SAFTI Military Institute bus tours suspended ‘till further notice’: S’pore Discovery Centre

SINGAPORE – Bus tours offering the public a glimpse into one of the Singapore Armed Forces’ oldest institutions, SAFTI Military Institute (MI), have been suspended until further notice.

In a Facebook post on Oct 1, the Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC) said the last SAFTI MI bus tour would depart at 3pm on Oct 2.

Public bus tours will be unavailable from Oct 3 until further notice, said SDC, without going into further detail.

SDC and SAFTI MI are both located in Upper Jurong Road.

SAFTI MI – which is the training ground for officers from Singapore’s army, navy and air force – spans 88ha, about the size of 122 football fields, according to a 2005 report by The Straits Times.

SDC, originally called SAFTI Exhibition Centre, was opened in 1996 to focus on instilling in Singaporeans a sense of confidence in the future of Singapore and in the Singapore Armed Forces, according to Roots.gov.sg, the National Heritage Board’s heritage resource portal.

The Singapore Discovery Centre is one of the museums under Defence Collective Singapore, which was set up in 2022 by the Ministry of Defence.

Defence Collective Singapore was established to bring the Singapore Discovery Centre, the navy, air force and army museums, and the upcoming NS-themed Gallery @ NS Square under a single group.

The collective “aims to bring Singapore’s defence story to life and inspire us to defend what it means to be Singaporean”, Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad said in 2024.

The Singapore Discovery Centre said in its post on Oct 1: “For years, the SAFTI MI bus tour has taken visitors beyond the gates of SAFTI MI for a rare look inside one of Singapore’s most distinguished military institutions.”

According to a Facebook post by SDC in 2019, the bus tour took 30 minutes, and was available at hourly intervals from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 10am to 5pm. Admission was free for Singaporeans and permanent residents.

Landmarks in the SAFTI MI include the 60m-tall SAFTI Tower, a three-sided structure with a stairway connecting all sides.

It is a symbol that represents the services of the SAF – the army, navy, air force and the digital and intelligence service, according to information on SAFTI’s website.

The stairway has 265 steps, symbolising the number of days an officer cadet takes to commission as an officer, SAFTI said on its website.

Other landmarks include the parade square, where events such as commissioning parades are held, as well as SAFTI Link, a bridge that provides access to training grounds.

The Straits Times has contacted MINDEF for more information.

Daniel Lai is a journalist at the ST Now team, covering breaking news and international affairs.