A little brief history about Singapore...

In the 13th century, Sang Nila Utama, a prince of Palembang was interested in the then Singapore, named Temasek which refers to "sea town" as Singapore was a fishing village. On his way here, he encountered a great sea storm. He and his men threw all heavy things off board but the ship kept sinking. It was not until Sang Nila Utama threw his crown then the ship stop sinking and even the storm stopped!

They arrived Temasek safely and Sang Nila Utama saw a strange fine-looking animal with great speed and asked one of his minister what was it. He was told that it was a lion. Sang Nila Utama then believed it was a good omen, therefore naming the island "Singapura". "Singa" refers to lion whereas "pura" means city, thus the name of lion city.

In 1819, an Englishman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founded Singapore and made her a British port. Singapore then became an important port due to being the center for the India- china trade Southeast Asia. Singapore was under the British colonial rule.

During World War II, Singapore was conquered by the Japanese from 1942 till 1945. After the two major atomic bombing in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the war ended and Singapore was back to under British control. Increasing levels of self-government was being granted.

In 1963, Singapore merged with Malaysia as so that both countries could help each other. However, many disputes occurred between both countries, therefore the expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia.

Then, Singapore gained independence on 9th August 1965.

The National Flag

The national flag was officially adopted as Singapore's National flag upon independence in 9th August 1965.

Initially, the flag was to be in complete red, however, as the red was seen a rallying point of communism, the idea was dropped. As the chinese wanted 5 stars and the Muslims wanted a crescent moon, both symbols were combined. The flag was to be seen as a symbolic of self-respect.

Meaning of the elemets of the flag:

Red - Symbolizes "Universal brotherhood and equality of man"

White - Symbolizes " Pervading and everlasting purity and virtue"

Crescent - Symbolizes " A young nation on ascendant"

5 stars - " Democracy, Peace, Progress, Equality, Justice"

The National Anthem

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

The anthem was composed by Zubir Said in 1958. However, it was used only for official functions of the City Council of Singapore. When Singapore attained independence on 1965, "Majulah Singapura" (Onwards Singapore) was officially the national anthem.

Zubir Said faced a lot of difficulties as he had to create an understandable and uncomplicated anthem for all the different races in Singapore. In a 1984 oral history interview, Zubir Said recalled the process...

" The difficulty is in such a short melody, i have to put in all the words...It must be very simple, understandable for all the races in Singapore... I consult an author in Malay Language so that i can do proper Malay language but not too deep and not too difficult."

In 1959, when Singapore attained self-government, the government felt a need for a national anthem to unite the different race in Singapore. Then, "Majulah Singapura" was chosen as it was already popular at that time. The Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye requested a modification for the lyrics and melody.It took Zubir Said 6 weeks to re-adapt the melody.


The national anthem was formally introduced to the nation on 3rd December 1959 when Yusof Bin Ishak, a well known journalist and founder of Malay Newspaper "Utasan Melayu" was appointed as the head of state .

National Anthem

The National Pledge

The pledge was written by one of the founding fathers of Signapore, Sir Sinnathamby Rajaratnam in 1966. As Singapore was a multi-racial country, Sir S Rajaratnam believed that the language, race and religion were individual factors, however, the pledge emphasises that all these individual differences can be overcomed if the people cared enough for the country.

The pledge is...

We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion.
to build a democratic society,
based on justice and quality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress
for our nation.

The National Flower

Singapore's National Flower is an orchid named, Vanda Miss Joaquim which is named after a lady called Agnes Joaquim. Her family were all keen in horticulture (the cultivation of plants and vegetations).

As a passionate gardener, she'd won several awards for her flowers and plants. In April 1899, when she displayed a unique orchid found in her garden 3 years ago, she won the first place as it was the rarest orchid seen among all. However, Miss Agnes Joaquim passed away due to illness and did not see how the orchid spread throughouts the tropics became popular in Hawaii.

In 1981, Vanda Miss Joaquim was chosen as Singapore's National Flower.

Coats Of Arms Of Singapore

When Singapore achieved its rights of self-governance in 1959,the then Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew said that Singapore needed a state coat of arms to symbolise a new state.

Before self governance took place,the coat of arms used by Singapore was the coat of arms of United Kingdom (UK).To create the state symbols,a committee was formed which was led by the Deputy Prime Minister,Mr Toh Chin Chye.Mr Toh wanted the crest to represent the multi-ethnic society of the country.


The central emblem of the coats of arms represent a red shield with five white stars above a young and white cresent.The tiger then represents the bond and historical connections with Malaysia and the lion represents Singapore.