For Cai Yinzhou, MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, leading the People’s Action Party (PAP)-PAP Community Foundation (PCF) contingent in this year’s National Day Parade (NDP) brings things full circle.
“I have been involved in different editions of the NDP. So, it’s nice to come back to the parade this year in a different capacity. It’s coming back full circle in a sense,” Mr Cai told Petir.
He has been involved in the NDP three times over the years.
In 2011, he served as a national serviceman with the 35th Battalion, Singapore Combat Engineers unit. His unit managed the water-related aspects of the show segment, and he was involved in towing seashell installations to the floating platform.
In 2018, the NDP show segment highlighted Mr Cai as a social entrepreneur and founder of backalleybarbers, a community initiative he established in 2014. The parade show featured his friendship with a migrant worker Bashar, and how it eventually led to an initiative involving a team of young Singaporeans providing free haircuts to migrant workers, rental flat residents, and seniors in nursing homes.
In 2019, Mr Cai worked with former MP Louis Ng to advocate for a greener NDP. Their efforts led to a more environmentally friendly NDP in 2021, with a pack designed to be both reusable and recyclable.
This year, he assumes an additional role as commander of the PAP-PCF contingent.
”It’s really an honour to represent PAP-PCF and to meet the activists and people behind the scenes who make help the organisation deliver its ongoing impact to Singaporeans,” said Mr Cai.
”Given my previous involvement in the NDP, this is a significant milestone doing something new while playing a small part in Singapore’s largest celebration.”
Cai Yinzhou: Time management is a big challenge as a contingent commander
This year’s NDP returns to the National Stadium for the first time in a decade as Singapore celebrates its 61st birthday.
The show features an elevated platform that contingents will march up.
“This meant that one of the pre-requisites for contingent members was to be able to walk up a flight of stairs unassisted and not being afraid of heights, which was assessed during the audition,” he recalled.
Holding the parade indoors also protects participants from heat related injuries, Mr Cai said. In previous years, when the NDP was held at the floating platform or the Padang, heat caused participants to drop out from the contingent more frequently.
Weekly training began in June on Saturdays. Mr Cai explained that the training emphasises regimentation, uniformity, route familiarity, and precise movement at each point.
“As the contingent commander, you lead from the front, so you must know your steps, positioning, and movements. You have to also look out for your contingent mates, building a culture for caring for one another as a team and making sure we all go home safely each week,” he shared.
His key takeaway from the parade rehearsals is that discipline and practice make perfect.
“The trainers put in effort to teach us, observe our practices, and provide feedback. The discipline of training every week and applying that feedback will pay off to make the final day perfect.”
This year, participants will hold umbrellas instead of flags, with a surprise in store for audiences.
“With umbrellas, a lot of things can go wrong. You can test them before the show starts, but you can’t predict what will happen during the performance. They might not open fully at the first try, knock a cap off your neighbour’s head, or even break. That’s why we need extensive practice.”
However, the biggest challenge for Mr Cai is time management- balancing constituency demands with caregiving responsibilities and family time with his wife and two young children.
“Every moment of practice counts. That takes a toll on family time and other responsibilities. I fit constituency work into Sundays and carve out whatever time remains for residents and my family.”
Mr Cai shared advice from his predecessors, recalling that Minister of State Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim told him that rehearsing for NDP is the best way to lose weight.
”I hope it’s a productive weight loss journey. So far, I’ve seen only a slight decrease—not substantial enough to call it real weight loss,” he quipped.
“[Fellow MP Yip] Hon Weng mentioned about enjoying the process.”
Mr Cai leads a diverse group of party activists and PCF staff. They include professionals, managers and executives, housewives, and retirees. Participants range in age from 25 to 72 years old. Jasmine Ng, 66, from PCF holds the record of having participated in 31 parades and recently received a commemorative plaque for her efforts.
A member of his branch, Daniel Yong, is the reserve contingent commander, and has been helping him to understand the sequencing timings.
”I’ve come to appreciate bonding over meals and breaks, and seeing the activists in a different light, even those I may already know,” he said. “We also meet other contingents and their commanders. Getting to know one another and bonding through the shared NDP experience is special.”
Mr Cai looks forward to leading the PAP-PCF contingent on National Day—a day when Singaporeans demonstrate their love for the nation.
“No amount of practice and effort, all the sweat and tears, can fully prepare you for the moment of marching actual day.”
“Watching each member march with pride and the spirit that brings Singapore together, will be a sight to behold,” he added.
As for what NDP means to him, Mr Cai said:”We have the responsibility to steward Singapore and its resources for future generations. The parade, which involves representatives from different generations, illustrates the kind of Singapore we want to pass from one generation to the next.”
