Here, we have the third post from our Dy Chairman 2 Exco. After being a Contingent Commander and a Parade Commander, he had the chance to contribute to NDP, as the Chairman of the Infrastructure twice. He shares with us all the behind-the-scene action building up to the whole infrastructure. Enjoy!

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NDP REFLECTIONS AS CHAIRMAN INFRASTRUCTURE NDP 2000 & NDP 2005 AT THE PADANG

By Clement Hendricks, Dy Chairman 2 EXCO NDP 2009

I would like to share the experience of being the Chairman of the Infrastructure at the Padang for both the year 2000 and 2005. The challenges faced for these two NDP events were largely the same, however, the difference with 2005; I had the hindsight and experience of doing it in 2000.

Anyone attending the Parade at the Padang would realise that all the seating for the spectators had to be built. In 2000, we went away from the traditional ‘dixon’ stands that were erected by our own Combat Engineers to the commercially available tiered tubular seats. Although we obtained the tubular seats commercially, we still relied on our own Combat Engineers to assemble the stands for the seating gallery. Our own engineer company from 30 SCE did a fantastic job.

Besides the stands that needed to be constructed on the field itself, the traditional red sector seats along Connaught Drive and the VIP section including the Presidential Dias needed to be constructed in front of Supreme Court, City Hall and St Andrew’s Cathedral with the VIP section built on the City Hall steps. The Combat Engineers who built these stands had to do so in a short time since the Padang was only available in early May and all the seating gallery had to be ready by the National Education shows. On top of that task, the seats across Coleman Street had to be erected overnight before the rehearsal / actual day and taken down before 0600 hrs the next morning to ensure that the road was only closed on the day of the rehearsal / actual day.

Decorating the whole Padang vicinity including City Hall itself was another huge effort as the tubular seating stands were bare, especially the rear section and the ground approach routes were soggy and damaged after each rehearsal by the crowds. Inevitably we had to lay walkways with timber and plywood which needed maintenance work after each rehearsal. Another challenge was to build the CCG1 control room at the rooftop of City Hall building, which had a very high parapet wall. The control room stood at least 6 m above the roof slab and it had to be design such that it was not obvious and blend in with the building facade.

For NDP 2000, we built a ramp down to the field so that the Parade Participants could march on and off the field for the march past. We had a central ramp since the design of the parade sequence required the contingents to march forward towards the President at the City Hall steps and wheel left and right onto Cannaught Drive for the March Past. This was not too difficult.

For NDP 2005, we had floats as part of the Parade and they had to drive past the tubular stands on the Padang as well. This meant that we needed to lower the pedestrian walkway and box drain so that these floats could easily drive onto the field level with the road. This was a big job, which involved URA and LTA, who guarded the Civic District aesthetics and City walkways. We had their blessing and approval and evidence of the lowered walkway can still be seen today where the two sections were re-constructed for NDP 2005.

Another challenge that needed to be overcome when constructing the tubular stands at the opposite end of the Padang was the existing historic trees that line the Esplanade Walk. Even the trimming of trees required close cooperation with NParks who supervised the trimming to the minimum necessary for our tubular stands and backdrop structures for the huge multimedia screens. At the Padang where everything had to be built from scratch, the intimate collaboration with the Authorities at each stage of the built up was necessary and I must add that without the support given by them, many of the ideas and grand scheme of things would not have materialized. There was greater partnership and closer working relationship all throughout the journey, which I am told, was not the same for Stadium or Marina Floating Platform as most of the infrastructure is already there.

For NDP 2000, City Hall was still occupied and a functioning Court. This posed many problems as much of the building was restricted and we did not have much space within the building to house our things that needed to be stored after the rehearsals, example the VIP chairs and other electrical and electronic equipment. Decorating the Grand Old Lady was conceived during our Division Exercise by a designer who was our Bde GFAC and during approval of plan, we presented the façade treatment of City Hall to EXCO Chairman / then Division Commander and currently CDF.

For NDP 2005, City Hall was a shell, the new Court Building was already functioning and we had clear run of the whole building. Infrastructure Committee room was Court 13 and the Judges Chambers were our dining room. We had ample rooms to keep our chairs, equipment and stores. It was easier to manage. Only downside was the elevators were not well maintained and EXCO Chairman and a few sub-committee chairmen were stuck in one of the lifts for almost half an hour. Unless we were going to the rooftop, most of us used the staircase.

For NDP 2005, the then Commander 5 SIB and current Dy Chairman EXCO COL Ho Kok Loke was in charge of the Decorations and true to the task given, adorned the space between the grand columns with scenes and created a beautiful facade. With him taking care of the decorations it helped half the workload that Chairman Infrastructure undertook in NDP 2000.

For both NDP 2000 and 2005, the challenge after each rehearsal was to carry out infrastructure works for the various sub-committees requirements, which had to be fast tracked, as they needed them done as soon as possible to enable rehearsals to take place during the week before the next CR. However, having stated all the challenges and problems needed to complete the infrastructure to support NDP at the Padang, the team that assisted me from HQ 5 SIB for both NDPs carried out their assigned mission excellently. On each rehearsal and especially on the Actual Day when you gaze out onto the Padang from behind the Huge Grand Colonnade of City Hall, you just have to marvel at how everything was going on the very infrastructure base that had been built from zero to the spectacle that was unveiling to the audience at our National Day Parade Celebrations.

As the dust settled on the final day, as you walked away from the Padang, sadly you realise that it is all over and the task of recovery and reinstatement of the Padang was going to start immediately the following day. Part of the tubular stands had to immediately be torn down since they were heading for Sepang Grand Prix. All the stands in front of the Supreme Court, City Hall (inclusive of the VIP section) and St Andrew’s Cathedral had to be removed within ten days after which damage control measures and rectification of the Padang and City Hall landscape had to start before handing back the field to Singapore Recreation Club and Cricket Club. Two weeks after National Day, you could not see any trace of NDP except for the street banners that would not be taken down until the end of August. All in all, you work very hard to set it all up for two and a half months only to tear everything down within two weeks and get the Padang back to normalcy.

The involvement and experience was exhilarating and one be there and do it to feel it. The fact that I am an Architect in private practice helped me a great deal in meeting the task at hand and with the support of the personnel of 5 SIB for both NDP 2000 and 2005; we achieved our mission to build the infrastructure needed to successfully stage the National Day Parade at the Padang.

Hope you enjoyed the post! Take a look at his previous entries, one describing his NDP experience as a school boy and another one posted yesterday on being commanders within the parade.

The motivators are really quite incredible people. Don't understand how they can keep cheering, waving their hands, smiling, screaming enthusiastically and bouncing about. We suspect that it's because they simply enjoy the excitement they elicit from the audience! Who wouldn't? :)

Their limitless energy's impressive. Below's some photos of them at work/play:

Balloons! Free ones for all!

More Balloons!

And even more! Yayy~

One of the many p5 kids who received the balloon sculpture. Look at that radiant smile!

Taking a little break from balloon sculpting to pose fore a photo :)

The enthusiastic cheering :) Everyone's getting hyped up!

Happy Birthday, Singapore!


And here's an interview with them:

In today's post, we bring to you an entry from our guest blogger, the Deputy Chairman 2 of EXCO NDP 2009, COL Clement Hendricks. Being involved in NDP during different periods of his life and taking up various roles, he has much to share with everyone, participants and viewers alike. His first post is about taking part in NDP during his school days, being a participant.

Coincidentally, he was sharing his experiences of the rainy NDP in 1968. For those who have been present for the rehearsals, remember someone else was also sharing his thoughts on the rain during NDP in 1968? Our Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also took part in it and shared the pride he felt during the parade.

To all the participants, enjoy this entry and draw the parallels between yourself and COL Clement. Find out about his views on how it is like to be a participant for NDP. For everyone, we can actually find out how a participant feels to take part in NDP in the budding years of our nation. Enjoy!

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I would like to reflect on what taking part in NDP meant to me during my school days as a teenager. My first exposure to NDP was in 1967. I was then a 14-year-old schoolboy who was in the St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) Military Band. In those days there were not many uniform organizations at the secondary school level and most of the few school bands, cadet corps, police cadets, boy scouts, girl guides etc. were all selected to take part in the National Day Parade held at the Padang. There were so many contingents that the March Past took literally hours and we took to the streets in the Route March that followed ending up around lunchtime at end points in the City outskirts.

As members of the SJI Military Band, we were proud to represent our School in the National Day Parade at the Padang. I did not think much of Nationhood at that time but it was grand to be at the Padang at 9 am when the President arrived and kicked off the Parade and Ceremony section. I can still recollect the review by the President in the Ceremonial Land Rover. Imagine my thrill when as NDP Parade Commander in 1994, I had that honour to escort the President for the review in the Ceremonial Land Rover some 27 years later.

It was in the following year, 1968 when it dawned upon me and many of my friends that NDP was a show of commitment and dedication to building a resilient and steadfast Nation. As we stood in the heavy downpour, which started after we had formed up, we did not flinch or disperse to seek shelter. We felt that people were watching and we were determined to persevere and not be beaten, just like the young Nation we were building. Standing fast and proud, and shivering in the cold wet rain, we overcame. The rain slowed down and everyone wanted the march past to begin so that we could move and warm up.

It was a memorable day, as we marched past the City Hall steps, we were beaming with pride and we could see the faces of our leaders just as proud of us. You had to be there, it was just indescribable. When we marched through the streets people cheered and we played our military tunes with even more gusto with our SJI Cadet Corps contingent marching just as proudly when we played the Josephian March.

In 1969 as a 16 year old, NDP was like a test for the Nation. We were coming out of a dark period of communal riots. However, as school boys we were brought up reciting the Pledge every morning and believed that Singapore was for everyone, especially coming from a Minority group. When school resumed and later when NDP rehearsals started, we were more concerned whether our school friends suffered adversely during the May Riots.

However, when we participated in the NDP rehearsals and finally NDP itself on August 9th, it looked as though the May 13th Riots had not taken place. The celebration of the Nation’s Birthday went smoothly as in the earlier years and the pride and ‘hair stand’ moments were all there for those on Parade. It is truly a bonding moment when you stand on the grass at the Padang and the National Anthem is playing when we salute the President. The march through the streets was well received by all Singaporeans regardless of their race or religion or what has just transpired less than three months earlier.

In 1970 and 1971, SJI and St Patrick’s School Bands combined to form a contingent for these last two years that I represented my ‘Alma Mater’. There was much rivalry between our two bands and the training that we had together, including the discipline of the bands, was horrendous with petty squabbles and sometimes fist fights. We used to poke fun at each other during the form up.

However, once we marched onto the Padang, a different sense of oneness overcame our differences. Collectively we became a single entity, a combined Catholic School Military Band proud to the hilt being able to represent our schools at NDP and march down Connaught Drive in front of City Hall and our President. It impressed upon me that we are of many different groups, in our case different bands, each having its own identity and pride. However, when thrown together, we quickly form partnerships to give a grand performance.

Those were happy days that I cherish as a school boy through my teens and pre-University days participating in NDP, those early waking up hours to get to the schools by 5 am, in the later years even staying overnight in the school. Preparing our uniforms so that we can stand proudly in our best turnout to represent our school in the National Day Parade at the Padang. The march past the City Hall and its ‘hair standing’ moments as well as the satisfaction of marching down those streets kilometer after kilometer through cheering crowds of Singaporeans.

I believe much time is spent when you participate in NDP. However, unless you have been there and done that, you will not experience the pride of being a participant and being a Singaporean in NDP. It is just indescribable and can only been experienced through first-hand experience.

You've heard about the people behind NDPeeps @ Flickr, Facebook and YouTube. Now the spotlight is on this humble group of Twitters who have worked diligently to bring you all frequent updates on NDPeeps @ Twitter!

Tweet Tweet, Tweet Tweet! SMS! Someone's phone rings. He then silences it and so we begin the interview!

So guys what made you all volunteer your time and effort for NDP 09?

(The usual pause by all our interviewees when asked this question)

We love our country? We love our nation! (Said with gusto)

Well, it's meaningful to contribute something to the nation. It's also a once in a lifetime experience and a useful learning journey.

What does NDPeeps @ Twitter do?

We broadcast other platform events and stuff related to NDP. By twitting, we share interesting tidbits of info on the ground with everyone.

How do you feel about being a part of the New Media team?

Happy!! (Smiles radiantly, lol)

It's great to be able to do something for the nation. Twitter's a fun and interesting new thing. It has been receiving a lot of attention from the media. In the U.S, it's currently ranked the third highest social networking website in terms of usage.

There's also quite a lot of freedom given to us by our superiors to go about doing our job. We are free to roam about during events and rehearsals to take pictures, investigate stuff, and to talk to all sorts of people. So we're glad to be in the Twitter group!

What are some of the challenges you've faced?

Getting people to know about Twitter. Twitter is still not a mainstream new media platform in Singapore. It's not widely used so it wasn't easy getting responses from people especially when we first started out.

How do you intend to overcome this?

We have tried to use opportunities at various media events to reach out to the public, i.e. introducing ourselves to journalists and successful applicants who had come to get their NDP tickets. Also, of course, we would try to continue to improve on our site and give more interesting tweets for everyone!

Any memorable moments?

Yea, there were. Like at the F1 pit, it was great to be able to get up close to the participants for interviews. It was interesting and engaging to listen to their personal experiences and how they felt about NDP and their rehearsals. Witnessing the great efforts put in behind the scenes was also an eye-opener which was unforgettable.

Twitters and bloggers on the way to check out the F1 pit!

It was when we managed to get 600 followers! Not only that, of these followers, many were loyal visitors who were responsive and replied to various tweets. We managed to connect with people :) It really makes us happy to know that our efforts are recognised.

So how do you feel about your fruits of labour?

There's really a great sense of accomplishment. We built this platform from scratch and it wasn't easy because we were new to Twitter ourselves. It feels great that we can do something for the nation and have created a "social network"for the people - regardless of whether they are in Singapore or not.

Tell us something about yourself that many may not know? Haha.

We're a funky group of people! (Smiles and laughs)

What are some of the lessons you have learnt from all this?

We had a course by 24seven where we learnt many useful things about the use of New Media itself, including Twitter. We learnt about the different ways of engaging the masses and interacting with them such that the new media platforms would not be so boring.

We learnt that we need to be dedicated to making this platform a success as constant twitting is required in order to engage the public. Also, we have learnt to collaborate with one another such that there are not duplicate tweets or tweets that contradict each other.

Take a look at the Ultra Mini PCS (UMPCs) the Twitter peeps use to twit when they're covering various events!

What's NDP's significance to you?

Well, this year's NDP is special. It's like the start of something new. Like the beginning of New Media. NDP showcases the pride and strength of our nation to other countries and it celebrates our continuous growth. It's a reminder of our sense of belonging to S'pore too. :)

What have you learnt about Singapore/Singaporeans from this experience?

Singapore's getting really interconnected! Now we have New Media in NDP! We've also seen a lot of pride in the people, the volunteers and participants. We can see it from the way they do their work. They don't mind working hard for the nation.

Have you enjoyed this?

Yes! It's been rather meaningful. From young, we've been looking at the completed product of NDP. But this year, we get to be greatly involved in the process of the making of NDP. It's been a different and enriching experience! We've enjoyed our work too! We get to mix around with friends when working, haha.

Any last comments?

"Lend me camera," laments one of them. ( He then laughs. Twitter and blogger peeps use our own cameras to take some of the pictures and sometimes we gotta share resources, haha.)

Anyway, we'll try our best to attend to the requests of the online community! Yup and this year's NDP will be great with many surprises, you all will love to come down to the platform!

We wish you all a great time as you watch NDP this year! And...GROW Singapore!

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And so that's the Tweety Twitters for you! Optimistic, hardworking and funky people. (Look at their funky hand signals, Tweet Tweet!) I've gotta say that they've done a good job maintaining their Twitter website! Go check it out here! :-)