2013
Dec
12

Your Feedback to MND

7

 

A call  was made to  the community  to provide feedback to  the Ministry of National Development (MND),  to preserve Bukit Brown as a heritage site for future generations in the  draft Master plan 2013.  The closing date for feedback  is 19th December 2013. For those who don’t know how to begin, there is a template available to guide you  here. We encourage you to copy the email to your MP.

To those who have written, We Thank You. Some of you have shared your letters with us.  We gratefully reproduce extracts  with your kind permission, with the hope it will inspire others to write in and give their feedback.

If you wish to share your feedback with the community, please bcc your letter to MND to  a.t.bukitbrown@gmail.com

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Beauty shots  5 (photo public domain)Lily Teo

 “We are custodians of our country’s heritage not just for ourselves but for our future generations. It is important that they continue to see for themselves how respect is being shown to our forebears and  learn the very real lesson of conserving our roots even, or especially in the face of rapid urban development. Precious “history lesson materials” like Bukit Brown, once lost, may never be recovered. Let no regret come about.”

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Eugene Tay

“The biggest threat to Singapore is apathy, and when Singaporeans do not feel a sense of belonging and are not bothered with what goes on here, then Singapore is in trouble. For Singapore to survive and prosper in the long term, it is necessary to have more opportunities in preserving our shared memories and creating our shared vision. And preserving Bukit Brown is an excellent opportunity that enables Singaporeans to feel that they belong here by remembering our past and creating our future.

Bukit Brown tells the stories of our forefathers who built Singapore, and creates opportunities for history education and discovery. The cemetery connects Singapore’s past and present, and allows us to understand that Singapore’s success is built up by our forefathers’ sweat and tears, and should not be taken for granted. We should preserve Bukit Brown because it helps us remember our past and keeps us rooted to Singapore.

Bukit Brown presents the opportunity for transforming the cemetery into a world-class living outdoor museum or heritage park. If this transformation adopts a bottom-up approach and with stakeholder engagement, it would allow us to come together, plan and work towards a future Singapore where heritage, nature and our economic needs can co-exist. We should preserve Bukit Brown because it enables us to work together and build bonds and resilience, and to create a space where our children and their children can enjoy and be proud of.

Singapore is a young nation and needs more common spaces like Bukit Brown to remind us how we got here and why this is home, and to create opportunities for building our future social resilience.”

Joyce Chew

“I am a fourth generation Singaporean. My great-grandfather, Chew Boon Lay, was one of Singapore’s very important pioneers. 

Flowers for Chew Boon Lay (photo: Claire Leow)

Flowers for Chew Boon Lay (photo: Claire Leow)

In April 2012, my parents and I, along with my husband who is English, and our 2 children, discovered where my great-grandfather was buried in Bukit Brown. Thanks to a Straits Times journalist who did a photo-editorial on several important pioneers’ descendants, a photo shoot was conducted at the site of Chew Boon Lay’s tomb.

My parents who had not been to his tomb in more than 20 years came along as well, as did many of my extended family of cousins, uncles, and other relatives. Despite my parents both being aged and not able to walk or see well, they both made the uphill trek to Chew Boon Lay’s tomb in the dark as a huge storm was looming. That was such an important day for them and my family.  I was re-acquainted with many relatives and met some whom I had never even met before. We have had several family gatherings since and as such, our April 2012 ‘reunion’ at Chew Boon Lay’s tomb in Bukit Brown served as a very important point of re-connecting with long lost relatives.

My father who is 83 was so elated to have been able to visit his grandfather’s tomb and pay respects to him again after such a long period of time. He was even happier to meet his many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, many of whom he had never met before. My siblings live abroad and when they returned to Singapore, I brought them to my great-grandfather’s tomb. All of them were so amazed at how peaceful and beautiful Bukit Brown is, but more importantly they were so happy to be able to visit our great-grandfather’s tomb for the first time. 

Having reconnected with my Singapore roots via my great-grandfather’s tomb, I feel so proud to be a 4th generation Singaporean of an important Singapore pioneer who had such humble beginnings and contributed much to Singapore’s growth and prosperity. My children are both Singaporean and English and I want them to grow up feeling connected to Singapore and to be able to trace their roots in Singapore back to my great-grandfather.  It was important for me that they visit his tomb and pay respects to their great-great-grandfather and to feel proud to be his descendants. I want them to be able to do this when they are older and when I am no longer around….such a connection in our young country that is forever trying to modernize and improve itself is, for me, one of the most important things if we want our children to have roots in, and feel connected to, Singapore.”

***

Memory (Photo- Peter Pak)Matthew Tan

Other than the Bukit Timah Nature Reserves, Bukit Brown is a another place where I can bring my families out to Experience nature in a SAFE environment. National Parks are wonderful but they do not give the sense of one totally immersing in Nature.

“We are in a jungle.” my 6 year old boy Isaac said that with excitement when I brought him to the Bukit Brown. We have built too many shopping malls and what values are we cultivating when weekend we see Singaporeans crowding the malls and yet complaining that we are bored to death? Our souls are not fed with Nature but shopping malls and how would that make us as a Nation?  We fly out of the country during school holidays to visit other country’s nature while we are destroying one in our own backyard? An article written by a 12 year old lavanyaprakash on Bukit Brown reminded me how important it is to preserve such AUTHENTIC nature and to educate Singaporeans on Nature Outings. I want my children’s generations to be able to experience this Nature and not just Bukit Timah Reserves or other man made National Parks.  Thus, not only it is a National Heritage to be preserved, it is a World Heritage to be preserved!”

Other than the Bukit Timah Nature Reserves, Bukit Brown is a another place where I can bring my families out to Experience nature in a SAFE environment. National Parks are wonderful but they do not give the sense of one totally immersing in Nature. “We are in a jungle.” my 6 year old boy Isaac said that with excitement when I brought him to the Bukit Brown. We have built too many shopping malls and what values are we cultivating when weekend we see Singaporeans crowding the malls and yet complaining that we are bored to death? Our souls are not fed with Nature but shopping malls and how would that make us as a Nation?  We fly out of the country during school holidays to visit other country’s nature while we are destroying one in our own backyard? An article written by a 12 year old lavanyaprakash on Bukit Brown reminded me how important it is to preserve such AUTHENTIC nature and to educate Singaporeans on Nature Outings. I want my children’s generations to be able to experience this Nature and not just Bukit Timah Reserves or other man made National Parks.  Thus, not only it is a National Heritage to be preserved, it is a World Heritage to be preserved!”

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Ang  Hock Chuan

“As recently as September 2011, Bukit Brown was just another cemetery to me. I only remember it as the place I learnt to drive and as the place my grandfather was buried.

My father visited his father’s tomb every Ching Ming till an illness made it difficult for him to walk in that terrain. He had prepared for the eventuality of exhumation and already bought a niche for my grandfather. Unfortunately, I stopped following my father to visit years ago and forgotten where my grandfather was buried.

When my father passed away a few years ago, I became interested to look for my grandfather’s tomb. It would be the last thing I could do for my father to ensure his father’s remains are properly taken care of.

When I heard the news about the proposed highway, there was an urgency to locate my grandfather. I started to search for people who can help me locate him and stumbled on a group of volunteers sharing about Bukit Brown.

My initial interest was to look for my grandfather’s tomb and determine if it would be affected so I can make the necessary arrangements to relocate him.

I joined their guided tours in October 2011. That opened up my eyes to the rich heritage and history contained in Bukit Brown.

Over many visits I was also introduced to the rich bio-diversity and wildlife thriving in this habitat. Whilst I enjoyed listening to the birds in the woods, I was never an avid bird-watcher. But now, I keep a look out for the birds when I am there. I have seen uncommon and endangered species like the Changeable Hawk Eagle, the Red Jungle Fowl, the Greater Coucal and still learning each day about the special flora and fauna of Singapore there.

Bukit Brown turned into a living museum and classroom for me. History came alive. Our cultural heritage is enshrined here. A rich bio-diversity thrives here. It has an aesthetic beauty not found in our man-made parks. I count it my good fortune to have learnt about and visited this wonderful piece of our heritage before any wanton destruction takes place.

For these reasons and more, I hope to see Bukit Brown preserved, for our children’s and grandchildren’s sake. Once lost, lost forever.”

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Rickshaw puller_

Alvin Lee

“We need not look any further than to Bukit Brown when we try to form our Singapore Identity because it is there for all to see. It is a living museum of our rich history that reminds us that our forefathers were migrants from various lands who decided to root themselves here in the Straits Settlement of Singapore, and we are their proud offspring. The fact that Singapore started as a migrant nation also helps us understand and welcome those who come here today, like our forefathers, to seek their fortune and make Singapore their home.”

***

 

RGS girls on tour

Arielle Ng Rae

As a local student and youth, I finally took the time out today to join one of the tour groups organised by SOS Bukit Brown today, which I have been wanting to do ever since my ‘A’-levels finished. I was pleasantly surprised with the beauty and heritage of the site, but I was also incredibly saddened. The tour guides were very passionate and knowledgeable about local heritage, and the knowledge I gained today about Singapore and its roots, about how the locals worked together with a myriad of other races to form modern Singapore, about the roots of our unique culture that we often take for granted, made me the proudest of Singapore that I have ever been.

 Through the tour, I finally appreciated exactly what it meant to be a melting pot of diverse cultures– how our customs came to be and as a result, how unique we are, and, ironically, the beauty of globalization in contributing to our shared heritage.

I plead with the most earnest and sincere heart, that you will protect Bukit Brown, for the sake of Singaporeans, who are fast becoming disillusioned with this city-state. This tour has done nothing but cement my love for Singapore and my pride for it, and I want many of my peers to feel the same. It is perhaps the natural state of the cemetery, and the untouched beauty of the landscape that lent this genuine connection and pride, but whatever it is, Bukit Brown cemetery has proven to be a beautiful reminder of what it once meant to be Singaporean, and what it could mean for future generations to come.

 

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The "man-made" stream strives en naturelle

The “man-made” stream strives en naturelle

Ian Chong

“Bukit Brown has helped me achieve a better understanding of a history of a part of Singapore’s local history, and has helped me gain a stronger sense of where our nation has come from as a community. It is a reminder of where our society came from and the sacrifices earlier generations made. I hope my children will be able to experience the sheer physicality of our roots, as well as Singapore’s natural heritage. The flooding in Singapore over the past few years, including the Bukit Timah and Thomson areas that are downhill from Bukit Brown, reminds me of the importance of having natural green spaces near already built-up areas.

Moreover, during the periods of heavy haze earlier in 2013, green areas like Bukit Brown were least affected. Singapore needs natural green lungs like Bukit Brown.”

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Lim Cheng Tee's Sikh guards at Hill One (Photo: Raymond Goh)

Lim Cheng Tee’s Sikh guards at Hill One (Photo: Raymond Goh)

Casey Ong

“It is OUR oldest part of history.  My grandfather’s grave at Bidadari was long gone more than 10 years ago to clear his “resting place” for more housing developments.  Passing by that stretch of road gives us no connection anymore.  Even though we have never met our grandfather before, we used to pop by his grave as a kid just to say “hello”, or just to remember how he looked like before by the photo on his grave.  We felt the root of our roots.  We felt proud of ourselves in some way too because of where we came from.  Now I understand why history is such an important part of life.

 So, please do not do to the oldest cemetery in Singapore, the Bukit Brown Cemetery what the government had already done at Bidadari.  How much more land or our past that you want to “sacrifice” for economic development?  Bukit Brown CAN BE an economic source if it can be converted to a tourist area, natural reserve etc.  We do not want more roads, please.”

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Painted tiles (Photo: Joyce Le Mesurier)

Painted tiles (Photo: Joyce Le Mesurier)

Kerry Cracknell

I am a British citizen who has settled in Singapore with my family and now call it home – and I am proud to do so. My daughter was born here and we are happy here. However, my husband and I are trying to teach our children about the importance of preserving our environment and our natural heritage. We often tell them “once it’s gone, you can’t get it back” and we quote the Native American Cree prophecy “When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money”. It is heartbreaking to think that in a few years’ time, such a place as Bukit Brown – with its natural, historical and cultural significance – might be concreted over. Please, please consider saving it for our future generations.”

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This beautifully tiled tomb is among those marked (staked) for exhumation (Photo: Claire Leow)

This beautifully tiled tomb is among those marked (staked) for exhumation (Photo: Claire Leow)

Philip Chai

While I have only set foot on Bukit Brown once, I am fascinated by the deep treasure trove of history it is. It is an unbias holding place of history as alot of our ancestor laid to rest. I remembered when I was young, I have to walk through Choa Chu Kang and there was this cemetery that fascinated me as it has very interesting tombs. I never get around to know it as it made way to development since. It would be a pity if we keep making concession on preservation in the name of progress as that would be a very up-rooting experience. No pictures or archive can replace the actual tombstone and the serenity is irreplaceable. 

 

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Ong Sam Leong (Photo: Luke Chua)

Ong Sam Leong of Kinmen(Photo: Luke Chua)

Cathy Tan

 “I am the third generation of Kinmenese immigrants. My great grandparents were once buried in Bukit Brown cemetery. My father, Mr Tan Kok Meng 陈国民, had served as board member, treasurer and subsequently as vice chairman of Kim Mui Hoey Kuan 金门会馆 from late 60s to 80s. During that time, he organized many cultural activities and exchanges, including hosting the Asian literary festival. He had also proposed to setup a center to store valuable historical material of Kinmen and their diaspora. The subsequent setting up of the Cultural and Historical Resource Center 新加坡金门会馆文史资料中心 in 2003 and the publication of “I came from Kim Mui” 《我从金门来》in 2006 (which my father was one of the interviewees) were some of the visible fruits.

Now that my father has passed away for four years, I have kept this book close to my heart. My daughter recently used it to write a social science essay about her root. My father, after escaping the turmoil of war had decided to make Singapore his permanent home. Along with many others who came to Singapore between 18th – 20th century, they have contributed to who we are today. Even though we are still a young country, we do have our own history. And the major part of it, is inscribed on the tomb stones in Bukit Brown Cemetery.  

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Tan Joo Hymn
“I have recently learnt that my great grandfather is buried here, and possibly other ancestors. With three young children, I would very much like to be able to show them his grave, and tell them about the history of Singapore and our family. So much of the landmarks from my childhood have already been demolished, when I tell them about the past, they do not have something concrete on which to hang the stories. We can build roads and residential estates in other parts of Singapore, but we cannot have another Bukit Brown. So many sites of historical importance have already been lost, please preserve this one. 
 
And I am saying this as a person who lives near Bukit Brown, who could potentially benefit from the new roads. I visited Bukit Brown a few times in the last 6 months. There was already such a huge difference before and after the green fencing was put up, it will not be remotely like what it was with a flyover over it.”
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Bhavani Prakash

“My daughter and I visited Bukit Brown and were deeply moved by the heritage and biodiversity of Bukit Brown. Lavanya,who’s my 13 year old daughter wrote about Bukit Brown in her blog here http://mynatureexperiences.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/bukit-brown-nature-heritage/

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Darren Koh

“Bukit Brown is not just a place of birds stones and bones:  what makes it special are the stories, the memories that it holds.  Stories of what someone grandparents, someone’s great grand parents or even further back did.  Remember the stories that the aunts and uncles or grandparents would relate round the table during the long interminable family gatherings that we had to attend as a child?  Those are the stories that tie us to a place, a time and those are the stories that makes us remember what is home.  There are so many stories of people whose name many know, but whose deeds or mis-deeds have not been told.  Do you, Mr Secretary, know of the link between a hospital now in Novena, and Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, and Jodie Foster and  Chow Yun Fatt?   It was a descendant of Tan Tock Seng who introduced Anna Leonowens to the Court of King Mongkut.  Anna was played by Deborah Kerr in “The King and I” alongside Yul Bryner as the King, while Jodie Foster played Anna alongside Chow Yun Fat in “Anna and the King”.

Singapore is not only about concrete buildings and integrated resorts: it has in Bukit Brown a huge repository of stories which when told, make people aware of Singapore as a hub of trade commerce and culture in Asia all this long time ago.  It is so much easier to show a human Singapore when you bring back to mind the human stories told every week by the Brownies on their tours – these are stories that make this place, home.

Conservation does not mean no development
One point I wish to stress is that conservation does not mean no development:  just as we can develop around an existing building and incorporate its uniqueness into our plans, it should be possible to conserve Bukit Brown without halting development.  What is needed is more diverse, out-of-the-box thinking.  For instance we will still need parks in Singapore – well, we have one already.  While the older generations have reservations about going to a cemetery for a walk, the younger set do not, and Bukit Brown is already being used as one.  Why not develop it’s potential?  Here is a place where amidst the stones stories of old Singapore lie.  The Brownies have bring the stories to life during their tours, which as noted above, have been receiving a lot of tourist publicity through word of mouth and social media.  If self-funded volunteers can do so much, how much more can they achieve if they had help?”

***
Angeline Lee
“As a 7th generation Singaporean who has recently discovered the graves of my ancestors who contributed to the growth of Singapore from its early days and as an educator, I appreciate the rich resources to be found in the tombstones that bring to life the contributions of the early pioneers of Singapore.  This place is where schoolchildren should be able to touch history – how rich and poor immigrants alike made Singapore home and how their efforts were aimed at improving the lives of everyone. This is a place for National Education where we can show how our leaders themselves looked to the pioneers when they declared their vision for Singapore, “A COMPASSIONATE MERITOCRACY”. Can you imagine telling future NSmen about the courage of Mr Tay Koh Yat who fought the Japanese (he was number 2 on the Japanese army’s list of men wanted for their leadership of the anti-Japanese movement in Singapore) and his compassion in how after the war he ensured that widows of  volunteers who fought the Japanese received compensation to help them survive.  
 
It is truly unfortunate that more than 4,000 graves have been earmarked for exhumation to make way for an 8-lane highway which will cut off access to a section of the cemetery and Greater Bukit Brown for both people and fauna. Perhaps the planners did not visit Bukit Brown and so neither appreciate nor understand that Bukit Brown holds so much for Singapore in history , heritage conservation and habitat conservation. But the loss of these graves is greatly felt by their descendants and those seeking to preserve connections with the past.
 
Bukit Brown is a living green space where our schoolchildren can also learn about local flora and fauna. We must protect the species that are left in Singapore.  We must also provide an extensive green area for migratory birds. Our development projects have unwittingly destroyed some species which can only be found in Singapore. To continue on this pace of development is foolhardy and irresponsible because Singapore must be seen not only as a signatory of CITES but also a responsible steward of the natural habitats of our native species. There is no need to spend money to create an artificial sanctuary when Bukit Brown already exists. Furthermore, the place is free, unlike Jurong Bird Park and Gardens by the Bay.
 
The Greater Bukit Brown and the Central Catchment areas are the sponges to retain water during the heavy downpours of the monsoon seasons. This water ensures that the groundwater underneath is not depleted and will help replenish the reservoirs in the catchment area. This also reduces flooding downstream: Bukit Timah, Dunearn and Newton areas have seen floods recently because developments in these areas have paved over the huge grass lawns which lined the roads.
 
I’m sure both nature lovers and heritage seekers have written in to urge that the URA and LTA relook at their masterplans. 
Singapore must have room for both the living and the dead. We have enough condos and shopping malls. 
 
Thank you for inviting feedback from ordinary Singaporeans on the masterplan. ”
***
A. J Leow

“Each time I pay a visit there, it stirs up emotions from a sort of deep-seated ‘spiritual’ wellspring which I did not know I have. A spiritual awakening of sorts. Ironic isn’t it from a burial ground?

Maybe, it’s the tranquil surroundings, the wonderful tales of an almost forgotten past kept alive by the elan of the volunteer guides, or could it be just the spirits of the ancestors channelling….. I would often end up going away asking myself: How is it that we have neglected our past? Why? Who are we as Singaporeans? What keeps us going? What inspires us? Do we have a national soul? Did we start any fire or if there are any embers left? And so on. So here are some of those rambling thoughts…….after my latest ramble over the hills of Bukit Brown.”

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Beauty shots  4 (photo public domain)

 

 

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