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 .
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