BIBLIOASIA JAN – MAR 2018 Vol. 13 / Issue 04 / NL Notes

and registering the design ensures that no other entity can use a similar design. The warrant is written in fine copperplate calligraphy on parchment and measures 45 by 62 cm, inclusive of three elaborate seals attached May at the base. The seals represent the three kings of arms, who are the senior officers of the College of Arms: specifically, the Garter King of Arms, Revisiting the Clarenceux King of Arms, and Norroy and Ulster Municipal Coat of Arms King of Arms. Flourish! What is most visually striking about the warrant are the four coats of arms found on the top and left of the document. The three arms at the top represent the authorities granting the In April 1948, the municipality of arms: in the centre lies the royal arms of the Singapore received a coat of arms by United Kingdom, flanked by the arms of the Earl Marshal of England (the Duke of Norfolk) royal warrant. Mark Wong highlights the on the left, and the arms of the College of Arms significance of this document. on the right.

The Municipal Coat of Arms On the left of the document, significantly larger than the arms above it, is the new municipal coat If you’ve ever been to Mount Emily Park1 and won- of arms. A description of the arms can be found dered about the colourful coat of arms mounted in the warrant, in the form of the official blazon: on the wall at its entrance, the answer to its iidentity lies in one of the documents on display “Gules a Tower issuant from the base at the exhibition, “Law of the Land: Highlights of proper on the battlements thereof a Lion Singapore’s Constitutional Documents”. passant guardant Or on a Chief embattled Among the colonial-era documents at the of the last a pair of Wings conjoined in base exhibition held at the National Gallery Singapore between two Anchors Azure And for the is the Royal Warrant Assigning Armorial Ensigns Crest On a Wreath Argent and Azure In front for the City of Singapore – easily one of the most of a Palm tree fructed proper issuant from The Royal Warrant Assigning Armorial Ensigns for the City of Singapore, 9 April 1948. Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. ornate of the items on display. a Mount Vert a Lion passant Or.” Seen from the present perspective, the royal warrant – dated 9 April 1948 and almost 70 years Written in the language of heraldry – an The crest of the Singapore municipality, old today – marks a transitional but significant Anglicised version of Norman French – this consisting of a lion with a coconut palm behind a heraldic period in Singapore’s history. A celebrated docu- translates into modern English as: it, appears at the top of the coat of arms. The ment in its day, the royal warrant represented a municipal crest was well known to the people of glossary proud moment for a town that was still steeped “A red shield, with a tower at the bottom. Singapore as it was displayed in various locations Argent: Silver in the hallowed symbols and practices of British On the top of the tower, a golden lion around the town, including the pair of bronze Azure: Blue colonial tradition, just three years after the end walking, with one paw raised, looking to plaques at Elgin Bridge, engraved by the Italian Chief: Referring to of the Japanese Occupation and resumption of its left. Above the shield, with battlement sculptor Rodolfo Nolli. the upper part of a British rule. But more importantly, the issue of effect, another panel of gold, with a pair heraldic device the warrant also marked a watershed moment of wings flanked by two blue anchors. The The Municipal Motto Embattled: Having in Singapore’s eventful journey towards self- crest is a wreath of blue and silver leaves battlements government and eventual independence. with another golden lion in front of a palm What may surprise people are the words Fructed proper: tree with coconuts on it, growing out of a “Majulah Singapura” inscribed just below the Bearing correct green mound.”4 shield. The Malay phrase is well known today The Royal Warrant fruit as the title of Singapore’s and Guardant: On The royal warrant arrived in Singapore by ship The images in the coat of arms are rich in translates as “Onward Singapore”. The anthem guard in August 1948 “in a long red box, with G.R. VI symbolic meaning, some having been in public was officially unveiled in December 1959 as Gules: Red embossed on it in gold”2, a reference to King circulation for decades. The golden lion atop the one of three new state symbols in a newly self- Issuant: Coming George VI, the British monarch who reigned from tower previously represented Singapore on the governing Singapore. However, the appearance from 1936 to 1952. The warrant was the result of an coat of arms of the recently dissolved Straits of the phrase on the 1948 royal warrant indicates Or: Gold application made in July 1947 by the Singapore Settlements.5 The pairs of wings and anchors a much longer history. Passant: Passing Mark Wong is an Oral History Specialist at the Oral History Centre, National Archives Municipal Commissioners to the College of Arms highlight Singapore’s twin roles in international In fact, “Majulah Singapura” was the munici- or in motion of Singapore, where he conducts oral history interviews in areas such as education, the (College of Heralds), England, to register a coat communications as seaport (since its founding pal motto of Singapore before World War II. Mount vert: performing arts, public service and the Japanese Occupation. He is co-curator of the of arms (armorial ensigns) for the Singapore in 1819) and as air hub (with the 1937 opening of According to an article in the 28 January 1940 edi- A green mount exhibition, "Law of the Land: Highlights of Singapore’s Constitutional Documents", at the Municipal Commission.3 The College of Arms Kallang Airport, one of the most modern in the tion of , the motto was originally National Gallery Singapore. and its functions still exist in the present day, world) at the time. written in English as “May Singapore Flourish”.

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The English motto was translated into ­Settlement Council had to decide between a Malay (Far left) Portrait of Lazarus Malay as “Biar-lah Singapura Untong”, with the or English motto, council member K. Mohd. Ariff Rayman by William Haxworth. Rayman, as president of the Malay version featuring on the official Municipal pointed to Singapore’s choice of a Malay motto Singapore Municipal Com- common seal. However, the words “biar-lah” to sway the council, “It is Singapore’s motto that mission, was mentioned by (to let/allow) and “untong” (profit) were sub- stimulated your committee to think, I hope, on name in the royal warrant. sequently changed following a suggestion by right lines and at the same time pay a tribute to WRM Haxworth Collection, the President of the Singapore Municipal Com- those far-sighted pioneers who coined ‘Majulah courtesy of National Archives 8 of Singapore. missioners Lazarus Rayman, a Malay scholar. Singapura’ as the slogan for Singapore.” Penang (Left) The 1948 municipal coat He felt that the word “untong” conveyed “mere eventually adopted the Malay motto “Bersatu of arms still features promi- commercial profit”, whereas “maju” expressed dan Setia” (United and Loyal). nently today at the entrance of “the higher ideal of a continuous advancement Mount Emily Park. Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. commercially”. Besides, “maju” was “commonly The Singapore Municipal Commission used by Malay royalty whenever they pray for the prosperity of their country.”6 The royal warrant acknowledges the role of the After World War II, “Majulah Singapura” Singapore Municipal Commission in applying grew in use and popularity. For example, the for the new municipal coat of arms. The role phrase was widely used in speeches and printed and evolution of the Municipal Commission – on decorative arches on City Day on 22 September created in 1887 to oversee local urban affairs 1951, in celebration of Singapore’s new status such as water supply, electricity, gas, drains, resident European population, for more rial Ensigns for the City of Singapore – with its as a city of the British Commonwealth instead roads and street lighting – was emblematic of control over local affairs.”9 archaic language, colonial symbols of authority The Royal Warrant of a town. “Majulah Singapura” became a locus Singapore’s journey towards self-governance. and references to obsolete institutions such as Assigning Armorial of budding patriotism amid a population that According to geographer Brenda Yeoh: While the composition and concerns of the Singapore Municipal Commission – seems so Ensigns for the City was becoming more politically conscious and the Municipal Commission from the late 19th distant from our lives today. By understanding of Singapore, along emotionally attached to Singapore. “The municipal authority was an integral century tended to be European-centric and its context and unpacking its meaning, however, with other rare In 1952, Singapore City Councillor M.P.D. part of the colonial power structure and “hardly addressed the needs and aspirations of we find in the royal warrant a record of a turning materials from the Coronation of King George VI Nair even suggested that “instead of greeting served as an institution of control over the Asian plebeian classes on their own terms”,10 point in Singapore’s history. National Archives and Queen Elizabeth as King each other with ‘hello,’ ‘good morning’ or 'good the built environment of the colonial this changed after World War II. “The British Singapore in 1948 was poised to build of Singapore and and Queen of the United King- evening,’ people should say ‘Majulah Singapura’” city. [The creation of the Municipal attached great importance on local government its own self-determined future. But even as dom, 12 May 1937. The royal National­ Library, instead. He felt that this would deepen their Commission] was both a response to as a training ground for democracy and extended the first signs of political consciousness took warrant reached Singapore are on display at in August 1948 in a long red attachment to the city and “foster a new spirit”.7 the growing need for a more sophisticated its scope in the post-war years.”11 root among the local populace, many of the the permanent ex- box bearing the initials of King Singapore’s use of a Malay motto provided machinery to run a burgeoning city as In 1949, the Municipal Commission became foundations developed over a century of British hibition “Law of the George VI, the reigning British inspiration to Penang, which similarly adopted well as ‘a sort of compromise’ to satisfy the first public institution to be installed with a rule remained – the rule of law, principles of monarch. Sng Chong Hui Col- Land: Highlights of an official motto in 1950. When the Penang local demands, largely articulated by the popularly elected majority when 18 out of the 27 urban planning, and the installation of certain lection, courtesy of National Singapore’s Con- commissioners were elected.12 This expanded forms of government and political institutions, Archives of Singapore. stitutional Docu- local political participation in preparation for among others. The social and political changes ments”. The exhibi- Singapore’s self-governance and subsequent of the postwar years are best illustrated by the a colonial tradition tion takes place at independence. The Municipal Commission was evolution in the meaning of the phrase Majulah the Chief Justice’s Heraldry, which refers to the “system by renamed City Council in 1951 when Singapore Singapura – from the aspirational “May Singa- Chamber & Office, which coats of arms and other armorial attained city status.13 pore Flourish” of the municipal motto to the National Gallery bearings are devised, described, and self-assured “Onward Singapore” of Singapore’s 1 Singapore. regulated”, has its origins in 12th-century Reflecting on an Unfamiliar Past national anthem. Europe when designs on shields became The royal warrant thus reveals Singapore a way by which medieval armies differ- What is the significance of an obscure coat in 1948 to be in a liminal zone, caught between entiated between friend and foe from a of arms from a bygone era in contemporary the weight of colonial history and the promise distance. Today, individuals, families, Singapore? The Royal Warrant Assigning Armo- of a new world. organisations, corporations and states can all apply for their own coat of arms. 6 Word changed on Singapore’s common seal. (1940, January 28). Notes The Straits Times, p. 9. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. With its elaborate designs, symbols and 1 The park is the site of the former Mount Emily Swimming meanings, the coat of arms is essen- 7 Say ‘Majulah Singapura’ he suggests. (1952, July 15). The Straits Complex, Singapore’s first public pool, which was converted Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. tially a unique visual representation of from a service reservoir and opened in 1931. The reservoir was 8 Official motto for Penang adopted: ‘United and Loyal’. (1950, one’s identity. Although a predominantly built in 1878 to supply the town with fresh water. November 7). Singapore Standard, p. 4. Retrieved from ­European practice, heraldic traditions are 2 The “R” in G.R. VI is an abbreviation of Rex (King). See New NewspaperSG. coat of arms arrives. (1948, August 15). The Straits Times, p. 5. 9 Yeoh, B. S. A. (2003). Contesting space in colonial Singapore: also found in Japan, where emblems or Retrieved from NewspaperSG. 2 Power relations and the urban built environment (p. 28). crests known as mon are used. 3 S’pore seeks coat of arms. (1947, July 30). The Singapore Free Singapore: University Press. (Call no.: RSING 307.76095957 YEO) Press, p. 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. 10 Yeoh, 2003, p. 30. Notes 4 The Straits Times, 15 Aug 1947, p. 5. 11 Turnbull, C. M. (2009). A history of modern Singapore, 1819–2005 5 The crest of the arms came in four 1 Oxford University Press. (2017). Heraldry. (p. 269). Singapore: NUS Press. (Call no.: RSING 959.57 TUR-[HIS]) quadrants, each representing a constituent settlement – Retrieved from Oxford Dictionaries website. 12 McKerron, P. A. B. (1949). annual report, Singapore, Melaka, Penang and Labuan. The British dissolved 2 Slater, S. (2002). The complete book of heraldry: 1948 (p. 5). Singapore: Government Printing Office. (Call no.: the Straits Settlements on 1 April 1946, with Melaka and An international history of heraldry and its RSING 959.57 SIN-[GBH]) Penang joining the Malayan Union, and Singapore becoming contemporary uses (p. 232). London: Lorenz. 13 The king sends congratulations. (1951, September 22). a crown colony of its own. Labuan was incorporated into the (Call no.: q929.6 SLA) The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. crown colony of North Borneo on 15 July 1946.

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