Is the Merlion the best national icon for Singapore?

Indeed, the Merlion is definitely the best national icon for Singapore. Formed by the words 'mer' and 'lion' .The word 'mer' refers to the sea, representing how Singapore was like long ago, a small fishing village surrounded by water. The word 'lion' comes from a legend . This legend is about a prince called Sang Nila Utama who arrived at Temasek on one of his adventures. He saw a majestic creature and asked his advisor what it was . He then told him it was a lion. Thus , he named the island Singapura , meaning Lion City. In my opinion, the Merlion shows how Singapore has changed over the years. From a small fishing village to a metropolis, we eventually proved to others that anything is possible . Even if we are just a small red dot with little resources , as long as we have the determination and put in the substantial hard work , we can still become one of the leading countries in the world. When we see the Merlion, we think of our own roots and the long way that we have came together. We are motivated to do even better thus the Merlion is the best national icon of Singapore.
  Of course, everyone has their own different point of views. Some may prefer Singlish or even the Esplanade to be our national icon. There is no right or wrong in this statement. However, based on my point of view, it reminds us of our long history and the determination and hard work we have put in together. Some assumptions must be made by the man who designed the merlion though. For example, he needs to assume that the citizens and tourists would like the Merlion alot as the Merlion is a very important part of the tourism industry and much revenue can be collected if the Merlion really becomes a famous tourist attraction. Fortunately , the Merlion is popular around the world and we owe our place in the world to it somehow. Looking at how important the Merlion is to us, it definitely deserves to be our national icon .