우리 나라 - 싱가포르

This is my country flag. As with anything official, there will always be meaning tagged to each of its features. The red and white horizontal sections represent universal brotherhood and purity respectively. The crescent moon represents a young and rising nation. The five stars represent our nation's ideal of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.

Here is my interpretation of the flag. The red and white horizontal sections show respect for our largest neighbour which flag, incidentally, has the same colour combination and layout. The crescent moon shows respect to the muslim community who have lived on this land since antiquity. The five stars show respect to the Chinese majority at a time when many were still passionately linked to their motherland which flag, incidentally, also has five stars. To me, this flag means more than it official meanings. It encapsulates the state of society at the time when the nation was given self-rule and subsequently independence.

I am not too sure if there is any country in the world that has independence thrusted upon them. But independence was not what we had wanted back in 1965. I always imagine this, a large family was expelled from their clan without much money and food to survive on their own. Under this situation, even the most capable person would break down and cry. Today, forty one years later, I fully believe that miracle is not luck. It will happen for those who dare to dream, believe and work hard.

싱가포르에 오신것을 환영합니다.