Singapore National Pledge and Its Origins Meaning

August 7, 2009

By Wayang Times

cute-boy-at-national-day-parade-singapore

The Singapore National Pledge is an oath of allegiance to Singapore. It is commonly recited by Singaporeans in unison at public events, especially in schools, in the Singapore Armed Forces and during the National Day Parade.

The National Pledge was written by Sinnathamby Rajaratnam in 1966 shortly after Singapore’s independence. He was a Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore from 1980 to 1985 and a long time Minister and member of the cabinet from 1959 to 1988. Rajaratnam revealed that the dream was to build “a Singapore we are proud of”. He believed that language, race and religion were divisive factors, but the Pledge emphasises that these differences can be overcome if Singaporeans cared enough about their country. The draft text was handed to the then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who polished the text before submitting it to the Cabinet.

The words of the National Pledge are:

English Pledge

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 equality,
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.

Malay original

Kami, warganegara Singapura,
sebagai rakyat yang bersatu padu,
tidak kira apa bangsa, bahasa, atau ugama,
berikrar untuk membina suatu masyarakat yang demokratik,
berdasarkan kepada keadilan dan persamaan
untuk mencapai kebahagiaan,
kemakmuran dan kemajuan bagi negara kami.

Chinese translation

我们是新加坡公民，
誓愿不分种族、言语、宗教，
团结一致，
建设公正平等
的民主社会，
并为实现国家之幸福、繁荣与进步，
共同努力。

Tamil translation

சிங்கப்பூர் குடிமக்களாகிய நாம் இனம்,மொழி,மதம்
ஆகிய வேற்றுமைகளை மறந்து ஒன்றுபட்டு,நம் நாடு
மகிழ்ச்சி,வளம்,முன்னேற்றம் ஆகியவற்றை அடையும்
வண்ணம் சமத்துவத்தையும்,நீதியையும்
அடிப்படையாக கொண்ட ஜனாயக
சமுதாயத்தை உருவாக்குவதற்கு
உறுதி மேற்கொள்வோ!

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