Total Defence Day 2025

Introduction

“The most important thing is our defence. It was a simple question of survival or being destroyed by others. If we want to survive and not be destroyed by others. If we want to survive and not be destroyed by others, then we must unite and be prepared to fight to defend ourselves.” The famous quote about Total Defence from our founding father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Many of us think that Total Defence Day is just another day, another useless day that the government has made up, another day that is just the same as the rest. When we live in peace and in a country that is safe from wars raging across the world, it is easy for us to take the fact that we are safe for granted. 

Key aspects of total defence

For many of our grandparents and even great grandparents, the Japanese occupation was a scarring one that left Singapore in ruins. We were taken over in the span of a few days, which highlights the importance of our total defence. Singapore is a harmonious, multi-racial, and homogeneous country and that is always a work in progress. There are five pillars of security in Singapore are civil defence, military defence, economic defence, social defence, digital defence and psychological defence. We may not play a part in all the pillars, but we can certainly do our part in some pillars of defence.

Events in St Nicholas and Singapore

We all have a part to play in these aspects. For people like ASP Pauline Lee and others, like we heard from in the assembly, even though we may not take interest in all parts of their jobs and what they do, we can do our best to keep Singapore safe through little ways. For example, clearing our HDB walkways in case of fire, or reporting scams and spam calls. These are all little actions that we are all capable of doing, that make all the difference in the safety of Singapore.

This year as part of St Nick’s efforts to let our students experience life and maybe understand what life for people in war times was, we were all given a meal that acted as food rations. Although the food we were given probably did not come close to war rations and the food they had during war times, this exercise gave us a taste of having our options and choices, as well as preferences limited, which was what was apparent during war times.

Another event that St Nicks carried out was having booths and vehicles in the family lounge and in the secondary parade square. It was very interesting to walk around the family lounge and talk to the different people manning the booths. I learnt many new things about their jobs and the things that they do to help keep Singapore safe. 

Lastly, the yearly siren on the Public Warning System was played. In my opinion, this yearly exercise is effective because it serves as a reminder that not too long ago, Singapore was under war and it was a terrible time for everyone back then. I hope that us as Singaporeans never have to hear that siren.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this Total Defence Day served as a reminder to me about the importance of security and safety in Singapore. I believe that everyone has a part to play in the safety of Singapore and there are many little things that we can do to ensure the security of Singapore. It served as a reminder that not only our Armed Forces are the people keeping Singapore safe. There are many other aspects to our safety and we all have a part to play.

Written by: Joanne (2P) & Phoebe (1G)