The coat of arms of Singapore is the heraldic symbol representing the

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

island

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

and

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

located in

maritime Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Sout ...

. It was adopted in 1959, the year Singapore attained

self-governance __NOTOC__ Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...

from the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

, and remains in use after its independence in 1965. The committee that created it, headed by Deputy Prime Minister

Toh Chin Chye Toh Chin Chye ( zh, s=杜进才, p=Dù Jìncái; 10 December 1921 – 3 February 2012) was a Singaporean politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1968. Toh is widely recognised as one of the founding fa ...

, was also responsible for the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours a ...

and the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

of Singapore. At the centre of the emblem is a red shield bearing a white crescent, a

new moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar ecl ...

—representing a "young nation on the ascendant", and five white stars—representing democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality, supported by a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

and a

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living Felidae, cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily pr ...

—representing Singapore's namesake and the country's historical ties to the Malay Peninsula; below them is a blue ribbon inscribed with ''

Majulah Singapura ""; ; ta, முன்னேறட்டும் சிங்கப்பூர் is the national anthem of the Republic of Singapore. Composed by Zubir Said in 1958 as a theme song for official functions of the City Council of Singapore ...

'' in gold, Malay for "Onward Singapore". While the use of the coat of arms is restricted to the government, the symbol enjoys wide use on the national currency and state decorations, and appears on the cover of the national passport.

History

When Singapore became self-governing in 1959, Prime Minister

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

was determined to create for the new state a coat of arms, among other symbols, to replace the

coat of arms of the United Kingdom The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the royal arms for short, is the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. These arms are used by the King in his official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Varia ...

that had been in use until then. A committee was formed to design the state symbols, headed by the deputy prime minister

, who wanted both the arms and flag of Singapore to represent the country's united, multi-ethnic society. The coat of arms and the flag were created over a span of two months by Toh and his committee. A law establishing the state symbols of Singapore was presented to the National Assembly by the Minister of Culture,

S. Rajaratnam Sinnathamby Rajaratnam ( ta, சின்னத்தம்பி ராஜரத்னம்; 25 February 1915 – 22 February 2006), better known as S. Rajaratnam, was a Singaporean politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapo ...

, and approved in November 1959. On 3 December 1959, the state coat of arms, flag and anthem were presented to the people of Singapore for the first time. Toh said in a 1989 interview that when tasked with the creation of the state symbols, "apart from the anthem we have to produce the flag and the crest", and he felt that the new flag of Singapore should be flying next to the

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

.: Toh further stated:

Symbolism

The central emblem of the coat of arms is a red shield with five white stars resting above a white crescent, similar to the crescent and stars used on the Singapore flag and such other national symbols as the national ensign for civilian ships. Red symbolises "universal brotherhood and equality of man" and white "pervading and everlasting purity and virtue". The crescent represents a new moon, which reflects "a young nation on the ascendant", while the five-pointed stars "stand for the nation's ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality". The same emblem appears in the top corner of the

flag of Singapore The Flag of Singapore was adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. It remained the national flag upon the country's independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. The design is a horizontal bicolour of ...

. The supporters of the shield are a lion and a tiger: the tiger, specifically the

Malayan tiger The Malayan tiger is a tiger from a specific population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies that is native to Peninsular Malaysia. This population inhabits the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula and has been classified ...

, was abounded on

Singapore Island Singapore Island, or Mainland Singapore, is the main constituent island of the sovereign island country and city-state of the Republic of Singapore. It is located at the southern tip of Malay Peninsula, in-between the Straits of Malacca and the ...

in the 19th century when it was still a dense jungle. It also symbolises the nation's historical and close connections to the political entity of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

– which Singapore was briefly formerly a state of from 1963 to 1965 before its expulsion – while the lion represents the Singaporean nation itself, being its namesake. Below the supporters is a blue ribbon on which the national motto, ''Majulah Singapura'', is written in gold. ''Majulah Singapura'' is also the title of the

; it means "Onward Singapore" in Malay, the

national language A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the te ...

of Singapore.

Uses

In 1985, the

Monetary Authority of Singapore The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is the central bank and financial regulatory authority of Singapore. It administers the various statutes pertaining to money, banking, insurance, securities and the financial sector in general, as well ...

(MAS) began to issue their second series of coins. The coat of arms is displayed on the obverse side of these coins, surrounded by an inscription comprising the name of Singapore in the four official languages (English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil) and the year of minting. In 1987, the dollar coin entered circulation with this same pattern. According to the MAS, the coat of arms has also appeared on all Singaporean banknotes since the "Orchid" series of 1967. State decorations of Singapore also depict the coat of arms on the medallions. For example, the medallions of the

Darjah Utama Temasek The Darjah Utama Temasek ( en, Order of Temasek) is Singapore's second most prestigious national honour and was instituted in 1962. It is an Order conferred by the President of Singapore only to citizens of Singapore. It may be awarded to non- ...

and the Sijil Kemuliaan use the full achievement of arms, while the

Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang The Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang ( en, Distinguished Service Order) is a Singaporean national honour instituted in 1968. It was created to replace the ''Pingat Bakti Chemerlang'' ( en, Distinguished Service Medal) and is awarded to any person w ...

medal displays the shield.

Guidelines

According to the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Rules, the use of the coat of arms is restricted to the government. Without explicit permission from the

Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI; ms, Kementerian Perhubungan dan Penerangan; zh, 通讯及新闻部; ta, தொடர்பு, தகவல் அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore respon ...

(MICA), no person or group is permitted to physically print, manufacture, display or sell anything depicting the coat of arms, or to allow such actions to happen. It is also forbidden to use any symbol that can be easily mistaken for the coat of arms. Persons who wish to use the coat of arms in a literary work must also obtain prior permission from MICA. The only exception provided by the Rules is that the arms can be used by government officials and ministries on their building's exteriors and on printed documents.Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Rules
Cap. 296, R 1, 2004 Rev. Ed.
, archived fro
the original
on 31 March 2009, as amended by the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem (Amendment) Rules 2007
S 377/2007
, archived fro
the original
on 27 March 2009.

References

External links

Singapore Heraldry History
{{Good article

National symbols of Singapore