The Making of "Majulah Singapura" as We Know It
The national anthem that we know today wasn't the original version composed
by Zubir Said. His first version was longer and was set at a higher key.
Emeritus Professor Bernard Tan talks about how "Majulah Singapura" came
about and how it changed over the decades, and illustrates how these versions
differ on his piano.
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What Prof Tan Talked About
00:00 – Introduction to Singapore’s national anthem
03:16 – How “Majulah Singapura” came about
04:14 – Zubir Said’s composition of “Majulah Singapura”
06:18 – Adoption of the anthem and its unauthorised shortening
09:24 – Comparison of different versions and musical implications
15:18 – Prof Tan’s detective work to verify Zubir Said’s original manuscript
19:31 – Fanfare introduction and early concert arrangements
22:22 – Government-led initiative to reorchestrate the anthem
25:48 – Lowering the anthem’s key from G major to F major
27:45 – Lee Kuan Yew’s suggestion on the anthem
33:18 – Controversial arrangements of "Majulah Singapura"
36:57 – Origin of “Negaraku”, Malaysia’s national anthem
40:22 – How Prof Tan juggles his roles as a composer, professor of physics
and SSO board member
42:51 – How he helped found the SSO
48:44 – His career at NUS
51:20 – Similarities between scientific research to music writing
About the Guest
Emeritus Professor Bernard T. G. Tan is a retired professor of physics from the National University of Singapore who also dabbles in music. Some of his compositions have been performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He is a former chairman of the Sing Singapore organising committee.
Resources
Bernard Tan, “The Search for Home, Truly (and Other National Day Songs),” BiblioAsia 21, no. 1 (April–June 2025).
Rohana Zubir, Zubir Said: The Composer of Majulah Singapura (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012).
Credits
This episode of BiblioAsia+ was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by Nookcha Films. The background music "Di Tanjong Katong" was composed by Ahmad Patek and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to Prof Tan for coming on the show.
About the Podcast
BiblioAsia+ is a podcast about Singapore history by the National Library Singapore.