Singapore’s national anthem is “Majulah Singapura,” a Malay phrase meaning “Onward Singapore.”
Zubir Said composed the song in 1958 for the newly opened Victoria Theatre in Singapore. It was later selected as Singapore’s national anthem when the country attained self-government and subsequently became independent. The anthem is performed in Malay, one of Singapore’s four official languages, even though English is widely used in public life.
Singapore officially adopted “Majulah Singapura” in 1965, the year it became an independent republic. The anthem is often confused with “Negaraku,” Malaysia’s national anthem, because Singapore was briefly part of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965 and both countries share Malay cultural and linguistic history. Singapore’s anthem is normally sung in its original Malay wording rather than translated into English.