a radio contest where listeners called in to express their thoughts on what they will defend.

The campaign included bus advertisements featuring 12 personalities from different walks of life expressing what they will defend.

Beyond awareness, the Total Defence outreach efforts have been focusing more on a bottom-up approach involving the community. For this year's commemoration of Total Defence, there was something for everyone.

A multi-platform, multi-channel approach was taken to elicit ground-up responses and participation from different sectors of our society.

One example was the ZoCards which members of the public can use to pen their personal reflections on Total Defence. Selected reflections were on display at the montage wall during the TD25 event at Suntec City Tropics Atrium.

Another medium used in the dissemination of Total Defence messages was film.

Under project Singapore 2034, five short films were commissioned by Nexus, the central coordinating agency for National Education in Singapore.

The project provided a platform for secondary and tertiary students to experiment with the medium of film and to work under the guidance of established local film directors.

Each film emphasised the little things that Singaporeans can do in order to sustain the development of the country for the next 25 years, to the year 2034.

For a group of students from the School of Art, Design and Media from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), who will embark on their individual careers in a couple of years, their focus on the pillar of Economic Defence was highly appropriate.

With the use of symbolism to represent the responsibilities of Singaporeans in building the economy, the film drives home the message that everyone has a part to play in working towards a brighter future.

"These values of Total Defence helped our forefathers build Singapore as an economic powerhouse with political stability, so this film is a reminder for us to continue doing what they did," commented the film's director of photography, Mr Benjamin Tan.

The new media way

New media has also been tapped to engage the younger generation. For example, in N.E.mation! III, which allowed students to convey their thoughts on Total Defence creatively through the use of animation, Web 2.0 platforms were used to provide students with the chance to express and share their hopes and concerns for the nation.

In this latest instalment of N.E.mation!, the students blogged about the progress of their projects and actively canvassed for fans online and developed communities of interest via the N.E.mation! Facebook group and website, which has more than 1,600 members.

Visitorship to the N.E.mation! website had increased 25 times from a year ago to 25,000 visitors this January.

This year's campaign engages the young via a blog on the N.E. mation website (top), an online video contest (below), and downloadable content (bottom).

Although only in its third season, N.E.mation! saw a significant increase in student participation, with 560 entries from secondary schools, junior colleges and centralised institutes. This was more than double last year s participation rate.

The clips produced by the finalists can even be downloaded onto cellphones and shared with others.

Parents and teachers have been very supportive, visiting the students during the production of the clips.

The clips from previous seasons of N.E.mation! have also won many international accolades such as the Phoenix Film Awards for two consecutive years. Nation Moulders by Jurong Junior College from the previous season of the competition was also among the 11 local finalists of MediaCorp's Viewers' Choice 2008 contest.

Taking ownership

The initiatives of Total Defence that have seen an increase in student participation, have drawn praise from students themselves.

"By getting the involvement of students, it makes us feel like we are part of the driving force behind Total Defence," said Ms Rachel Lim, the producer from Team NTU in Singapore 2034.

Mr Naresh Subhash, the director from the same team, agreed: "In order to continue growing as a strong country, our involvement in Total Defence is very important as we are going to lead our generation, so we must know the direction we want to take."

Looking ahead to the next 25 years, Total Defence remains an integral part in building a stronger nation.

"It would be great if within the next 25 years, Total Defence could become so personal to people that it becomes a gut instinct," concluded musical revue director Jonathan Lim.