Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Zaqy Mohamad was the Guest-of-Honour at the 2021 Total Defence Day Commemoration Event held at the Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC) today. The event, organised annually by the Ministry of Defence, was also streamed live on the We are Total Defence Facebook page.

In his opening remarks, Mr Zaqy described how Total Defence has guided Singapore's fight against COVID-19, and how our collective efforts have enabled the nation to navigate through the pandemic. He urged Singaporeans to band together and continue to do their part for Total Defence to build a more resilient Singapore. "Throughout the pandemic, it was also heartening to see many Singaporeans stepping forward as volunteers to lend help to others – especially our young. They cooked meals for vulnerable groups, delivered meals door to door, created face shields, led initiatives to help the homeless and underprivileged, started campaigns to combat fake news, created translation websites – and much more.", said Mr Zaqy.

The online audience joined Mr Zaqy and Singaporean musician and video creator Ms Annette Lee on a virtual tour of SDC's latest permanent exhibition, "Through the Lens of Time". The exhibition highlights key events in Singapore's past, such as the Japanese occupation and various milestones during nation building, as well as some of our future challenges. The virtual tour showcased exhibition highlights such as Augmented Reality games and recounted stories of the resilience and unity that enabled Singapore to emerge stronger from crises.

Mr Zaqy also hosted an online Total Defence for a Future Singapore engagement with 92 youth participants. During the discussion, the participants shared their thoughts on how Total Defence continues to be a relevant unifying call for Singaporeans to stand together and overcome the pandemic as well as other challenges to Singapore's security and way of life. They also brainstormed ideas and initiatives to put Total Defence into action for a future Singapore.

Total Defence Day is commemorated annually on 15 February, and marks the day that Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942 during World War II. The theme for this year's Total Defence Campaign is "Together We Keep Singapore Strong". The public can take part in an interesting line-up of activities from now until March 2021 to commemorate Total Defence Day. These include an Online Falsehoods Webinar organised by the National Library Board on 17 February, a CPR and AED workshop by the Singapore Red Cross on 19 February, and a Total Defence Special Exhibition at SDC which ends on 28 March.