Sunday 12 April 2015

Do you think the Merlion would make the best national icon to represent Singapore? 6/7/15 Blogwork

I think that the Merlion is the best icon to represent Singapore because it contains Singapore's uniqueness. Before I start, I will be making the assumption that the legend of Sang Nila Utama is true,

Firstly, I am going to address the importance of a national icon. A national icon is a way for  a country to bond together since it is something that everyone associates with the country. Since the Merlion is unique, not having a design that is common, everyone will be able to point it out and say that it is a Merlion and will associate Singapore with it.

Even though there are other alternatives than the Merlion, I still feel that the Merlion is the best one because it is created from a legend which is closely linked to the naming of Singapore, the lion city. The other potential national icons are the Singapore Flyer and the Marina Bay Sands but I feel that there is not enough historical value and meaning behind the creation of them.

Furthermore, the Merlion is widely accepted as the representation of Singapore. You could go out on the streets of another country, for example Japan, and ask the citizens what they think of when I say Singapore. I can guarantee that more than 90% of them will say Merlion while the other 10% will say other things like Chilli Crab or Garden City.

The Merlion is our national icon because it fulfills the necessary criteria of being one. Firstly, it must be widely accepted as Singapore's national icon by people of the whole world and it does. Secondly, it will remind people of an event or legend that is closely linked to the country, which is the legend of Sang Nilia Utama.

With a national icon, the people will be more bonded together since they all have a common identity that they are proud of which is the Merlion in this case. At first, the people may think that the Merlionis just a bizarre creature that is fake, but after the government named the Merlion our national icon, the people will start to accept that as their 'face'.

I believe that the information I've gathered in this text are appropriate to prove that the Merlion is indeed the best national icon to represent Singapore. Even though there are some information that are missing in this text, I still believe that the information I've pointed out are sufficient to support my point that the Merlion is the best icon to represent Singapore.

To successfully let all citizens be able to adopt the Merlion as our national icon, I believe that we should start by campaigns for it. For example, educating the younger generation about the significance of the Merlion, the background of it. I think that the government should give out National Day goods, for example, with the pictures of the Merlion on it since the National Day is the platform where we celebrate our country's turning of age and it is the best place to promote our national icon.

In conclusion, I feel that the Merlion is the best national icon for Singapore.

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