Singa the Kindness Lion

Singa the Kindness Lion is the official mascot of the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM). First introduced in 1982 by the then-National Courtesy Campaign, Singa symbolises kindness, graciousness, and civic-mindedness. Over the years, he has been featured in various public campaigns promoting acts of kindness and social harmony.

Prior to Singa, the campaign was using a smiley face as its logo and for its collaterals, which gave an impression that courtesy was simply smiling. Putting stick hands and legs on the face was also unappealing and ridiculous, according to campaign staff.

Singa’s design was created within six weeks by a team of artists from the Ministry of Information and the Arts (now Ministry of Digital Development and Information). Initially, the team proposed a cartoon human as the mascot, but the design tended to represent the Chinese, irreflective of Singapore’s multi-racial diversity. The merlion was also briefly considered but dropped as it was already used by the tourism board.

After settling on a lion, revisions were made to avoid the mascot from looking too fierce or overly gentle. Eventually, a chubby lion cub design was adopted as it represented Singapore’s relatively young population. Minimal design changes have been made to Singa over the years, helping to reinforce its recognisability.

Through annual courtesy campaigns consisting of mascot merchandise giveaways, meet-and-greets and a catchy jingle, Singa cemented his status as a cultural icon. Innovative and provocative stunts only helped to raise his profile further.

In 2009, three Singapore Management University students staged a mock funeral for Singa, where they ‘mourned the death of kindness in Singapore and called on Singaporeans to remember Singa and what he stood for’, according to news sources. The unsanctioned funeral prompted a response by SKM that Singa was still alive - in fact, statues of the mascot were erected islandwide as part of the Singapore Kindness Month campaign that year.

In 2013, Singa made headlines when he “resigned” in an open letter, stating that kindness should come from individuals rather than a mascot. Dr William Wan, SKM’s General Secretary, pushed back on the media that called the open letter a publicity stunt and confirmed that Singa would not make any appearance on Kindness Day SG - the first time the mascot would not be involved in any SKM event since being introduced.

Despite this, Singa later returned and continues to be a familiar figure in SKM initiatives. In this current version, Singa bears a yellow gerbera — the symbol of appreciation — on his shirt.

One of the key initiatives for children is Kindsville, a virtual universe where Singa and his friends live. Known collectively as the Kindness Cubbies, Singa, Sher, Tomeo, Tosh, and Kalle explore themes of kindness, empathy, and positive social behaviour through newsletters, games and an animated series called The Adventures of Singa and the Kindness Cubbies.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, some episodes featured the Soaper 5 mascots from the Ministry of Education, who were created to promote good hygiene practices during the pandemic.

Other trivia

• In 1987, the public was introduced to Singa’s wife and three cubs. Singa’s family was created to help promote the family theme adopted for the courtesy campaign held that year, and retired thereafter.

• Launched in 2010 to commemorate World Kindness Day, Project Singa featured 2.5-inch vinyl collectible figurines of Singa the Kindness Lion, created in collaboration with Singapore-based toy maker Play Imaginative and local artists. A design contest was also held, with winning entries turned into figurines. In total, 34 unique designs were developed to promote messages of graciousness and kindness in society.

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