The Pledge’s journey: From #nofuture to #whichfuture
Singapore has come a long way since students first recited the National Pledge. Now, different challenges loom.
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New Singapore citizens reciting the National Pledge during the National Citizenship Ceremony on Aug 15.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
Irene Ng
When school students first recited the National Pledge 60 years ago, on Aug 24, 1966, it was a confusing and frightening time to be young. If there were hashtags back then, they would probably have been #whatfor, #nofuture.
The students had barely recovered from the trauma of the race riots in 1964. They were still adjusting to Singapore’s shock separation from Malaysia just a year earlier, and to the chilling reality that Singapore was on its own.
