SINGAPORE – To commemorate 50 years of Police National Service (PNS), Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam on Aug 21 was presented with a watercolour painting done by a police full-time national serviceman (NSF).
The painting, titled NS Generations In Blue, was created by Special Constable Corporal Muhamad Irfan Muhamad Rapid, 20, who was a visual arts student at the School of the Arts.
He is now a training assistant in the Special Operations Command, where he supports the regular police trainers when they conduct emergency medical technician operator courses.
His work of art symbolises the Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) national servicemen passing down their commitment to national service from one generation to the next.
Its background shows the Old Police Academy on the left, and the current Home Team Academy (HTA) on the right, representing the changing training grounds of PNS officers in the past 50 years.
In the foreground are officers, dressed in old uniforms from 1975 and the current uniforms, running towards the HTA, symbolising a shared journey into the future.
Speaking to the media before the event, Cpl Irfan said the inspiration for the painting came from speaking to his father, who was in the police force for his national service in the 1980s.
“He told me a lot about his experience and training during his time in national service, and he was very particular about the little details of the (police) uniform (for the painting).”
It took Cpl Irfan about three months to conceptualise and complete the painting, which was presented to Mr Shanmugam, the guest of honour at the Police Annual Dinner at the Resorts World Sentosa Convention Centre.
The dinner was attended by more than 900 community partners, guests and police officers commemorating 50 years of Police National Service and the centenary of the Singapore Police Force band.
At the dinner, Mr Shanmugam joined members of the PNS community in placing five symbolic items into a time capsule – an SPF200 medallion, a swagger stick, an SPF jockey cap, a PNS booklet and an assistant superintendent of police peak cap.
Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam (in blue) placing items inside the PNS 50 time capsule.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
The items represent the heritage, discipline and future aspirations of the SPF.
Said Mr Shanmugam: “Look at our police national service officers. They stand shoulder to shoulder with our regular officers. They patrol the streets. They do crime fighting. They do a lot of the other work that our regular officers do. And if you look at Singapore today, you know (we’re) one of the lowest-crime cities in the world.
“The police national servicemen form a very essential part of making sure of that. So we thank them for generations for keeping Singapore safe.”
As a former visual arts student from the School of The Arts, Special Constable Corporal Muhamad Irfan Bin Muhamad Rapid was elated when he found out that he would be painting a gift for
To commemorate 50 years of Police National Service, Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam was presented with a watercolour painting
