Is Merlion the best national icon for Singapore?

Yes, I feel that the merlion would make the best national icon for Singapore. The merlions's name is made up of two words- "Mer" and "lion".

"Mer" means sea which is an accurate representation of Singapore as it was a fishing village surrounded by the Sea before the Late Mr Lee Kuan Yew revolutionised it into a metropolitan city. "Lion" was in the name as folklore has it that Sang Nila Utama was going on an expedition in order to explore sites. As he was exploring, he saw and island and sailed towards it. Unfortunately, a storm struck and the ship began to flouder in the rough waves. Everything was thrown over the ship and only until Sang Nila Utama threw his heavy crown into the sea and the heavy storm instantly stopped. After drifting towards the island, Sang Nila Utama and his men went hunting. They saw a strange animal and before they could identify it, it went away. One of his men suggetsed that it could be a lion. Sang Nila Utama then decided to name the island, Singapura which means Lion City, where singa in sanskirt means "Lion" while pura means "City". Thus, the "lion" in its name.

Even though the merlion is said to represents Singapore's tourism's icon, I still feel that it thourougly represents Singapore's national icon as it reminds every Singaporean of its roots, from a small, simple fishing village to now, a metropolis. Some ideal icons would be the Singapore flyer and esplanade.

Yes, I understand that foreigners or even our own Singaporeans may have that different points of view, such as thinking that the merlion is a mistake, ugly or even just a working symbol, however I personally feel that the Merlion represents Singapore due to its significant meaning in its name and its story behind it.