As a kid, I glued myself to the television set and watched the National Day parade every year. Each year, we hear the tv hosts in their patriotic voice over, saying that they are proud to be a Singaporean as the firework goes non stop. The most impressive fireworks I remembered, was that year there was a rumour that the Mahathir government tried to get a loan from Singapore to save its crashing economy and we rejected the request. Instead, we spent million of dollars blasting it into the sky, demonstrating what economical superpower of South East Asia we are. The most disappointing year was when some morons in the planning committee decided to have the firework at 7pm, when the sun was still very up and shining. Of course, no one quite figured out what colours were the fireworks against the bright blue sky. I hoped that the army boy was demoted for the spastic idea and sloppy work. No one dared to attempt the firework at such a timing again (except of our Malaysian neighbour in one of their own National Day)
This year, the National Day parade lost much of its hype and shine since it was just one day after the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic. Everyone must have wowed much during the telecast ceremony that the NDP on the next day just look like a very long and colourful Chingay parade. Apart from dumping their usually ugly and sponsors logos plagued haversacks for the NDP, the format for the celebration look very much the same from any other years. To their credit, someone in the planning team realised that you dun really need to have red and white for a NDP souvenir bag. For a good design sense, they also ditched the usually gayish rainbow or techno colour for the logo, and settled for something cleaner and easier to reproduce on any NDP collateral. But the tv hosts sounded dry on air and the fireworks look repetitive and I am thinking, 2009 and 2010 NDPs will probably be downscaled in preparation for the YOG. Ahem, I am also praying that they won't attempt to do a Zhang Yimou in Singapore for YOG, we dun have Zhang or 5000 years of history to play with. And they should not even think Jack Neo, that guy should really stay in tv boxes. And keep the Merlion at the mouth of Singaporea River cos that paper lantern like copy at the NDP is cheesy. Oki, I am a Singaporean, we are hard to please.
But hey, I am still proud to be a Singaporean, with or without the parade or the fireworks. At the pink picnic, Alex Au and I were watching the Chinook with the huge Singapore flag flew past the Botanic Gardens at low height. Then I exclaimed that it was the spare flag we saw, and Alex went on to explain why we could recognise it as the spare one to a common friend ,who was watching with us and puzzled. He must be totally amazed why we know trivial stuff like this.
Let me explain why. If you see the Chinook with the huge flag without the two escorting Apache helicopters, it is the back up set. It is a typical arrangement done by the organiser. I was on the bus today, internalising what does that insignificant information mean for me, perhaps for Alex too. I dunno how many of us were looking up into the sky for the flag, but I saw that look on Alex. Maybe that's the explanation why he bothered to write so much in his blog, making all the noises or getting things moving. If he dun feel like a Singaporean, he won't do all these, he won't look at the flag either. He could have moved on to somewhere else, where things are easier for him.
Just one night earlier, a bunch of young men booed when the flag bearer for the Singaporean contingent was Li Jiawei, who was born in China. They hated the idea that the flag bearer is not a true blood Singaporean. I am just wondering, how true blood Singaporean are we? At least, this China born sport star worked her ass up to carry the national flag for us. And she probably sang the National Anthem much better than most of us. In my own opinion, she is no less Singaporean than anyone of us. In the trashy wanbao newspaper tonight, it was reported 30% of Singaporeans do not know the full meaning of the anthem. And for heaven's sake, it was that cute cleaner from India who hang all the flags on my block. What your so called Singaporeans did, they hung their pathetic looking mattresses over the flag to sun. I cannot even remember what does the stars stand for. If you ask my India born Bala about Singapore, he probably know more about Singapore than my public servants put together. So really, maybe we should do more to earn our citizenship, apart from being born here, paying taxes and serving the National Service.
Now, go sing Majulah Singapura until you get it right and with pride, and not like some of the Singaporeans caught lip synching on the national television.
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