I had been actually mulling over the entry title for today, you know. Or maybe should say after I posted my entry for yesterday's. I was wondering what title is aptable for today being a National Day? In the end, I thought, simplicity is the best. I had wanted to use this year's theme song (Reach Out For The Skies), or this year's theme (The Future Is Ours To Make) which was actually inspired by our prime minister's National Day Rally speech last year, or simply just - National Day.
But looking at the National Day Parade from the Padang and the various celebrations around the heartlands at Yishun, Tampines, Jurong East and even Marina South, I thought about that title for today. It's indeed a celebration of a lifetime.
The time where it reminds me that I'm a Singaporean, no matter what. I may be more towards all-things Western like what Mother said about my music and food tastes, I came into this world and it's in Singapore. I'm a Singaporean from the day I came into this world. I almost became a New Zealander, you know. Because it was in New Zealand where Mother accompanied Dad on his business trip and she was being diagnosed as pregnant there. Guess that is how my love for Western food came about (and seemed to like all things British). But my parents thought, their relatives are back home in Singapore, I should be a Singaporean. Blessing in disguise, whenever I think about it. If not for my parents' decision then, I think Singapore's official population figures does not stand more than 4 million now. The permanent residents (like my former Sec 4 form teacher Miss Lim who was from Malaysia actually and Mdm Kavitha, my Sec 4 English teacher, who came here when she was eight with her family from India), Singaporeans being born and bred here and our forefathers who stayed put here make up that population.
So I learnt after I woke up this morning (after 9am because I went to bed at 1.45am) that my parents, Alvin and Felicia came home after 3am today. I was surprised that my parents woke up after I did. But to them, they are used to waking up to that time already. Guess what time Alvin and Felicia woke up? After 12pm. Yes, after much coaxing from Mother. I was already on the Internet by then after my lunch.
But before I go there, you know it was like before lunch I was in the kitchen and I happened to stand in front of the referigerator and saw the London magnet. Dad bought it when he was there last September. The magnet was showing the London Eye and the Westminister building (the UK's Parliament had their sessions there). For a moment, the 117th IOC Session's memories are back before my very eyes. I went a little dreamy. I used to say here before that having the IOC Session really had loads of impact for me. I was rooting for London to be the 2012 Games host from Day One, no matter how much the media seemed to be saying Paris is the favourite. So imagine my surprise then excitement after it's true that London will be hosts for the 2012 Games, seven years on. This island nation, was once a former British Crown Colony and the whole IOC Session fuss with London emerging as winners eventually made it all the more emotional for me. So poignant even. And odd and amusing too. You know, actually back then when Beijing won the right to host the 2008 Games (before London 2012), I felt so happy too. Two cities which had that emotional attachment on me. China (where Beijing is the capital)...is the country where my grandparents came from and the United Kingdom (where London is the capital), was once our former colonial master. A sense of historial attachment for me.
I was online today as usual and if you wonder, had I ignored my Harry Potter reading? Nope. Read a chapter and a half before lunch. Aha. And my parents, Alvin and Felicia went to Yishun to be part of the heartland celebrations for National Day today. They need to collect their funpacks there, you know. We only won that through the online balloting. Dad actually tried for the tickets but in vain. At least this is better than nothing.
When it was time for the National Day Parade 'live' broadcast, it was a real party. And I mean it. I was waving my miniature flag at certain point in time like crazy. The little things that reminds of my nationality. There was the usual marching and the gun salute and stuff and the show segment as well. When it came to the show segment, I was feeling all the goosebumps all over again. Showing us from our humble beginnings as Sang Nila Utama was the one who named this place Singapura (or 'Lion City' in Malay or Singapore as the world knows us by now) because he saw a lion. That was way before 1819, the year Singapore became an official Crown Colony of the United Kingdom, thanks to our known founding father Sir Stamford Raffles who made here a free port, which is the reason why we are so multi-cultural till now and so comospolitan. I remembered back then in my primary school Social Studies lessons and History lessons in Sec 2 (learning about Singapore's history was the syllabus then) that Raffles signed an agreement to make Singapore a colony of the UK and never did I realised that the Padang where the heart of the celebration was at, once stood the place for where the agreement was signed! How historic is that! I knew it through the commentaries.
Then came the second act of the show segment. But in between that, images and footages showing the important moments in our history (from the war years to the Japanese surrender to self-government, merger with Malaysia and...all on our own and the important events to come after that). I almost went misty-eyed when watching. It's always those times which will always make me want to cry. Because I always feel proud to call myself a Singaporean. The SARS crisis was part of the footage too, showing the resilience Singaporeans had and the various headlines in regards to that...till the time we were officially off the WHO's list being SARS-free as a result. Showing the world that we are small but we can achieve the big things! Of course I mentioned that the BBC once showed how we handled the SARS outbreak here too. That came into my mind as I was watching the footages. Maybe in the years to come for those footages, how we came under the international spotlight because of our help to the Boxing Day tsunami victims. Who knows. Something I can always tell my future kids and grandkids that I lived through those times. And about the 117th IOC Session too. I can tell my future generations that I witnessed the events and all before my very eyes.
When the finale came, time to sing this year's theme song - Reach Out For The Skies. That is what we can all do! And when the fireworks came on, it showed the ariel view of the Padang and I could see Raffles City (and the Raffles City Convention Centre inside it too, you know). I smiled to myself. The IOC Session was once held inside that building. All the 'fight' to host the 2012 Games came from there. Where we ordinary Singaporeans saw through the news and the papers the who's who pushing hard for their various candidate cities to be the 2012 host. I mean, I was checking out Google News today and I typed in IOC Session and when I saw those pics which happened back then, it all came back to me - again.
I know the criticism of us being a one-party country is always there (I mean, that is how the Western media see us as!) and I will always get angry upon that thought but then, we are just like that...where can you see in the world today where a political party had never lost an election in history because I think, that is how the Western media think about democracy - the presence of more than a party in a Parliament or Senate; we do have it but it's not much but at least, we had both sides! Hello! Like what comedienne Irene Ang being interviewed in today's edition of The Straits Times supplement about what she will do when others say bad things of Singapore - being angry, of course. Now that is when my patriotism kicks in. If you dare to say such things that deemed to be against my birthplace's intentions...you will hear no end from me!!! I will stand no-nonsense about my birthplace at all. Period.
Enough of soapbox. I was reading the Home section of The Straits Times and there was a report about bringing Singapore-style of food to the United Kingdom. To their Chinatown, to be exact. Things like this that always will set me grinning. I may be seeing a little bit of home when I head to the UK's Chinatown should I travel to London in the future. Then I will know, I am home away from home. Ah...
Happy 40th Birthday, Singapore. May the best be always be bestowed on my homeland in the many years to come!
