What is Total Defence Day?

It is to commemorate anniversary of the surrender of British to Japanese on February 15, 1942, precursoring 3 years and 8 months of Japanese Occupation, marked annually on February 15 since 1984. Total Defence Day is about the different things we can do every day in every sector of our society to strengthen our resilience as a nation.

Activities, such as quizzes or fire drills, are often held in schools for students reminding them on:

1. The importance of Total Defence
2. Singapore is defensible and is worth defending,
3. and only Singaporeans would have the will to defend Singapore.

At 1205 hours, Important Message Signal will sound through island-wide Public Warning System (PWS) sirens via Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). Simultaneously, 10 local radio stations will sound important message signal, explaining to listeners on appropriate measures taken for three different types of PWS signals. After sounding, schools will read out a Civil Defence message in which students were reminded of the significance of PWS signals and appropriate measures to be taken.