THE
NEws FEED fresh off the timeline
a ngee ann publication apr - aug 2015
Tribute To Lee Kuan Yew With NEWater
MP Dr Lam Pin Min, PM Lee Hsien Loong, volunteers and visitors unveil the 10 by 6 metre mosaic. (PHOTO: Dr Lam Pin Min’s Facebook page)
By Gerald Tan Anchorvale Community Centre (CC) unveiled a 10 by six metre mosaic of the Lee Kuan Yew tribute ribbon made of NEWater bottles at the Sengkang West National Day Carnival on Saturday, August 1. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong,
and Minister of Parliament for Sengkang West constituency Dr Lam Pin Min graced the event. The installation, located at Anchorvale CC’s multipurpose hall was the main attraction of the carnival. Comprising over 8,000 NEWater bottles, the artwork made its mark in the Singapore Book of Records as the largest mosaic of the Lee Kuan Yew tribute ribbon formed
using of the Lee Kuan Yew tribute ribbon formed using NEWater bottles. Student leaders from Anderson Junior College, Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central, Nanyang Polytechnic and youths from the Sengkang West constituency completed the model together. The main purpose of the project was to remember the efforts made by the late founding father to develop Singapore’s water sustainability. “The late Mr Lee was a visionary and his efforts allowed clean, running water to flow from our taps,” said Mr Raymond Chua, chairman of the Sengkang West Citizens’ Consultative Committee. Scarce land to collect water and absence of natural lakes and aquifers galvanised the late Mr Lee to explore every possible way to provide a sustainable source of portable water for Singapore. Today, NEWater meets up to 30 per cent of Singapore’s water demand. The mosaic, which took about two days to create was admired and photographed by over a hundred residents during the carnival that evening. “I came specially just to see it and it’s really pretty,” said Priya Lakshimi, student from a neighbouring secondary school. “We’ve spent over 30 hours unloading hundreds of boxes of NEWater, cutting out
red and white circles to stick on the bottle caps and arranging the bottles to fit the shape of the ribbon,” said Samuel Ng, one of the student volunteers involved in the preparation process. Despite the long hours, he said “all the effort is worth it, and is nothing compared to the effort Mr Lee Kuan Yew put in to provide us with a clean water supply today.” Samuel’s parents, Ng Boon Huat and Angela Ho were more than happy that their child was involved in this meaningful project. They mentioned that it was good for the younger generation to learn about Mr Lee’s contributions in transforming Singapore from a small fishing village to first world country. During the mourning week after Mr Lee’s death, the family paid tribute to Mr Lee by visiting the condolence boards set up at the Istana. They felt that this project was just another way to honor the late Mr Lee. “Our family is extremely grateful to Mr Lee for leading and building Singapore to what it is today,” said Ng. Ho also added that should the project be open to “older people” like her, she would gladly participate too. The mosaic will be on display till August 10 at Anchorvale CC’s multipurpose hall.
SAF50: Celebrating The Golden Jubilee Military Expert Jonathon Chia, also Commemorating 50 years of an instructor from the Underwater System service to the nation with exclusive School was one of the ambassadors for the family carnival exhibits that featured personal reflection
By Priscilla Phang The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) celebrated 50 years of defending the nation with an exclusive SAF50 family carnival for servicemen on July 26 at the Istana. The SAF50 family carnival commemorates and acknowledges the presence of the armed forces through their exhibits and booths. The exhibition showcased the contributions made by the Army, Navy and Air Force over the past 50 years. President Tony Tan was also present at the event. “However, due to security reasons, there is no publicity for the president coming,” said Major Simon Chew, one of the event organisers.
entries that would only be seen by visitors of the event. “There were over 1,000 reflection entries submitted by servicemen
port international counter-piracy efforts for the fifth time. Families were also able to see missions the SAF was currently working on, as well as a glimpse of a day in the life of an officer. The families also took this opportunity to bond with one another.
(The Armed Forces) gave me many opportunities to grow and become a better leader and protect the nation.” and those displayed in the exhibit were the more prominent ones,” said Mr Chia. Numerous exhibits of past missions that the Armed Forces had gone on were also featured on the board. “The latest mission was called ‘Blue Orchid’, where they do peace making and ensure the ships around the Gulf of Aden is safe,” Mr Chia added. The Armed Forces had gone there to sup-
- Richard Tan, Military Expert
An SAF personnel who attended this event with his family, chose to remain anonymous for the interview said, “I was able to explain to my family about the SAF and what they do, which in a way bonded us.” “Being a navy officer was not my dream job,” said Military Expert Richard Tan, an existing navy officer who has served the
SAF for 30 years, “however, after getting the job and working for them a couple of years, I am happy to be in the armed forces. They gave me many opportunities to grow and become a better leader to protect the nation we call home.” Tan added, “As the birth rate decreases, there are more older generation SAF personnel now. The younger generation needs to step up and protect the nation.” Due to the exclusivity of this event, not many knew about it, and those who did were ecstatic to be invited. “I was very excited for this event and I (took) this opportunity to come for (the) event because it happens only once in 50 years. I really enjoyed the experience (especially) because the event is private as it makes it more personal, and I was able to reflect on my time with the SAF so far,” said Military Expert Leonard Tan.