Symbols of State

Posted by Kimberly under Blogging, National History, Reflections
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Ask just about any Singaporean when this nation was born and the answer you will probably get is August 9 1965 - the day when Singapore separated from Malaysia and became a fully independent country. But the seeds of independence were actually sown six years earlier in 1959. yesterday.sg is proud to be appointed as one of the official sites to commemorate, in a series of blog posts over the next six months, the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s journey to nationhood.

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Come, fellow Singaporeans
Let us progress towards happiness together
May our noble aspiration bring
Singapore success

Does this sound familiar to anyone? It should - it’s the English translation of the first verse of our National Anthem - you remember that song we all used to sing in school without really understanding what it all meant.

The score of Majulah Singapura as penned by Zubir Said (MICA collection, Courtesy of National of Archives of Singapore)

National flag raising ceremony (MICA collection, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore)

As a child, I knew the flag-raising ceremony we had every morning in school was a very solemn affair, but its significance was lost on us. Singapore’s history was something we learnt from textbooks but these were just stories of old, just dates to be memorised should there be an examination question on it.

I never really thought much about our flag or the other symbols of state until I had to do some research for this blog post. The task seemed tedious and I put it off for as long as I could but when I finally got down to it, our history was a lot more interesting than I remembered …

Singapore's state flag as we know today

The horizontal bicolour of red above white, the pentagon of five white stars - these were symbols of a beginning, perhaps, for a young rising nation. Formal education would have put across the symbolism of elements on our national flag - red symbolises universal brotherhood and equality of man, the white - pervading everlasting purity and virtue. The five stars signify our nation’s ideals of democracy, equality, justice, peace and progress, and the waxing crescent moon - a young nation on the ascendant.

Flag for the Straits Settlements from 1874 until 1942

When Singapore was under the British rule during the 19^th century as the Straits Settlement (together with Malacca and Penang), the flag flown at the time was a British Blue Ensign consisting of three gold crowns (one for each settlement). Upon declaring Singapore an independent Crown Colony after World War II, we used the Straits Settlement flag featuring only one crown.

It was only in 1959 after Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire that the national flag as we know today was born. The state flag was designed in two months under a committee headed by then-Deputy Prime Minister Dr Toh Chin Chye. It was important that the colours and symbols adopted reflected the spirit and dreams of this new nation. Dr Toh initially envisioned an all-red background on the flag but the Cabinet was against the idea as they felt it would be seen as having communist overtones.

The Yang di-Pertuan Negara observes as the Singapore flag replaced the Union Jack which had flown over Singapore for 140 years. (MICA collection, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore)

The State Flag as we know it was finally unveiled during the swearing in of our new Yang di-Pertuan Negara Yusof bin Ishak on 3 December 1959. The State Coat of Arms and the National Anthem Majulah Singapura were presented to the people at the same time.

Dr Toh recounting later on the thinking behind the National Anthem and State Flag said:  ”…although we were self-governing, it was necessary right from the beginning that we should rally enough different races together as a Singapore nation… apart from the anthem we have to produce the flag and the crest, we insisted that it was a Singapore state flag and should be flown side by side with the Union Jack.” (Source: Extract of oral history interview with Dr Toh Chin Chye, 1989, Acc 1063, Reel 1, Oral History Centre, National Archives of Singapore)

Did you know ... the National Pledge only came into being much later? It was written by Sinnathamby Rajaratnam in 1966 shortly after Singapore gained full independence from the British. (MICA collection, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore)

When presenting the motion on State Arms and Flag and State National Anthem to the Legislative Assembly on 11 November 1959, then-Minister for Culture, Mr Sinnathamby Rajaratnam declared, “National flags, crest and anthem express symbolically the hopes and ideals of a people…The possession of a national flag and crest is for a people, symbolic of self-respect.” (Source: 10 years that Shaped a Nation, 2008, p.14)

Singapore coat of arms

The State Crest incorporated elements of the new national flag flanked by a lion representing Singapore and a tiger representing the island’s historical links with Malaysia. The State Crest is something all Singaporeans carry with them everyday for they appear on every dollar note and every coin issued by the government.

There was a time not too long ago that just about every household would proudly hang the flag outside their balcony or window during the National Day festivities. My mum and I too would join in - making sure the flag stood tall in our garden. Sadly less flags are seen in housing estates with each passing year. If countries such as America has citizens proudly display their state flag all year round because they obviously feel enough for their country, why not us?

State flags hung at balcony of flats (MITA collection, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore)

Researching on this blog post has rekindled memories of my school days where I trudged through my history textbooks unwillingly. What’s different now? Reading up on our young nation’s triumph in attaining self-government and challenges we faced - I appreciate these national symbols more than ever. These symbols of state tell the story of how we came to be who we are today.

Maybe this year, being our 50^th anniversary of self-government, things would be different and that once again come National Day the old red and white will take pride of place not only in our homes but in our hearts as well.

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