http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,209916,00.html?
S'pore's 44th Birthday
Why Pledge at 8.22pm?
Timing just right for NDP show, says exco chairman
By Veena Bharwani
August 09, 2009
WHY 8.22pm?
That's the big question surrounding The Pledge Moment.
To mark Singapore's 44th birthday tomorrow, the plan is for every Singaporean islandwide to stop what they are doing and recite the Pledge together.
But why not a more symbolic time like 8.09pm, in keeping with the date , 9 Aug? Or why not 8.44pm to mark Singapore's 44th birthday?
The chairman of the National Day Parade (NDP) executive committee, Brigadier-General Tan Chuan-Jin, 40, said: 'We did think of 8.44, but it was a bit too late in the NDP show. We also thought of 8.09 in honour of 9 Aug, but that would have been too early on in the show.
'As the parade started shaping up, it looked as if it would take place around 8.20pm. We thought why not 8.22pm? It has a nice ring to it.'
He added: 'The comedian Irene Ang also mentioned that 8.22 is symbolic.
'Eight divided by two is four. And it is Singapore's 44th birthday.'
He said in the early stages of the planning, the committee did not expect The Pledge Moment to mushroom from something that would take place in front of the 27,000-odd spectators at the parade to an islandwide event.
Broadcast online
Even Singaporeans overseas at various locations will have the chance to say the Pledge at that precise moment. The parade will be broadcast live on the ChannelNewsAsia website.
In Singapore, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will sound a chime at exactly 8.22pm to mark the start of The Pledge Moment, inviting citizens who are not at the parade to recite the Pledge.
Five years back, the idea started as a joke among BG Tan and his colleagues. BG Tan said in his blog on the NDP website that the idea came from his late friend Colonel Bernard Tan.
Said BG Tan on his blog: 'Bernard once had a hare-brained idea where we would set off the Civil Defence sirens and have a magical moment when the country would come to a halt and recite the Pledge together.'
Col Tan died in March 2006 after collapsing at the end-point of the Singapore Biathlon.
He was 39.
It was only when BG Tan became the chairman of the exco last year that he started to work towards The Pledge Moment.
He said: 'As things moved along, we thought, let's just ask SCDF if they could sound the chimes to signal the moment. We also got a lot of support from the community.'
So far, 714 partners, including shopping centres and major food outlets, have come on board in support.
The Pledge will be broadcast over their public announcement systems and the respective managers will lead both staff and customers in taking the Pledge.
So the far-fetched idea that was once a joke among army buddies took on a life of its own.
'Of course, we realised that we have a record-breaking event on our hands,' he added, laughing. 'You know how we Singaporeans are with numbers and breaking records.'
But he said he didn't want to turn it into a numbers game. Indeed, there is no way of knowing how many people will actually pause and take the Pledge at 8.22pm.
'Essentially, it is more important to say the Pledge together rather than worrying about how many people will do it.'
He also accepts that many Singaporeans may choose not to say it.
'Honestly, it would not be a loss. It is about the journey all of us took as Singaporeans to get to this point, and not only about the moment itself.
'Saying the Pledge doesn't make you more or less patriotic. It is a symbol, just like hanging the Singapore flag outside your flat.'
S'pore's 44th Birthday
Why Pledge at 8.22pm?
Timing just right for NDP show, says exco chairman
By Veena Bharwani
August 09, 2009
WHY 8.22pm?
That's the big question surrounding The Pledge Moment.
To mark Singapore's 44th birthday tomorrow, the plan is for every Singaporean islandwide to stop what they are doing and recite the Pledge together.
But why not a more symbolic time like 8.09pm, in keeping with the date , 9 Aug? Or why not 8.44pm to mark Singapore's 44th birthday?
The chairman of the National Day Parade (NDP) executive committee, Brigadier-General Tan Chuan-Jin, 40, said: 'We did think of 8.44, but it was a bit too late in the NDP show. We also thought of 8.09 in honour of 9 Aug, but that would have been too early on in the show.
'As the parade started shaping up, it looked as if it would take place around 8.20pm. We thought why not 8.22pm? It has a nice ring to it.'
He added: 'The comedian Irene Ang also mentioned that 8.22 is symbolic.
'Eight divided by two is four. And it is Singapore's 44th birthday.'
He said in the early stages of the planning, the committee did not expect The Pledge Moment to mushroom from something that would take place in front of the 27,000-odd spectators at the parade to an islandwide event.
Broadcast online
Even Singaporeans overseas at various locations will have the chance to say the Pledge at that precise moment. The parade will be broadcast live on the ChannelNewsAsia website.
In Singapore, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will sound a chime at exactly 8.22pm to mark the start of The Pledge Moment, inviting citizens who are not at the parade to recite the Pledge.
Five years back, the idea started as a joke among BG Tan and his colleagues. BG Tan said in his blog on the NDP website that the idea came from his late friend Colonel Bernard Tan.
Said BG Tan on his blog: 'Bernard once had a hare-brained idea where we would set off the Civil Defence sirens and have a magical moment when the country would come to a halt and recite the Pledge together.'
Col Tan died in March 2006 after collapsing at the end-point of the Singapore Biathlon.
He was 39.
It was only when BG Tan became the chairman of the exco last year that he started to work towards The Pledge Moment.
He said: 'As things moved along, we thought, let's just ask SCDF if they could sound the chimes to signal the moment. We also got a lot of support from the community.'
So far, 714 partners, including shopping centres and major food outlets, have come on board in support.
The Pledge will be broadcast over their public announcement systems and the respective managers will lead both staff and customers in taking the Pledge.
So the far-fetched idea that was once a joke among army buddies took on a life of its own.
'Of course, we realised that we have a record-breaking event on our hands,' he added, laughing. 'You know how we Singaporeans are with numbers and breaking records.'
But he said he didn't want to turn it into a numbers game. Indeed, there is no way of knowing how many people will actually pause and take the Pledge at 8.22pm.
'Essentially, it is more important to say the Pledge together rather than worrying about how many people will do it.'
He also accepts that many Singaporeans may choose not to say it.
'Honestly, it would not be a loss. It is about the journey all of us took as Singaporeans to get to this point, and not only about the moment itself.
'Saying the Pledge doesn't make you more or less patriotic. It is a symbol, just like hanging the Singapore flag outside your flat.'
