WHAT TOTAL DEFENCE MEANS TO YOU AND ME

This year, get ready to experience Total Defence (TD) in more ways than one as Singapore commemorates 25 years of TD on 15 Feb, with a "TD 25" event at the Suntec City Tropics Atrium.

Promising an assortment of activities such as the screening of five short films on TD under the project Singapore 2034 and a prize presentation for the third season of the national animation competition, N.E.mation!, the TD extravaganza will also showcase a 30-minute musical revue titled Five Pillars, One Roof.

Directed by Jonathan Lim, the revue features many local songs and is a collaboration among artistes from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Music and Drama Company (MDC), students and professional performers. The five pillars of TD, namely military, civil, economic, social and psychological defence, are artistically woven into a story about neighbours set in a typical housing estate.

In the lead-up to TD 25, a variety of outreach efforts have been systematically unveiled to generate greater public awareness.

Nexus, the organiser of TD 25 and Singapore's central coordinating agency for National Education, together with Razor TV, started an online video contest from 1 Dec last year.

With the theme "What Will You Defend", Singaporeans have been invited to submit short video entries, expressing what they hold dear and would want to protect. The closing date for submissions is on 15 Feb.

Based on public voting, there are attractive prizes to be won for the top three video submissions, including the first prize of an Apple MacBook.

Outdoor advertising means have also been employed this year, with a "People for TD" advertisement. Featuring 12 personalities from different walks of life who share about what they will defend, the advertisement is on display at the MRT entrance at Ion Orchard, and will start appearing on double-decker SBS buses from 11 Feb onwards.

In addition, a series of five ZoCards on TD has been distributed island-wide, together with Power98 FM and 883jia FM running call-in contests since Jan.

With the multi-platform, multi-channel approach, organisers hope to engage the entire population on a more personal level.

It has been 25 years since Singapore adopted Total Defence as the defence doctrine in 1984. Many will remember having to memorise the five pillars of Total Defence every 15 Feb in school, the day that marked Singapore's fall to the Japanese in 1942 during World War II.

Instead of rote-learning, it is now time to translate the head knowledge of TD into application from the heart, where everyone needs to do their part to defend the country.

"The important part about the concept behind TD - it only comes alive when people believe in it, and share it," said Director of Nexus, Colonel (COL) Lim Kok Siong, at the TD 2009 media briefing held on 4 Feb.

"The multi-platform approach is to create something for heartlanders, net-savvy people, the youth and the general public. There are ways for everyone to be involved," he added.

With 560 entries for N.E.mation! III from students, which is more than double the 219 submissions received for the previous season, and more than 100 video submissions by the public for the "What Will You Defend" online video contest, TD no longer involves just the government, but the public at a personal level as well.

For three participants of Singapore 2034 from Raffles Girls' School (Secondary) (RGS), they are proud to be stakeholders of TD with their production of a short film on psychological defence.

Ho Joong Yan, the producer of the team related to cyberpioneer how TD used to be a day where her school would cut off the electricity supply and practise food rationing, with teachers would disseminating information about TD to students.

"Now, with involvement at every level, we see TD portrayed in real people, in real life," she said.

To gain a deeper understanding of TD in Singapore, head down to Suntec City come 15 Feb. Besides the host of exciting performances and the screening of the short films, be entertained with interactive activities, as well as an exhibition that showcases the works of youths.