02/08/2025
What do you know about the Singapore Flag?
In Tourism school, we had to memorise this because it came out during both practical and theory exam. I remembered the assessment commentary I had to give on coach, it was NDP season, the flags were all out in full glory and I was trying not to s**t myself by forgetting what to say. These are what the separate elements represented...
Red stood for national identity and shared values. This was a time where we were healing from racial riots and WW2, so the newly formed government had to foster social cohesion and build stability.
The white represented purity and virtue. The thunderbolt political party also incorporated this idealogy of purity and integrity into their logo.
The crescent moon represented a young nation rising. Historically used as a symbol by the Ottoman empire, I read that it is also representative of renewal and auspicious beginnings in Islam.
The stars were the easiest to memorise - you know how we do that a b c d e f g melody in our heads everytime we had to organise something in alphabetical order?
Yep, the stars were the same. Short of putting my hand over my heart, I was reciting the pledge fervently and quietly when that question was asked.
"Oh Sir, that's a really good question. Thank you for that! The stars on our flag represented Singapore's ideals of happiness... No sorry, democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality."
😝🙆🏻♀️🇸🇬🫶
Photo credit: Hoong Qi Hao
