ACCORD WELCOMES 37 NEW MEMBERS

The Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD) welcomed its new members and thanked the outgoing ones at the ACCORD Appreciation and Appointment Function on 23 Jul.

Held at the National Stadium, the event was hosted by ACCORD Chairman and Senior Minister of State for Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki bin Osman.

Dr Maliki presented letters of appointment to the 37 new members and the 36 members who were reappointed at the event. The newly formed ACCORD will serve for two years in the new term starting 25 Aug.

Addressing the ACCORD members and their families, Dr Maliki highlighted the importance of ACCORD s role in bringing the community together to support national defence.

We are strong only because Singaporeans believe that Singapore is worth defending, and that everyone has a part to play in building a strong defence. ACCORD is important to Singapore s defence because of the vital role all of you play in engaging Singaporeans and helping them to understand and believe in this, said Dr Maliki.

Ms Claire Chiang, Senior Vice-President of Banyan Tree Holdings, was glad to be reappointed for a second term.

I was very encouraged by the experience, (which) has made me realise the importance of commitment to Total Defence. That s why I said yes (to a second term). There s also a lot of synergy and sharing of resources, ideas and plans. I think it has been a very systematic approach in garnering very specific support and designing the programme for implementation, which is what I like, she explained. She is a member of ACCORD (Main) and Co-Chairperson of ACCORD (Family and Community [F&C]).

On the newly appointed members, she said: It s always good to involve new members because they have new ideas, whether it s the younger or more experienced ones. And I m looking forward to working with them.

Second-term member Brigadier-General (BG) (NS) Ishak Ismail was equally enthusiastic about returning.

Two years was too short, there were things we still wanted to do! So I was hoping that they would call me back; if not then I d have found a way to contribute. I m very happy that I ve been given another opportunity, said the Deputy Commander of 6th Singapore Division.

As a member of ACCORD (F&C), he was involved in initiating the #NeverAgain movement on social media, which was launched on Total Defence Day earlier this year to remind Singaporeans about the importance of defence. The movement also highlighted to Singaporeans that they could contribute to defence in their own individual ways.

We wanted a platform that felt natural and would engage the community, he said. It is a movement for the community that is beyond ACCORD; you don t have to be a member to be a part of the movement.

On the members who were stepping down after completing their two-year terms, Dr Maliki noted that they had laid a strong foundation for the new term and encouraged them to continue contributing to national defence: I hope that you, as ACCORD alumni, will continue to be spokespersons and rally support for NS and Total Defence within your communities.

Outgoing member Dr Lim Suet Wun, Group Chief Operating Officer of Parkway Pantai, had been with ACCORD for the past four years and had witnessed its restructuring in 2014.

My experience has been very positive and interesting because the changes happened during my tenure in ACCORD, so I could see both the before and the after, he said of his time in ACCORD. I must say that the new ACCORD, with its larger number of committees, is far more effective. The aim of ACCORD is to engage with as many people in the community as possible, and now that we ve got more members, it s much easier to do that.

He also hoped to continue with ACCORD s efforts, albeit in an indirect way: What struck me when I was in ACCORD was that it was very much the embodiment of the concept of social defence, of total defence. So it s important that, whether you are in ACCORD or not, we all must continue to support and understand the situation that we face as a country and how important NS is.