The Pledge

The Origin
Initially penned by Mr S Rajaratnam in 1966, the Pledge was written against the backdrop of racial riots in the 1950s and 1960s. Mr Rajaratnam revealed that the dream was about building "a Singapore we are proud of". He believed that language, race and religion were divisive factors, but the Pledge emphasises that these differences can be overcome if Singaporeans cared enough about their country. The draft text was handed to the then Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who polished the text before submitting it to the Cabinet.
taken from: http://www.sg/explore/symbols_pledge.htm

FLAGS will fly at half-mast today, as a nation mourns the passing of one of Singapore's founding fathers.

Mr S. Rajaratnam, pioneering foreign minister of a prematurely born Republic and the man who put heart and soul into penning the Singapore Pledge of allegiance, died yesterday at 3.15 pm.
He died peacefully at his Chancery Lane home of heart failure, three days short of his 91st birthday, after suffering poor health for several years.

He threw in his lot as a founding member of the People's Action Party in November 1954 - together with Mr Lee Kuan Yew the 'number one' man, Dr Goh Keng Swee the economist and himself as the 'ideas man', as he would describe the trio years later.

He would become 'ideas man' for Singapore as well, as Culture Minister in the turbulent years of 1959 to 1965, through racial riots, merger with Malaysia and then independence.
Among the ideas closest to his heart was that of a 'Singaporean Singapore' - a multi-racial society whose citizens lived in harmony, progressing based on merit, not race - an ideal he enshrined in the Singapore Pledge.

taken from: http://www.asiaone.com/st/st_20060223_373122.html

deepest condolences to relatives and friends of Mr S. Rajaratnam...