I remember standing during my commencement in the United States, in respect to the Star-Spangled Banner (USA’s national anthem) and quietly noting how lovely some of the lyrics were. Who wrote those lyrics, I wondered. Apparently, the lyrics come from the poem Defence of Fort McHenry written in 1814 by a 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key.
Whilst taking photos with the Singapore flag (yes, the Goodman stadium was decorated with flags of the world), my American classmate asked me about Singapore’s national anthem. After I explained to him the meaning of the song, he asked me the most important question that many took for granted: Who wrote Majulah Singapura?
'Majulah Singapura
How many of us Singaporeans know the composer? His name, surely. But what about the life story of Zubir Said or Pak Zubir, a musician who had contributed greatly to the Arts?
Zubir Said
Zubir Said was born on 22 July 1907 in Bukit Tinggi, central Sumatra, Indonesia. Pak Zubir had no formal music education. However, this did not deter him from learning to play some musical instruments like the flute, the violin, the guitar and the piano. In fact, it started off as a hobby when he tried to play the flute in his village. His fellow villagers often laughed and ridiculed his musical talents. But Pak Zubir was not discouraged by the comments and insults; he was determined to become a successful musician.
Pak Zubir left his family and village to join a keroncong group in his village. He earned a living by playing music in other parts of Sumatra. It was a hard life for Pak Zubir -- his troop sold tickets for their performance but sometimes they were offered other non-monetary payments in the form of food or clothing. Yet, this didn’t discourage him from playing music.
In 1928, at the age of 21, Pak Zubir finally set foot in Singapore. Before, he had only heard stories about life on this small island, like its street lamps and café au lait. In Singapore, he worked as a violin player in a large traditional Malay opera troupe.
After World War II, Pak Zubir joined a film company and became an arranger and composer of background music. Before that period, no Malay film had ever used specially-composed Malay songs for their background music. Pak Zubir composed about 1,500 songs in his long career. In 1959, he composed our National Anthem, Majulah Singapura which means ‘May Singapore progress’. This was the highest accolade for Pak Zubir.
I also remember how I used to sing the Children’s Day Song, Semoga Bahagia (May You Achieve Happiness). I had such fond memories singing the cheerful and meaningful song whilst I was in primary school. Two decades later, I found out that it was Pak Zubir who had composed the song.
'Semoga Bahagia
In 1963, Pak Zubir was honoured with the Sijil Kemuliaan (Certificate of Honour) by the Singapore government for his contributions to the music of Singapore and the region.
A true musician, Pak Zubir said that he considered his “contribution to society as negligible. I’m not an expert on culture or arts. I’m only interested in seeing the healthy development of our culture and the arts for the sake of our future generation.”
Such passion and dedication like that of Pak Zubir’s makes me proud to be a Singaporean. Majulah Singapura!
*Happy National Day to one and all! I’ll be away in Bhutan for a few weeks for volunteer work and will not be blogging much. But watch out for my blogs post Bhutan!
Zubir Said image courtesy of National Library Singapore Donors Collection.
Hidayah Amin | 06 August 2010
