To those who have written,\u00a0We<\/strong> <\/em>Thank You<\/em><\/strong>. Some of you have shared your letters with us.\u00a0 We gratefully reproduce extracts\u00a0 with your kind permission, with the hope it will inspire others to write in and give their feedback.<\/p>\n If you wish to share your feedback with the community, please bcc your letter to MND to\u00a0 a.t.bukitbrown@gmail.com<\/p>\n ———————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i><\/strong>\u201cWe are custodians of our country\u2019s heritage not just for ourselves but for our future generations. It is important that they continue to see for themselves how\u00a0respect\u00a0is being shown to our forebears and\u00a0\u00a0learn the very real lesson of conserving our roots even, or especially in the face of rapid urban development. Precious \u201chistory lesson materials\u201d like Bukit Brown, once lost, may never be recovered. Let no regret come about.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n Eugene Tay<\/strong><\/p>\n “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.<\/em><\/p>\n Bukit Brown tells the stories of our forefathers who built Singapore, and creates opportunities for history education and discovery. The cemetery connects Singapore\u2019s past and present, and allows us to understand that Singapore\u2019s success is built up by our forefathers\u2019 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.<\/em><\/p>\n 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.<\/em><\/p>\n 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.”<\/em><\/p>\n Joyce Chew<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI am a fourth generation Singaporean. My great-grandfather, Chew Boon Lay, was one of Singapore\u2019s very important pioneers.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n Flowers for Chew Boon Lay (photo: Claire Leow)<\/p><\/div>\n In April 2012, my parents and I, along with my husband who is English, and our 2 children,\u00a0discovered where my great-grandfather was buried in Bukit Brown. Thanks to a Straits Times journalist who did a photo-editorial on several important pioneers\u2019 descendants, a photo shoot was conducted at the site of Chew Boon Lay\u2019s tomb.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n 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\u2019s tomb in the dark as a huge storm was looming. That was such an important day for them and my family.\u00a0 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 \u2018reunion\u2019 at Chew Boon Lay\u2019s tomb in Bukit Brown served as a very important point of re-connecting with long lost relatives. <\/i><\/i><\/p>\n My father who is 83 was so elated to have been able to visit his grandfather\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s tomb for the first time.\u00a0 <\/i><\/i><\/p>\n Having reconnected with my Singapore roots via my great-grandfather\u2019s tomb, I feel so proud to be a 4th<\/sup> generation Singaporean of an important Singapore pioneer who had such humble beginnings and contributed much to Singapore\u2019s 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.\u00a0 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\u2026.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.\u201d<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n 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. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe are in a jungle.\u201d 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? \u00a0We fly out of the country during school holidays to visit other country\u2019s nature while we are destroying one in our own backyard? An article<\/a> written by a 12 year old lavanyaprakash<\/a>\u00a0on Bukit Brown reminded me how important it is to preserve such AUTHENTIC nature and to educate Singaporeans on Nature Outings. I want my children\u2019s generations to be able to experience this Nature and not just Bukit Timah Reserves or other man made National Parks. \u00a0Thus, not only it is a National Heritage to be preserved, it is a World Heritage to be preserved!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 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. \u201cWe are in a jungle.\u201d 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? \u00a0We fly out of the country during school holidays to visit other country\u2019s nature while we are destroying one in our own backyard? An article<\/a> written by a 12 year old lavanyaprakash<\/a>\u00a0on Bukit Brown reminded me how important it is to preserve such AUTHENTIC nature and to educate Singaporeans on Nature Outings. I want my children\u2019s generations to be able to experience this Nature and not just Bukit Timah Reserves or other man made National Parks. \u00a0Thus, not only it is a National Heritage to be preserved, it is a World Heritage to be preserved!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Ang\u00a0 Hock Chuan<\/strong><\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n I joined their guided tours in October 2011. That opened up my eyes to the rich heritage and history contained in Bukit Brown.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n For these reasons and more, I hope to see Bukit Brown preserved, for our children’s and grandchildren’s sake. Once lost, lost forever.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Alvin Lee<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Arielle Ng Rae<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n 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 \u2018A\u2019-levels finished. I was pleasantly surprised with the beauty and heritage of the site, but I was also incredibly saddened. <\/em>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.<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i>Through the tour, I finally appreciated exactly what it meant to be a melting pot of diverse cultures\u2013 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. <\/em><\/p>\n 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.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n The “man-made” stream strives en naturelle<\/p><\/div>\n Ian Chong<\/b> <\/b><\/p>\n \u201cBukit Brown has helped me achieve a better understanding of a history of a part of Singapore\u2019s local history, and has helped me gain a stronger sense of where our nation has come from as a community. <\/i>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\u2019s 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.<\/i><\/p>\n 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.”<\/em><\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lim Cheng Tee’s Sikh guards at Hill One (Photo: Raymond Goh)<\/p><\/div>\n Casey Ong<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u00a0is OUR oldest part of history. \u00a0My grandfather\u2019s grave at Bidadari was long gone more than 10 years ago to clear his \u201cresting place\u201d for more housing developments. \u00a0Passing by that stretch of road gives us no connection anymore. \u00a0Even though we have never met our grandfather before, we used to pop by his grave as a kid just to say \u201chello\u201d, or just to remember how he looked like before by the photo on his grave. \u00a0We felt the root of our roots. \u00a0We felt proud of ourselves in some way too because of where we came from. \u00a0Now I understand why history is such an important part of life.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i>So, please do not do to the oldest cemetery in Singapore, the Bukit Brown Cemetery what the government had already done at Bidadari. \u00a0How much more land or our past that you want to \u201csacrifice\u201d for economic development? \u00a0Bukit Brown CAN BE an economic source if it can be converted to a tourist area, natural reserve etc.\u00a0\u00a0<\/i>We do not want more roads, please.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n Painted tiles (Photo: Joyce Le Mesurier)<\/p><\/div>\n Kerry Cracknell<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>I am a British citizen who has settled in Singapore with my family and now call it home \u2013 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 \u201conce it\u2019s gone, you can\u2019t get it back\u201d and we quote the Native American Cree prophecy \u201cWhen 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\u201d. It is heartbreaking to think that in a few years\u2019 time, such a place as Bukit Brown \u2013 with its natural, historical and cultural significance \u2013 might be concreted over. Please, please consider saving it for our future generations.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Beauty](\"http:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Beauty-shots-5-photo-public-domain-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Lily Teo<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n![\"Flowers](\"http:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/IMG_2807-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Memory](\"http:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Memory-Photo-Peter-Pak--150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Matthew Tan<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Rickshaw](\"http:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Rickshaw-puller_-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a><\/i><\/h3>\n![\"RGS](\"http:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/L1170834-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h3>\n![\"The](\"http:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/384912_10150574492093885_675238884_10978007_739317867_n-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"Lim](\"http:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Lim-Cheng-Tees-Sikh-guards-Photo-Raymond-Goh--150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Painted](\"http:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Painted-tiles-Photo-Joyce-Le-Mesurier--150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>
![\"This](\"http:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/staked-tiles-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Ong](\"http:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/259733_173156699412384_100001541642490_438774_1119008_o-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Beauty](\"http:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Beauty-shots-4-photo-public-domain.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n