'Unsung heroes' to attend National Day ceremonies

As a volunteer in charge of managing people placed on stay-home notice (SHN) on returning from overseas, Ms Grace Koh worked long hours and on public holidays in the past few months to ensure they are received properly at designated hotels.

But what turned out to be more challenging was managing the emotions of their anxious family members, said the senior manager (Skyrise Greenery) at the National Parks Board yesterday.

She recalled a distraught mother who missed the opportunity to see her daughter before she checked into the hotel. The girl, who is in her early teens, had returned to Singapore unaccompanied. "You just feel helpless because there's really nothing you can do, as the mother had missed the moment when she could have seen her daughter alight from the bus that took her from the airport to the hotel.

"All I could do was lend an ear and reassure her," she recounted.

Ms Koh, 32, one of the many "unsung heroes" who have contributed to Singapore's fight against Covid-19, will be among guests invited to the National Day ceremony at Kampung Admiralty on Aug 9. The integrated retirement community development is one of seven locations - besides a scaled-down parade at the Padang - where mini-ceremonies will be held for this year's National Day Parade (NDP).

Another guest, Ms Maslindah Fadzilah, 40, has been helping to manage a government quarantine facility since April.

The hospitality manager at Insead Residences in one-north oversees the quarantine operations there, including making sure those quarantined can contact their families.

She said every National Day, she feels proud to be a Singaporean. Her family, too, is excited, she added. "Every weekend, when the fighter jets are doing their rehearsals, my nine-year-old son will run excitedly to the window."