STORIES OF NATIONAL RESILIENCE FOR N.E.MATION!

Nine years ago, Singaporeans faced one of the biggest health scares when the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) turned up on our shores. The new disease, of which little was understood when it erupted in 2003, eventually led to over 900 deaths and 8,000 reported infections worldwide.

As Singapore faced up to SARS, the entire nation galvanised around the many hard decisions which the Government had to make in order to contain the outbreak. Schools were closed - a first since the 1940s when a polio epidemic struck under colonial rule - and Singaporeans had to monitor their temperatures daily.

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) mobilised its soldiers to staff the Contact Tracing Centre (CTC) at the Ministry of Health building and worked round the clock to track and identify people who had been in contact with a SARS patient. Headed by then-Commander 9th Singapore Division Colonel (now Lieutenant-General) Neo Kian Hong, the CTC saw 240 SAF personnel working to trace up to 2,500 contacts daily.

On 1 Sep, Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General (LG) Neo and two others who had played key roles during the SARS incident recounted the event to some 400 students from the top 100 shortlisted entries for N.E.mation! 7, an annual digital animation contest for youths to express their thoughts on Total Defence, at a half-day workshop held at Nanyang Polytechnic.

Said LG Neo: "How strong a country is, depends on how they overcome a crisis together. SARS is good testimony (to) how Singaporeans can come together in the face of difficulty." He then went on to speak about how the SAF had worked with other national agencies, such as the Singapore Police Force, to help in the fight against SARS.

Another of the speakers, Professor Tan Chorh Chuan; then Director of Medical Services at the Ministry of Health; shared his personal experience with the students. This included the closure of Tan Tock Seng Hospital to enable staff to concentrate on caring for SARS patients. "Doing so would have meant taking about one-fifth of Singapore's hospital beds out of the healthcare system, but we felt it needed to be done to allay public fear and minimise further infections," said Prof Tan, who is now President of the National University of Singapore.

On the education front, Mr Chan Yeng Kit; then Deputy Secretary (Policy) at the Ministry of Education; spoke of how the schools rallied around to deal with the crisis. "Some teachers even resorted to sending lessons and homework to their students via email or post during the period," said Mr Chan, who is now Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.

Explaining his take on why Singapore was able to mount the collective effort against SARS, LG Neo said: "It boils down to the trust we have in one another, and the trust we have in our leaders."

The question-and-answer session which followed saw a lively discussion between the three speakers and the students. In response to a question about Singapore's preparedness for similar crises, LG Neo replied that the country's ability to continue life as normal during future crises is "very much stronger" due to the experience of dealing with SARS.

Said 15-year-old Sophie-Rosen Lawliette from Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School: "The talks revealed to us a lot of insights about the SARS (incident) that not many people would know about, and we were able to understand the speakers, who come from high-level jobs, as though they were one of us."

Another student, 13-year-old Muhamad Mirza Bin Mohd Aznin from Canberra Secondary School said: "Knowing how Singapore overcame SARS together and fought the virus as one was awesome. The information which the speakers gave will definitely make our animation better!"

This year, more than 1,200 entries were received for N.E.mation! 7, themed Together we overcome. Following the workshop, the students will continue to refine their ideas before the selected top 10 teams produce their animation clips in November this year. Winners will be announced in February next year.