Give seniors more of a chance to watch NDP

When balloting for National Day Parade (NDP) and rehearsal tickets, there should be some preference given to senior citizens ("Make NDP more accessible" by Mrs Sherley Servos; July 3, and "Help more people watch NDP live" by Mr Crosby Ong Hock Chye; July 2).

Those above 60 who are healthy and interested to apply for the tickets should be given as much of a chance as possible.

There may be some senior citizens who have not been able to attend the NDP although they have been applying year in and year out.

The organisers should give them a higher chance to watch the parade before they become too frail to do so. There are many ways to ensure senior citizens allocated tickets do not abuse this privilege.

For instance, they can be given tickets of a certain colour, and would need to show proof of identity when using the tickets to enter the parade grounds.

The NDP is likely to be more meaningful to senior citizens, considering that they have grown up with Singapore and are the pioneers of the country.

This year, hopefully, senior citizens who have applied for the tickets but are unsuccessful will get the chance to attend the parade.

Yeo Boon Eng (Ms)

This article was first published on July 11, 2015.
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