We reproduce an excerpt from the book Beyond Bicentennial: Perspectives on Malays, which provides an account of Zubir Said's life and how he came to compose the National Anthem for Singapore.

Zubir was born in Bukittinggi, Sumatra in 1907. At the age of 19, he became the leader of a travelling band, against his father's wishes and expectations. He then set out for Singapore at the age of 21 when he became tired of having to "do the right thing."

He subsequently spent the next few decades in Singapore working in an opera troupe, as a recording supervisor and film music composer, among other jobs related to the music entertainment industry in Singapore. He subsequently composed the National Anthem in 1958.

Beyond Bicentennial: Perspectives on Malays is published by World Scientific and you can get a copy here.

This excerpt first appeared as part of an article titled "Zubir Said" in Singapore Infopedia, written by Cheryl Sim (2014). "Zubir Said". Singapore Infopedia. National Library, Singapore. Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2020 National Library Board Singapore.

By Cheryl Sim

Zubir had his primary education from 1914 to 1921, and then went on to middle school for the next four years. When he was in primary school, his love for music was already evident. His music teacher, who spotted his passion, took it upon herself to nurture his musical talent.

She taught him the solmisasi system — a style of learning music by way of number notations — and helped him form a band with a few like-minded friends.

A friend taught him how to make flutes, and his band made music with bamboo flutes that they crafted themselves. In addition, Zubir also learnt to play the guitar and drums when he was in middle school.

Rebelled against his father to pursue his interest in music

After completing 11 years of basic education, his father’s lack of financial resources compelled Zubir to start working at the age of 18.

With little education, however, his work opportunities were limited. His first job was in a factory as a brick maker, and through a friend, he subsequently found his second job as a copy typist.

While working as a copy typist, Zubir had ample time to pursue his passion in music. He joined a eroncong (an Indonesian style of music) band in his village, and learnt to play the violin from a friend.

One day, after helping to put out a fire, Zubir received a commendation from a Dutch district officer who urged him to follow his dreams and strive for his aspirations. The 19-year-old took the advice, resigned from the copy typist job and became the leader of a travelling keroncong band.

Together with his band members, Zubir travelled from village to village in Sumatra, making a living by performing at weddings, fun fairs and other social functions.

All this time, Zubir’s father, who regarded music as haram (against the Muslim religion), was strongly against Zubir’s musical aspirations.

As Indonesia was a Dutch colony then, his father had wanted him to become an officer either in the Dutch army or Dutch administration, or take over as village chieftain and marry four wives.

Zubir, however, was determined to pursue his interest in music. Tired of having to "do the right thing” and with a strong desire to escape from the social and cultural restraints of his birthplace, he ultimately decided to chart a new life for himself in a foreign land.

Set out for Singapore to pursue his dream

In 1928, 21-year-old Zubir left Indonesia for Singapore in a cargo boat, with neither his father’s permission nor blessing. He had heard of Singapore from a sailor friend, who described the island as a place of glittering lights, kopi susu (coffee with milk) and mentega (butter) — luxury items he had never had in Sumatra.

Shortly after arriving in Singapore, Zubir found a job as a violinist with City Opera, a large bangsawan troupe at the Happy Valley amusement park in Tanjong Pagar. He learnt to read and write music in staff notation and play the piano when he was with the opera troupe.

He subsequently became the troupe’s leader, and gained the respect of the 14 musicians in the group through hard work and talent.

Zubir stayed with City Opera until 1936 when he was recruited by His Master’s Voice (HMV), a British-owned recording company, as a recording supervisor. Besides producing records, his job also entailed scouting for singing talents, which required him to travel to different parts of Indonesia and Malaya.

With his diligence, Zubir gradually became a well-known figure in the music industry. His employment with HMV, however, was terminated with the onset of World War II.

He returned briefly to Indonesia during WWII

In 1941, Zubir brought his two wives and three young daughters out of Singapore to escape from the Japanese invasion. He returned to his birthplace, Bukittinggi, which was later occupied by the Japanese as well. He then formed a performing group with several musicians and singers, and they were kept busy entertaining Japanese soldiers.

Upon his return to Singapore in 1947, Zubir worked as a freelance photographer for two years. In 1949, he was introduced to the film industry, with a job to compose songs for Malay films produced by Shaw Brothers. Chinta, one of the films that carried his songs, was a box-office hit.

Zubir’s time with Shaw Brothers, however, was a brief one, as he felt that the job was not challenging enough.

Afterwards he became involved in composing scores for Malay films

A year later, Zubir was introduced by a friend to the manager of Cathay Keris, another film company in Singapore. Cathay Keris was starting to produce Malay films at the time, and was looking for someone who could compose music for its films.

Besides writing songs for selected scenes, the composer also had to compose background music that would hold the entire film together. This was a new field of work that appealed to Zubir, who was delighted to accept the job offer, and thus began his 14-year career with Cathay Keris.

In the course of his work, Zubir expanded his knowledge of European and Asian scores, mixing them with Malay melodies to come up with a wide range of music that captured the different moods and essence of a large repertoire of Malay films.

Zubir retired from Cathay Keris in 1964, following which he spent his time teaching music to the young at his home in Joo Chiat Place using the solmisasi system.

Refused payment for writing the National Anthem as he considered it an honour, reconciled with his father

In 1958, Zubir wrote the music and lyrics for "Majulah Singapura" as the official song of the City Council of Singapore, before he became a Singapore citizen in 1967.

With a strong sense of patriotism towards Singapore, he refused to accept payment from the government for writing the song, stating that the honour was rewarding enough for him.

“Majulah Singapura” was formally presented to the people of Singapore as the state national anthem on 3 December 1959, the day when Singapore’s first Malayan-born Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Malay for “Head of State”), Yusof bin Ishak, was inaugurated.

It was a significant day for Zubir: Besides feeling the pride of being the anthem’s composer, he finally reconciled with his 101-year-old father who came from Indonesia to witness the occasion, after they were estranged for about 30 years.

Composed over 1,500 songs in his life

A prolific songwriter, Zubir composed at least 1,500 songs during his lifetime. Some of his compositions are untraced, as he did not keep a record of all his works.

Zubir’s music can be divided into three categories: film songs, popular songs and national songs. Some of his best-known compositions include “Sayang di Sayang”, “Cempaka Biru”, “Setangkai Kembang Melati", "Ikan Tembakul" and "Saputangan".

On 22 August 2007, Zubir’s family signed an agreement with record company Universal Music Publishing Group to manage 1,500 songs written by Zubir.

Under the agreement, Zubir’s works can be recorded by contemporary artistes, used in commercials and made available as mobile downloads.

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Top image collage from National Archives of Singapore