According to Wikipedia, The Merlion do not feature in any local folklore or myths of Singapore, and was only used in Singapore initially as the logo for the tourism board. I feel that the Merlion should not be the icon used to represent Singapore as as stated by Wikipedia, the Merlion was originally thought of as a logo for the tourism board and it does not feature any folklore of Singapore. This icon should not be used as I feel that an icon that will truly represent Singapore would be one that shows the growth of Singapore and something that shows the history and uniqueness of the icon to Singapore. The Merlion is merely a stature that has half the body of a lion while half the body of a fish. It does not signify anything or show the history nor the uniqueness of the icon to Singapore since there is no story behind it. The Merlion might be a popular place among tourists to go to since its a famous tourist attraction in Singapore, but I feel that it does not represent Singapore accurately.
What I feel is a good icon to represent Singapore would be the Singapore river. The Singapore river was once the old Port of Singapore , sheltered by the southern islands. Historically, the city of Singapore initially grew around the port so the river mouth became the centre of trade, commerce and finance. To this day, area around the old Singapore River mouth, the Downtown core, remains the most expensive and economically important piece of land in Singapore. There is a rich history behind the Singapore river and it has been there since a long time ago. It used to be a trading port, which was the main contributing factor of Singapore's economic development then. It still contributes to Singapore's economy now, with it being s popular tourist attraction. The Singapore river used to be very dirty, smelly and littered with rubbish. People use to aviod walking near the Singapore river. However, it is now a clean and beautiful River that flows through the central business district in Singapore. It is now a popular hangout spot among Singaporeans. Taking a walk along the Singapore river feels tranquil. The Singapore river shows how far Singapore has come, with the river developing together with Singapore. Singapore used to be unnoticed, where living conditions here was unfavorable. However, just like the Singapore river, Singapore transformed into a clean and green metropolis. The Singapore river is an indication of how far we have come and how much we have developed as a country. It is thus a very suitable icon to use to represent Singapore as the Singapore river has a history, and wasn't created due to the need for tourist attractions unlike the Merlion.
The Singapore river is also very suitable to use as an icon as I feel that it represents our founding father, late Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Mr Lee Kuan Yew was the man who initiated and carried out his plan to clean up the dirty Singapore river back then in 1977. The clean up process took 10 years but he was determined to have a clean Singapore river. Unlike the Merlion which was built in 1972, the Singapore river has been here since long ago. He was the one who made the Singapore river become what it is now. Mr Lee Kuan Yew has contributed greatly to Singapore and I feel that the Singapore river is a place where I think of and is reminded of Mr Lee. Mr Lee used to take strolls along the Singapore river frequently and the first place that he went after attending the wake of his late wife was the Singapore river. This shows how important the Singapore river is to him. The Singapore river is Mr Lee's pride and joy and thus I feel that the Singapore river is a perfect icon to use to represent Singapore as it also represents Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who has contributed the most to Singapore. I guess that's what makes an icon special; being able to think of the important events that has happened to a nation over many many years.
Our beautiful Singapore river.
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