NDP tickets make fitting present for brand-new citizens

ST contest winners Johan Yu and his wife Novida Lunardi Lee enjoying their ride on the Navy's rigid-hulled inflatable boat last Saturday, part of a high-speed chase sequence in this year's NDP.
ST contest winners Johan Yu and his wife Novida Lunardi Lee enjoying their ride on the Navy's rigid-hulled inflatable boat last Saturday, part of a high-speed chase sequence in this year's NDP. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

A day after they got their Singapore citizenship last Thursday, Johan Yu and his wife Novida Lunardi Lee received more news worth celebrating.

The couple from Indonesia, who have lived in Singapore for 10 years, found they would finally get to watch the National Day Parade.

They had balloted for tickets several times without success.

"When we heard that we won, we thought it wasn't real at first... Watching it on TV is different from attending, you can feel the energy when you're there," said Mr Yu, a business analyst.

As one of the winners of the #designwithST contest, which saw thousands mix and match their favourite NDP locations and performances to put together an NDP scene, Mr Yu won a pair of tickets to the show on Aug 9.

The couple also got to ride on one of the Navy's rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIB) for a behind-the-scenes look at a high-speed chase sequence in the show's Dynamic Defence segment.

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Nine others scored show tickets while 38 won funpacks as part of the contest, which is one of three that The Straits Times has been organising in the lead-up to NDP.

Mr Yu and Ms Lee, a housewife, boarded one of the RHIBs at the Flyer Pontoon for a rehearsal ahead of the first NDP preview last Saturday.

After a leisurely cruise in Marina Bay, the RHIBs took off towards the floating platform, making sharp turns at speeds of up to 55kmh while gunners on the boats shot blanks at two "intruders" on jet-skis during the minute-long chase.

Mr Yu, 41, who found the ride exciting, said his favourite part of NDP is the military display.

Mr Yu, who picked the Marina Bay Floating Platform as the location for his winning design, will also get to see another of his picks, the Red Lions, in action this year.

His wife, Ms Lee, 37, added: "Singapore is really our home now."

WATCH THE VIDEO

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the NDP's high-speed water chase: http://str.sg/4Dez

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 24, 2017, with the headline NDP tickets make fitting present for brand-new citizens. Subscribe