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04 Apr 2024
5 mins
SMOU Lunar New Year Luncheon & Hong Bao Presentation

SMOU ushered in the Year of the Dragon with fanfare, fun and feast.

Held at the Fairmont Singapore on 14 February 2024, the SMOU Lunar New Year Luncheon kicked off with a pulsating lion dance and the spectacular entry of the giant LED dragon.

Against the celebratory mood, all the1,200 guests stood up to Loi Hei to a brand-new year with shouts of auspicious sayings. 

The showstopper was the presence of the god of fortunes who went around the ballroom to greet the guests.  

Other highlights included the endearing wushu performance by My First Skool Jalan Sultan Centre and the entertaining Happy Fei Fei with her wide repertoire of jokes and songs. The live performance by Two Four and Six Fusion, a Singapore based fusion band, brought on a unique blend of erhu, pipa and guitar sound to the appreciative crowd.

The festive atmosphere started building up at the foyer where tripartite friends gathered to create memories at the Photowall. From the long queue, it was crystal clear that the crowd’s favourite was the immersive experience offered by the 360 revolving photo booth.

When it comes to celebrating life together as a close-knitted community, SMOU does it well.

Minister for Transport announces the Relaunch of TMTA

After a three-year break, the Tripartite Maritime Training Awards (TMTA) will be relaunched with a target to train 120 cadets over the next five years.

Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance, announced this good news at the SMOU Lunar New Year Luncheon and Hong Bao Presentation on 14 February 2024.

SMOU is working closely with Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) to start the next cohort of cadets training from September this year.

“The relaunch of the TMTA programme demonstrates the strong commitment from tripartite partners to support the attraction and development of local seafaring talent,” Minister Chee said.

“The maritime industry is a critical pillar of Singapore’s prosperity and resilience, and our seafarers are the lifeblood of the maritime industry.”

The Singapore Core complements the international talents to make the maritime industry “vibrant and resilient”, he added. “The programme also complements the Sail Milestone Achievement Programme (SailMAP), to retain local seafarers and support them to gain industry experience and eventually attain COC1 qualification.”

SMOU and its training arm, Wavelink Maritime Institute, have made a few improvements to the TMTA programme.

Cadets can commence training without having to wait for a minimum class size. This ensures minimum downtime between a cadet’s application to the programme and the start of their training. Cadets will also benefit from individualised coaching by industry professionals who will guide and support them throughout their training process.

TMTA, which was established in 2009, has trained over 400 cadets. These cadets were supported by over $10 million contributed by SMOU and its tripartite partners. The programme provides course fee subsidies and training allowances as cadets work towards their Certificates of Competency (COC) to qualify as deck officers or marine engineers.

Minister Chee went on to commend SMOU for its “steadfast commitment to giving back to the community”.

Flying the Singapore Flag to New Heights

For more than 30 years, SMOU has been distributing red packets, festive gifts and goodie bags at the annual event. And this year was no different as SMOU would be distributing close to 1000 red packets to its members and seniors throughout the festive season, totalling close to $40,000 in contribution.

In her speech, SMOU General Secretary Mary Liew welcomed the some 1,200 SMOU members as well as seniors from Henderson Home, Jamiyah Home for the Aged, NTUC Health Senior Day Care and guests from the shipping industry.

Among the guests were Special Guest NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng, NTUC President K Thanaletchimi, Singapore National Employers Federation President Robert Yap; Singapore Shipping Association President Caroline Yang and tripartite partners. Overseas guests included International Transport Workers Federation General Secretary Stephen Cotton, International Chamber of Shipping General Secretary Guy Platten, ITF Affiliates from Hong Kong – MNOG, AUS and Nautilus International.

The maritime sector continues to show resilience despite going through the challenging times with ups and downs to the 3Ws namely, “hot war, trade war and tech war”.

Sister Mary posted out that while the Union is happy that shipping companies thrive during crisis, she called on shipping companies to remember the seafarers who maintained the supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Middle East crisis in the Red Sea.

“Please remember the seafarers when granting bonuses to your staff,” she urged.

Sis Mary went on to highlight the milestones on the horizon – the completion of the new building, which will house Wavelink Maritime Institute, Lighthouse Bistro, and SMOU one-stop centre, by 2026 in time for the Union’s 75th Anniversary as well as the relaunch of the TMTA and upgrade of Wavelink Maritime Simulation Centre.

“Despite the challenges, we have good years ahead of us,” she concluded and the guests at the Fairmont Ballroom at Raffles City Convention Centre shouted, “Huat ah!”.

Our Say

Brother Yong Kian Chin, 73, has been a member for 7 years. “I have been missing out on all the welfare benefits all this while till my friend told me about being a SMOU member 7 years ago. Besides this SMOU Lunar New Year celebrations I also participated in the overseas tours and more. Better late than never.”

Brother Abdul Rahman, 68, has been a SMOU member for more than 20 years. “The best part about this event is seeing old friends again. It is like a big family gathering.”

Mohammad Fu’adi Al Said Bin Mohammad Sabri, NTUC Health Senior Day Care Program Executive

“Our seniors are excited to celebrate this special occasion in such a thoughtful way. Thank you SMOU for having us. Thank you for also engaging our seniors through fun outings such as the cable car rides.”