Before he became featured on a series of currency notes many Singaporeans deal with on a daily basis, Yusof bin Ishak was a man who brought Singaporeans together. Yusof was born on August 12, 1910, in Perak, Malaysia. His family moved to Singapore when he was 13 years old after his father was recruited as the Fisheries Department’s assistant inspector. After graduating from Raffles Institution in 1929, he began his journalism career at Warta Malaya, a publication that served the Singaporean Arab community. Yusof envisioned a publication that could champion Malay issues within Singapore. Together with 20 other Malay leaders, they created Utusan Melayu in 1939. Although the publication’s operations were disrupted during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, Yusof was able to revive Utusan Melayu in 1945. During the post-war period, Utusan Melayu played a part in forming the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO). But due to differences in ideals and UMNO buying shares in the paper, Yusof had sold his shares and resigned from Utusan Melayu by 1959. Throughout the years, Yusof held many appointments within the Singaporean government including serving as the Chairman of the Public Service Commission of Singapore. When the political party People’s Action Party won the 1959 general election, Yusof was sworn in as Singapore’s head of state (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) and became president when Singapore achieved independence on August 9, 1965. As president of the newly-independent Singapore, Yusof heavily emphasized multiculturalism. He reached out to Singaporeans of all races and backgrounds, creating a national identity within the country. Sadly, Yusof died on November 23, 1970, while serving his third term in office. So the next time you use a Singaporean dollar bill, remember the man who helped shaped Singapore into the multicultural country it is today. #HISTORY #Singapore #NationalDay #SG #YusofIshak #SingaporePresident #SingaporeWeek #Singaporehistory