| State
Symbols
Do you know …
Although Singapore became a Republic only
on 9 August 1965, the state symbols – National
Flag, Anthem and State Crest were created
when Singapore attained self-government
in 1959
as recalled by DPM Dr Toh Chin Chye in
1989:
“… 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.” 1
Mr S Rajaratnam, Minister for Culture, when
presenting the motion on State Arms and Flag
and State National Anthem to the Legislative
Assembly on 11 November 1959, said, “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.” PM
Lee Kuan Yew also declared that the national
anthem is to invoke in the hearts and minds
of the people, “feelings of loyalty and
unity towards the state of which they are constituent
members”.
The Singapore Flag was unveiled on 3 December
1959 after Encik Yusof Ishak took office as
the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, during which the
national anthem was also officially played.
Source MICA |
Dr Toh, in his oral
history in 1989, recalled:“The
design of the flag of course is well
known now. The five stars standing for
five principles - democracy, justice,
peace, prosperity, equality. And the
crescent moon which signifies that we
are a new nation”. |
Source MICA |
Dr Toh
further elaborated: “In the case
of the state crest, again we got the
five stars and the new moon… A
lion next to the tiger. Tiger of course
is a more local animal than the lion.
The old City Council had a lion. It did
merge with our own ideas of self governing
of Singapore”.
|
1 Oral
History Interview, Dr Toh Chin Chye, National
Archives of Singapore, 1989, Accession No.
A1063, Reel 1
|
