Photo of a young Mahmud Bin Awang, who was a leading trade unionist of the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and a People's Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliament. He was dressed in the People's Defence Force (PDF) Temasek green uniform, which was later used by the Singapore Armed Forces before a new uniform was introduced in the mid-1980s. Together with other leading PAP Members of Parliament such as Fong Sip Chee, Ong Pang Boon, Chan Chee Seng, Othman Work and Jek Yeun Thong, Mahmud Bin Awang was a volunteer in the PDF. Following Singapore's separation from Malaysia on 9 August 1965, defence of Singapore was in the hands of only 2 regular infantry battalions and a small number of military volunteers. This led to the call made by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in December 1965, to volunteer in contributing to Singapore's defence. The PDF consisted of volunteers, with the first batch of officer cadets comprising of cabinet ministers and PAP Members of Parliament. After 3 months of training beginning in January 1966, these volunteers were commissioned as officers, holding a minimum rank of Second-Lieutenant.
1966
20090000366 - 0039
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Mahmud Awang Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore
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