Honouring PM Lee Hsien Loong for his unwavering support for the SPF over the decades.
By: Domnic Dass
On 17 April 2024, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) held a Dining-In Ceremony to honour Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong. The Dining-In Ceremony is a longstanding Police tradition, held to honour distinguished individuals who have made substantial contributions to the SPF.
Held at the Senior Police Officers’ Mess (SPOM), this year’s Ceremony was hosted by Commissioner of Police (CP) Hoong Wee Teck, with more than 100 Police officers and guests in attendance.
After signing the SPOM Visitors’ Book, PM Lee met with officers and guests before viewing the artifacts on display at the Ante Hall.
This year marked the second time that the SPF has hosted PM Lee at a Dining-In Ceremony, with the first being on 25 November 2014. On that occasion, PM Lee had spoken about two areas that the SPF must never neglect: maintaining the highest standards of integrity, commitment and professionalism to sustain the public’s strong trust in the SPF; and, secondly, to continue investing in technology so that the SPF can deal with the latest threats effectively.
In his citation to thank PM Lee, President of the Mess Committee (PMC), Deputy Commissioner of Police (DC) How Kwang Hwee, expressed the SPF’s gratitude to PM Lee for his strong support for the SPF and his service to the nation over the last 20 years. He also recalled PM Lee’s words from 2014. “We are happy to be able to report to PM Lee that today, 10 years on, the public’s trust in the SPF has remained high,” said DC How. “The SPF has also invested heavily in technology and developed new capabilities. This has enabled our lean Force to keep crime rates low, solve crime swiftly, and hence secure the trust and confidence of Singaporeans.”
In recognition of PM Lee’s unwavering support for the SPF over the decades, CP Hoong presented PM Lee with the Temasek Sword, the SPF’s highest accolade. Past recipients of the Temasek Sword include former Presidents Mdm Halimah Yacob, Dr Tony Tan, Mr SR Nathan, Mr Ong Teng Cheong and Dr Wee Kim Wee; as well as Emeritus Senior Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong and Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
A Toast was raised to PM Lee for his support of the SPF and to wish him good health. After the Toast, CP Hoong invited PM Lee to take his seat for the next part of the ceremony, the Piper’s Set.
The dining hall was filled with the distinctive tones of the bagpipes as the Gurkha Contingent’s Piper Sergeant Major played. Then he marched forward, saluted PM Lee and received a Quaich, a drinking cup from Scotland with two handles. The Piper Sergeant Major wished PM Lee “Baliyo Rahanu Hos, Saheb,” which means “Good health and long life, Sir” in Nepalese, before drinking from the cup and saluting PM Lee again.
Following the Piper’s Set, PM Lee and the guests were led to SPOM’s front lawn where a different musical highlight awaited – a recital by the Police Combined Band under the evening sky, with officers performing a medley of homegrown favourites, including the evergreen National Day song, Home.
This was a fitting conclusion to the evening; a reminder of PM Lee’s leadership and his unwavering support for the SPF over the decades in keeping Singapore – Our Home – Safe and Secure.
Read more about the Dining-In to honour PM Lee Hsien Loong here.
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