History of the Singapore Flag: 1959 Creation, Toh Chin Chye & 1965 Independence
Singapore’s red-and-white flag was created in 1959 as a symbol of self-government and later became the national flag of an independent state in 1965.
1959: a new flag for self-government
Singapore’s newly elected government needed national symbols to replace British colonial symbols after achieving internal self-government.
Who led the design process?
Then Deputy Prime Minister Dr Toh Chin Chye led the committee responsible for creating the flag.
Why a crescent and five stars?
The crescent was chosen to represent a young nation on the ascendant. The five stars represented democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.
November 18, 1959
The Legislative Assembly endorsed the flag design on November 18, 1959, together with the State Crest and National Anthem.
December 3, 1959: public unveiling
The new flag was publicly unveiled during the installation of Yusof bin Ishak as Yang di-Pertuan Negara.
1965 independence
When Singapore became an independent republic in 1965, the same red-and-white design became the national flag.
Modern legal framework
The National Symbols Act 2022 now defines the flag’s design, ratio and official symbolism.
Why the design endured
The flag was created before independence but already represented Singapore’s own political identity, so it carried naturally into full sovereignty.
