National anthem composer Zubir Said was actually commissioned by the City Council in 1958 to write a song for the reopening of the renovated Victoria Theatre.
In 1959, when the agreement on self-government was reached, the then Deputy Prime Minister, Toh Chin Chye, thought the song would be a good anthem.
But when it had to be shortened to serve that purpose, Zubir almost had his masterpiece taken from him.
“He hadn’t submitted his version yet. He found out … that... See More
National anthem composer Zubir Said was actually commissioned by the City Council in 1958 to write a song for the reopening of the renovated Victoria Theatre.
In 1959, when the agreement on self-government was reached, the then Deputy Prime Minister, Toh Chin Chye, thought the song would be a good anthem.
But when it had to be shortened to serve that purpose, Zubir almost had his masterpiece taken from him.
“He hadn’t submitted his version yet. He found out … that someone else had done the shortening without his authority. And it wasn’t a good job,” relates emeritus professor of physics and former SSO board director Bernard Tan.
“He wrote … a very angry letter to (Minister for Culture) S Rajaratnam. And the day that he wrote the letter was the day that the bill for the national anthem was going to the Legislative Assembly. The bill was withdrawn.”
