Welcome Remarks by President Tony Tan at HADC Appointment Ceremony & Appreciation Dinner 2016

Dr Ng Eng Hen
Minister for Defence
and Mrs Ng

Distinguished Guests

Members of the Honorary Aide-de-Camp (ADC) Corps

Ladies and Gentlemen

My wife Mary and I are very pleased to host tonight’s Appointment and Appreciation Ceremony Dinner for our Honorary ADCs. This annual event gives us the opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks to the Honorary ADCs for your hard work, commitment and personal sacrifices over the past year.

As Honorary ADCs, you are Ambassadors of the Presidency. When you interact with foreign dignitaries and local guests, you leave a lasting impression on them. I am confident that you will continue to uphold standards befitting the highest office of the land and keep our flag flying high.

2015 has been an eventful year as Singapore celebrated our Golden Jubilee. Many of you were involved in several SG50 related events hosted in the Istana. This was on top of the usual slate of state visits by foreign dignitaries, investitures, award ceremonies and community engagement events, which numbered over a hundred last year.

Many of you performed these Honorary ADC duties over and above your primary duties back in your home units. This has been made even more challenging last year, when there were also several high key events, including the Lunch for Government Representatives who attended our National Day Parade, General Elections, and the SEA Games, which kept many of you very busy in your day jobs. Yet, you remained committed and made personal sacrifices by putting in extra hours to help plan and execute events involving Mary and me. We greatly appreciate your support.

I would also like to extend my appreciation to your families and loved ones, some of whom are with us this evening. It was their unwavering support and understanding that made it possible for you to dedicate these extra hours of hard work to my office.

At the ceremony earlier, I presented certificates of appreciation to 16 Honorary ADCs who will be retiring from the Corps this year. Mary and I would like to thank you for your years of committed service and invaluable contributions. I hope that you will look back fondly to the exposure gained and friendships forged over these years. We wish you all the best in your future endeavours. 

This year, I am also pleased to appoint 103 Honorary ADCs, of whom 20 are new appointees. Besides providing opportunities for other deserving officers to serve the office of the President, this annual renewal process is important to ensure that there will be a constant flow of new ideas and thoughts within the Corps.

With the new appointments, our Honorary ADC Corps now comprises officers from a wide range of experiences, skills and backgrounds. Some of the younger ones come with fresh perspectives to contribute, while others have a wealth of experience to tap on when organising events. Among them, I am especially pleased to learn that we have a Police Officer who has risen through the ranks to join the Corps this year.

ASP Jassman Fun joined the Singapore Police Force as a Corporal about twenty years ago. As a young Police Officer, he had simply wanted to serve the public by maintaining law and order on the ground. But one day while performing his normal policing duties, he saw some Honorary ADCs executing a national event. The confidence those Honorary ADCs exulted, the dedication they showed in their actions and the excellence they demanded of their tasks all left a deep impression on Jassman. That chance encounter with the Honorary ADCs ignited Jassman’s desire to be part of the Corps, and motivated him to upgrade himself to be a Senior Police Officer so that he qualifies to be an Honorary ADC. Through sheer hard work and grit, his efforts finally paid off when he was appointed a Senior Police Officer in 2011, and was selected this year to join the Honorary ADC Corps. Mary and I look forward to Jassman’s contributions as an Honorary ADC. Congratulations!

Jassman’s journey, though inspirational, is not unique. Many of you have come a long way in preparing yourselves for this appointment. Indeed, I see that many of you continue to exemplify this spirit of tenacity and focus when you perform your roles as Honorary ADCs.

Let me conclude by thanking the Chief of Defence Force, Commissioner of Police, Commissioner of SCDF, Service Chiefs and all supervisors for your support in nominating your finest officers into the Honorary ADC Corps. Your continuing support will definitely inspire more outstanding officers to volunteer their services to the Corps in future.

Mary and I would like to thank everyone for your support to the President’s Office. We wish you a pleasant and enjoyable evening.