What NDP has meant to me nowadays

MM had once shared that she took part in one National Day Parade (NDP) as a teenager in the early 90s. Together with almost half of her school’s secondary one/two cohort, they were trained weekly for their presentation item with three other schools of students for almost two months! On the actual day, they were made to dress in unusually designed tracksuits (which were red on the right and white on the left), to present a dance and the “Happy Birthday To Singapore” wordings to the whole nation in the rain! Though they were still a bunch of giggling teenagers then, it was a shared experience and sense of achievement that make them feel proud they were there to present, to be part of the celebration and to feel what it means to be a Singaporean (oh yes, not to forget the first yet ever-lasting impression of fireworks that were blasted up in the sky and right in front of their eyes!)!

Nowadays, the NDP has become an increasingly expensive and elaborate show. In his commentary, “Why the obsession with NDP fun packs?” (My Paper, July 8), Mr David Lim shares an insightful observation on Singaporeans’ obsession with the NDP fun packs and how that has eclipsed the actual meaning of national day itself.

Well, my furry brain thinks there’s nothing wrong to stage the NDP as a big-budget performance for mass consumption. It’s also not a sin to throw in a fun pack for every spectator as a memento. But the appeal of the parade today has seemed to lose its original intentions. Instead of commemorating Singapore’s independence, achievements and vulnerability, as well as instilling Singaporeans the sense of belonging and moving forward as a nation together, the glitz and glamour have simply created a distance over the time. Oh yes, the use of Lady Gaga’s hit song to celebrate the contents of this year’s NDP goody bag is another unbearable disappointment. :(

Perhaps that’s why in the recent years of watching NDP on the TV with the humans, i cannot feel the patriotism, as fighter jets swooped across the sky and fireworks exploded in the midst of the singing of National Day songs. To me, the parade is just a fanfare, an entertainment that has to be done every year. Maybe it's because I’m a dog, though I'm one of the intelligent mammals too, my level of excitement is not as much as the humans'. Or maybe it’s just that today’s NDP is never able to fill me the sense of nationhood through the showy ritual. In fact, it's becoming boring and the recent years of National Day songs don't really sound nice to my ears.

Nevertheless, I'm always proud to be a Singaporean (hey, I have a valid licence issued by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore hor!). I, together with my family, sincerely wish our lovely country a very wonderful birthday with many more good years to come:

Happy 46th year of independence!!