National symbols of Singapore enjoys wide use on the national currency, state decorations and appears on the cover of the national passport. The central emblem of the coat of arms is a red shield with five white stars resting above a white crescent. The crescent and five stars are also used on the Singapore flag and other various national symbols, such as the national ensign for civilian ships. The symbolism of the red colour, along with the white crescent and stars is the same as that of the national flag. The supporters of the shield are a lion and a tiger; the tiger symbolizes
Culture of Singapore has been much public rhetoric about liberalisation and its association with the development of a creative economy in Singapore. The response from artists, academics, public intellectuals, and civil society activists has ranged from strongly optimistic to deeply pessimistic, as reflected in the chapters written for edited book "Renaissance Singapore: Economy, Culture, and Politics". The difference between what is "culture" and what makes up "the arts" has been a matter of some debate in Singapore. For an attempt at defining what is artistic, see, for example, the Report of the Censorship Review Committee 1992. The Singapore Botanic Gardens is one of