Flying the Singapore Flag = Love the Country?
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Celebrate National Day: Start flying the Singapore flag
It's that time of the year again. If you haven't already done so, you can start flying the Singapore flag during the National Day celebration period from July 1 to Sept 30.
Other than displaying the flag from buildings and vehicles, you can also wear attire bearing images of the flag during this period, as long as it is done with respect.
Guidelines on the use of the Flag and other National Symbols can be found on the National Heritage Board's website at mystory.sg.
Many people in Singapore continue to mind their own business or make more money. If they really love the country, please help to make it a better place for our next generation to live and play. Remember we plant trees today so that our children can enjoy cleaner air and the cool shade.
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I remember there was a huge LED screen fronting the Cineleisure Orchard. On one National Day, it showed Kit Chan leading a choir during a performance, readying to sing her evergreen "Home". There were people strolling and chatting (your typical weekend window shoppers - families in tows, kids hanging out after school, working young adolescents dressing in the latest trends, sitting at nearby eateries, people-watching and being preoccupied with looking cool). Then, from the screen, Kit started reciting the first few verses from her song.
Her voice - there's a unique quality in it: fragile but strong.
Her voice - was probably the reason why I was stopped in my track along with my dar who stopped walking toward the building entrance.That's when I looked at him. His face, he was looking up at the screen.
Her voice - was probably the same reason that held the many gazes of families and their noisy broods, lovers, school kids, and of those cool looking people who were busy looking cool. The expressions on their faces drawn up to the screen were the same - a look of wonder. There wasn't any background music accompanied to the first few verses. And that explained how I felt sharply about the mounting silence around me. Then, faint background music started to chime in with Kit's. Standing there, watching the big screen was extraordinary. Extraordinary because... there was more than 80% of the crowd joining us, standing there. Watching.
Hoping. Do we even hope anymore, Singaporeans? Do we even dream anymore, Singaporeans?
We all stood in silence. In respect to Kit's regal performance. When Kit came toward the end of the her performance, especially when she hit out the chorus, a stream of tear stained my cheek. I didn't feel the tears at all. And when the tears started dripping from the edge of my face, that's when I snapped out from that hypnotic-like trance and started looking around. The crowd, mostly females, weren't left with faces unstained with tracks of tears. Their male companions, arms around them, looked on, proud. It's not that egoistic kind of "proud". It's a sense of pride "proud". My dar? His eyes were red. I asked "What happened to you?" His sheepish reply, "I was touched. Her voice (Kit's) sang the soul of what being Singaporean about."
Oh, and one more thing, we applauded at the end of her performance. Off screen. In the middle of crowd. At a shopping district. And who said Singaporeans are not spontanenous peeps?