Singapore

We are all familiar with the symbol of Singapore. You are not alone if you think that the history of the country was perhaps closely related to the lives of lions when Singapore was once part of Nusantara archipelago. From the name it bears itself, Singapore or Singapura, is derived from Sanskrit terms: simha or singha which means “lion” and pura means “city”. But, let us tell you the fact: no lions have ever lived in the lion city of Singapore! We are sorry to destroy your imagination, but even better, we are ready to provoke your curiosity as well.

In Singapore, the symbol of lion head was widely used in the country from 1986 as part of the government’s initiative to own a less formal symbol to be freely used by its citizens and organizations. When it was introduced for the very first time, the symbol was intended for the people to declare their courage, commitment, and fidelity to the nation.

Moreover, it is told that long time ago, a legendary prince of Palembang (the capital of Srivijaya Kingdom—now the city is located in Indonesian island of Sumatera), Sang Nila Utama, wished to find an area to be developed as a new city. With that intention, Sang Nila Utama decided to sail off the coast Sumatera island of Indonesia and also visited the islands nearby. When he reached the island of Temasek in 1324, he and his group began to hunt for wild animals to survive on the unpopulated island. In the middle of the hunt, Sang Nila Utama was fascinated by the presence of an animal—that he thought was probably a lion—that moved and quickly disappeared in the jungle. He then believed that his encounter with a lion could mean a good sign to develop the land to become a promising new city. Sang Nila Utama then ruled the country for almost 50 years.

According to the fact, it is found out that there were no lions ever in Singapore! What Sang Nila Utama thought was a lion, in fact was a Malayan tiger. Because of this confusion, many people believe that the story of Sang Nila Utama is just a myth, no wonder some school students would mention Stamford Raffles as the founder of Singapore instead of Sang Nila Utama. It is partly because Raffles has brought significant and tangible changes, development, and transformation to the country after Singapore was being untouched for centuries.

Nevertheless, even though we should separate myth from fact, somehow myth can also be our gentle reminder to live harmoniously with elements that were once parts of the history; be it cultural values, historical heritage, even other creatures such as animals. Given the fact that it was actually a Malayan tiger that was seen by Sang Nila Utama, the reality we face today is, the lives of tigers in Singapore has been very miserable. Tigers, in general, are endangered in Southeast Asia. In the lion city of Singapore alone, tigers are on brink of extinction. Due to its massive development, it was not until the 1870s era Singapore began to elevate the concern towards tigers. In 1879, a report that was released by John McNair stated, the government of Singapore did not take any significant efforts to conserve the population of tigers—worsened by the fact that the country also experienced extensive deforestation. Not only that, until the 19th century, the practice of tiger attacks was still popular in Singapore since the government did not hesitate to give generous rewards for its citizens who successfully captured or hunted tigers. The tiger hunts were believed to unleash the government’s initiative to boost the development of plantation where tigers were seen as potential predators in the sector. It was also reported, the last tiger in the country was killed by hunters in Choa Chu Kang village in October, 1930.