Safra to open ‘club in a park’ at Choa Chu Kang
SINGAPORE — Some 90,000 national servicemen and their families living in the north-west of the island will get their own Safra club “in the coming years”, in Choa Chu Kang Park.
It will feature a skypark running circuit and a sheltered swimming pool with a view of the park — both a first among Safra clubs.
Safra president Ong Ye Kung, who announced the plans on Sunday (May 28), said Safra’s facilities will expand because the north-western part of Singapore is “rapidly building up”, with a new town at Tengah coming up too.
“Our servicemen training in nearby Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) camps at Kranji, Lim Chu Kang, Sungei Gedong and Tengah will also benefit, with convenient access to National Service (NS) cohesion activities conducted by Safra for NS units,” added Mr Ong.
The new Safra club will be its seventh, and there will be an EnergyOne gym that leverages the park’s amenities for fitness programmes, as well as a nature-themed Safra Kidz Amaze playground.
“What we aim to achieve is a seamless blend between clubhouse and park facilities,” said Mr Ong, who is also Second Minister for Defence, in a speech at the Chua Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency NS50 Appreciation Ceremony.
“This will therefore be a unique, tranquil and green setting for the clubhouse, which will in turn make the park a more attractive meeting point for Singaporeans.”
The National Parks Board will be enhancing the Park Connector Network in Choa Chu Kang to improve accessibility from the stadium to the park and the new clubhouse, he added.
Among those who will benefit from the new facility is Safra member Andrew Leong, 22, who travels 30 minutes by bus to use the gym and pool at Safra Jurong twice a week.
The new club will be only a short walk from his home, said the Singapore Management University undergraduate.
Safra has been building clubhouses since 1972 to meet the recreational needs of national servicemen, with the ones in Toa Payoh and Mount Faber serving central Singapore, one in Tampines serving residents in the east, two in the north (Punggol and Yishun) and the one in Jurong.
To commemorate 50 years of NS this year, all SAF national servicemen will be given a free one-year Safra membership. Later this year, a member can pay for one year’s membership to get three years of membership, said Mr Ong.
This is part of a string of Safra initiatives, announced on Sunday at the People’s Association-organised NS50 ceremony, to engage and appreciate national servicemen and their families for their contributions to the nation.
These efforts include 50 events, 500 special deals with its partnering merchants and 50,000 giveaways. They aim to reach over 500,000 national servicemen, said Mr Ong.
One of the events is a new NS50 Team Run category at the Safra Singapore Bay Run and Army Half Marathon in August to encourage past and present SAF servicemen to form teams of 10 runners to complete a five-kilometre route together.
Another is a roadshow, also in August, at Safra Toa Payoh that will showcase the evolution of fitness training in NS over the past 50 years. Giveaways include 15,000 movie vouchers and 35,000 food and beverage vouchers.
At the ceremonyon Sunday at Keat Hong Community Centre, NS50 recognition packages comprising S$100 worth of vouchers were handed out to about 80 pairs of fathers and sons.
“Because potential aggressors know Singaporeans are solidly united in defending our country, we’re able to achieve peace, stability and the conditions for our country to grow and our society to develop,” said Mr Ong.
“In an increasingly complex world plagued with acts of terror, such as the recent suicide attacks in Manchester and Jakarta, cyberattacks and geopolitical uncertainties, we must continue to have a strong SAF, to underpin Singapore’s prosperity and preserve our way of life.”
Health Minister and Member of Parliament for Chua Chu Kang Gan Kim Yong, who was at the event, added: “(NS’) importance cannot be overstated, especially in the unpredictable and volatile world we live in and amid continued security threats.”
