NDP 09 Message

Extracts of an email from BG Tan Chuan-Jin, Chairman EXCO NDP 09, received

by Singapore Consulate General, San Francisco:

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"This year, we are not just focusing on the parade and show, but also on

trying to engender greater reflections as well as engaging more

Singaporeans. Our Pledge plays a central part in not just the design of the

show and parade itself, but as an anchoring idea around which we hope that

Singaporeans can reflect on what it means to be Singaporean.

We are going to take Our Pledge at 8.22pm at the Marina Bay during the NDP

itself. And we'd like Singaporeans from all over to join in. We have over

400 locations already committed e.g. all KFC, MacDonald's, Delifrance,

Pizza Hut outlets, Carrefour, Ikea, up to 16 malls, 8 Grassroots location

(with up to 1500 pax each) etc. We also have a number of overseas locations

joining in with at least Beijing doing it 'live'. CNA will be broadcasting

it live as well as there being a web broadcast through the internet.

Please see the following link:

Clearly, for countries where the time zone is less than convenient, we are

asking Singaporeans to take part in the "Where on Earth are your Pledging?"

effort. This entails video-ing themselves taking the pledge at various and

hopefully iconic locations in the country in which they are at and sending

it back to us.(More details at http://www.ndpeeps.com/video.html.) And/or

the pledge taking could also be recorded during your organised National Day

activities and receptions. It'd help greatly if you could get the word out

to Singaporeans in your mailing list about these various initiatives.

But if you have groups who plan to watch the broadcast live over the

internet and have a mini celebration of sorts, do let us know so that we

can mention them!

We have set up an online portal for Singaporeans to share their thoughts

great if we can pass this on to the various Singaporeans in your mailing

list so that they can share their thoughts. We have > 40, 000 submissions,

and several thousands of hard copies on cards."