1. It was written in 1966 by the late Mr S Rajaratnam, who was then Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs. 2. The pledge’s theme of multi-racial and multi-religious harmony was in response to the racial riots that occurred in Singapore in 1960s. 3. The first time the Pledge was recited in schools was 25 August 1966 when about 500,000 students from 529 Government and aided schools made the Pledge. 4. Initially, Pledge-takers had to face the National Flag and recite it with their right hand raised. In 1988, it was decided that Pledge-takers should recite it with their right fists clenched to their chests to better reflect the emotional aspect of saying the Pledge. 5. We all know the English version of the Pledge. But there are also official versions in Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. This article is from The New Paper 9 August 2009.