SAFTI Military Institute bus tours suspended ‘till further notice’: S’pore Discovery Centre
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Public bus tours will be unavailable from Oct 3 until further notice, said the Singapore Discovery Centre.
PHOTO: BUSESINGAPORE/FACEBOOK
SINGAPORE – Bus tours offering the public a glimpse into one of the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) oldest institutions, SAFTI Military Institute (MI), has been suspended until further notice.
In a Facebook post on Oct 1, the Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC) said the last SAFTI MI bus tour would depart at 3pm on Oct 2.
SDC and SAFTI MI are both located in Upper Jurong Road.
SAFTI MI – which is the training ground for SAF’s military leaders – spans 88ha, about the size of 122 football fields, according to a 2005 report by The Straits Times.
SDC, originally called SAFTI Exhibition Centre, was opened in 1996 to focus on instilling in Singaporeans a sense of confidence in the future of Singapore and in the SAF, according to Roots.gov.sg, the National Heritage Board’s heritage resource portal.
The SDC is one of the museums under Defence Collective Singapore, which was set up in 2022 by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF).
Defence Collective Singapore was established to bring the SDC, the navy, air force and army museums, and the upcoming NS-themed Gallery @ NS Square under a single group.
The collective “aims to bring Singapore’s defence story to life and inspire us to defend what it means to be Singaporean”, Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad said in 2024.
The SDC said in its post on Oct 1: “For years, the SAFTI MI bus tour has taken visitors beyond the gates of SAFTI MI for a rare look inside one of Singapore’s most distinguished military institutions.”
In response to queries from The Straits Times, Defence Collective Singapore said the SDC regularly reviews its programmes and initiatives to ensure they remain relevant, meaningful and support public understanding of Singapore’s defence.
“As part of this process, we have decided to cease the public bus tour at SAFTI MI until further notice. We will continue to review our visitor offerings and share further updates on the SAFTI MI bus tour when appropriate,” it said.
Meanwhile, pre-booked bus tours for organised groups continue to be available and can be arranged with the Singapore Discovery Centre, it added.
The SAFTI MI bus tour started in 1996 and in recent years only ran once daily on weekdays and three times a day on weekends and public holidays.
Landmarks in the SAFTI MI include the 60m-tall SAFTI Tower, a three-sided structure with a stairway connecting all sides.
It is a symbol that represents the services of the SAF – the army, navy, air force and the digital and intelligence service, according to information on SAFTI’s website.
The stairway has 265 steps, symbolising the number of days an officer cadet takes to commission as an officer, SAFTI said on its website.
Other landmarks include the parade square, where events such as commissioning parades are held, as well as SAFTI Link, a bridge that provides access to training grounds.