SINGAPORE - Two ministers have weighed in on a song that has been garnering praise online but was purportedly rejected as a song for Singapore's SG50 celebrations.
As One was uploaded on YouTube by Sophie's World Productions on Jan 23 and is described as "An original composition for Singapore's 50th Anniversary".
In a Facebook post on Friday, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong wrote that he had been told that the song had been "'rejected' by SG50 because the songwriter wasn't Singaporean".
He said: "I was puzzled and asked my people in MCCY to check."
He clarified that As One had been submitted to MediaCorp for a song competition, which "understandably has its own qualifying criteria", and praised the song, calling it well-done and inspiring.
Sophie's World Productions was not immediately available for comment.
Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin also commented on the video early on Saturday, saying in a Facebook post that he likes the song and writing: "Some of you had written in to say that it was rejected because the writer was not a Singaporean. Hmmm. It did seem odd as I didn't recall any choosing of songs exercise. I checked with Lawrence and he has posted an update on his page."
Many online praised the song, which has attracted more than 48,000 views on YouTube since it was put up.
Pinky Hautea commented on YouTube: "What a great song! So heart-warming and inspiring!"
Sally Chew said on Facebook: "Beautiful song... this song indeed brings out the essence of us as One, Singapore!"
