|
Caroline de Guzman Public Relations Manager Singapore Recreation Club DID: 6430
7572 Email: caroline.pr@src.org.sg |
A. Rashid General Manager/Secretary Singapore Recreation Club Tel:
6339 9367 Email: gm@src.org.sg |
Return Of Ambassadors’ SRC Soccer Charity Fiesta 2003
Incorporating
Island’s 1st Multi-Racial Line Dance
SINGAPORE,
30 May 2003 – The Singapore Recreation Club (SRC) today announced
that it would be organising the 2nd Ambassadors’ SRC Soccer Charity
Fiesta on 6 September 2003 at the Padang. Billed as a mini-World Cup on the
Padang, the event promises to bring together the diplomatic community in
Singapore through soccer and raise money for charity. This year’s event also
incorporates the island’s first multi-racial line dance, which seeks to unite
at least 7,000 people from various ethnic groups.
1st Ambassadors’ SRC Soccer Charity Fiesta
Drawing an impressive number of missions and visitors, the
1st Ambassadors’ SRC Soccer Charity Fiesta won rave reviews from
both participants and visitors alike. Last year, the inaugural event attracted
a total of 32 teams from the 51 missions based in Singapore and a team from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs took part. Thailand emerged as the victor whilst
the Maldives, a country not known for its soccer prowess, was the runner-up.
In addition to the 5-a-side soccer matches played last
year, SRC also created history with its sports line dance event on the Padang,
by luring more than 6,000 line dance enthusiasts sporting track shoes, to dance
the night away under the stars.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor S. Jayakumar,
Minister of National Development, Mr Mah Bow Tan, then-Minister of Community
Development and Sports, Mr Chan Soo Sen and several Members of Parliament
(participating under the celebrity MPs segment), under the leadership of Senior
Minister State for Law and Home Affairs, Professor Ho Peng Kee graced the
occasion.
Highlights of the 2nd Ambassadors’ SRC Soccer Charity Fiesta
This year, the Organising Committee has invited the Prime
Minister to be the Guest of Honour. Other ministers who will be invited include
current-Minister of Community Development and Sports & Minister-in-Charge
of Muslim Affairs, Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister of State for
Community Development and Sports, Mr Chan Soo Sen and Minister Mah. Members of
Parliament such as Professor Ho have been invited to field a celebrity team
again.
A unique feature this year is the Multi-Racial Sports Line
Dance segment. Through the Tampines West Community Club, under the leadership
of Mr Abdul Aziz bin Abu Velib and Mr Mohd Naim Daipi of the Malay Affairs
Executive Committee, SRC hopes to attract the Malay-Muslim population to take
part in this event, dressed in their traditional attire, with other
participants from the Chinese, Indian and Eurasian communities.
SRC has also agreed to allow the Malay Education Trust Fund
(ETF) organisers to stage another event on the following day at the Padang,
where a famous Indonesian band would perform for the public and proceeds from
sale of admission tickets will go towards the said fund.
Through the Ambassadors event, SRC hopes to achieve the
following objectives:
1.
Illustrate
that soccer transcends political boundaries and are capable of uniting people
of all races, language and religion
2.
Give
foreign missions an opportunity to show that they have big hearts through the
contribution to charities
3.
Showcase
to the world, in the wake of the JI element in Asia, that Singapore’s model of
multi-racialism works and that various ethnic groups have co-exist with one
another peacefully for over three decades
4.
To raise
the level of awareness for foreign missions in Singapore
To gather feedback and support for the event, SRC is
organising an Ambassadors’ Cocktail Party
at its premises on June 2nd from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.
A total of 23 missions have accepted the Club’s invitation
to attend the cocktail party, where the event’s Organising Chairman and SRC’s
Immediate Past President, Tan Kah Hoe, who is also Singapore’s Ambassador to
Sri Lanka, will introduce them to the proposed event.
We invite
you to attend to find out more about the event.