AUGUST 9 — Today we celebrate Singapore’s 55th National Day. Fifty-five years of existence as an independent nation.
It is an important milestone — for Singapore, every year is. The truth is we are not a natural nation.
No single ethnicity or religion unites us. We have no hinterland and no ancient civilization to speak of. We are really the only sovereign city state in the world (sorry Monaco, you are not big or sovereign enough).
Unlike many other nations we cannot take our existence for granted and every year that goes by, every year we continue to not just survive but thrive is a real achievement. It is something to be really proud of which is why I’ve always loved National Day.
The songs, the pageantry — even when it's kitsch, dated and clumsy — are celebrations of our success and it is all part of an incredibly careful and deliberate nation-building.
On National Day, Singapore works hard to present itself as a nation.
Artists, government officials, musicians, teachers, students, military officers and all sorts of ordinary volunteers work, practise and strive to display our nationhood.
Personally, I really appreciate the effort; it’s not an easy thing to do.
This year of course it is made even harder by Covid-19. Lockdowns and the safety implications of mass gatherings mean a giant parade is just not on – but then how are we going to bring everyone together?
How do you create a sense of togetherness and shared history when everyone has to be physically apart?
But actually, looking at the programme of events in store for the National Day weekend and from the rehearsals I’ve seen so far, I think the people orchestrating the celebrations have done a fantastic job.
This year instead of a single parade and general sound, light and music extravaganza at the Padang – the usual venue at the heart of our civic district — celebrations will take place across the city.
While there will be a scaled down military parade at the Padang, military columns will also wind their way through the island so more of us get to see our boys and girls in action.
The Red Lion parachute team that usually descends into the heart of the celebrations will now be landing in a field out in the generally unheralded heartland of Sengkang.
Meanwhile, the air force will perform aerial fly pasts at the Padang and also above eight major hospitals across the island as a tribute to health workers' relentless battle against Covid-19.
In fact, there are too many dispersed events to list here but National Day will be more spread out and more participatory than ever before. This year, Singaporeans will not just be watching we will be taking part.
In the morning, the national anthem will play, in the evening we will all be invited to recite the pledge.
After that, we will all be lighting up our phone screens in the national colours red and white and waving them from our windows and balconies.
National Day-inspired dance, fitness and video competitions have already been running throughout the week.
While attempts to decentralise National Day have been made before, it has never been on this scale and it's never been so important that we all try to take part.
Because this year has been tough. Singapore has faced one of its sternest tests since independence. Covid-19 is a serious illness but it’s also an economic catastrophe with airports shut down, disruptions to supply chains and global trade as a whole in flux.
It is a threat to Singapore’s life blood. No country depends on trade and the free movement of goods and people more than Singapore.
Covid-19 has disrupted trade and free movement more than any other event in modern history, in some ways more than World War II and yet Singapore has survived.
In the face of this, our nation has demonstrated remarkable economic and social resilience. Not everything in our handling of the pandemic has been perfect but we’ve pulled through.
We survived the unprecedented severing of our umbilical link to mainland Asia – the Causeway. Our vital airport is operating at a fraction of capacity and yet we proved resilient.
This is impressive and, in a way, it has brought us together despite the social distancing.
For many Singaporeans flitting in and out of the country — trips to Malaysia, hops to Hong Kong, business trips to Seoul — are the norm. Suddenly this year, we are all together – going nowhere.
I think this unprecedented period of isolation for a city that has always been in constant contact with the outside world has helped many of us realise how important the concept of a nation, a secure home base is. It has reinforced the fact that this and nowhere else is home.
So I wish everyone, all Singaporeans everywhere a very happy National Day and personally I will try hard to never take one for granted again.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
