Campaign to preserve Chinese cemetery pushes
on against the odds
Develop
or preserve? That’s a question that is always asked in Singapore, a
densely-populated country with very little space to make use of. With a
government that has always opted for the most “pragmatic” response, the answer
has often been to develop.
But
when the government first announced plans to demolish a part of Bukit Brown
cemetery to make way for a new highway, many Singaporeans opposed the idea,
seeing it as the latest in a long list of disappearing landmarks of the
country’s history. Groups such as the Nature Society (Singapore), Singapore
Heritage Society, Asia Paranormal Investigators and SOS Bukit Brown have begun
to organize to campaign for the preservation of the 200-hectare green space.
“Bukit
Brown Cemetery is one of our last direct links to our pioneer generation, and
the last place ordinary Singaporeans can collectively venerate our
forefathers,” SOS Bukit Brown on its website. “It is a space where families can
visit loved ones buried in its grounds, and conduct traditional rituals to
respect and honor them. The mere documentation of exhumed and destroyed tombs
alone cannot do justice to the rich cultural and ecological value of the
physical place.”.
As part
of the campaign to raise awareness and interest in Bukit Brown, SOS Bukit Brown
regularly organizes walks, encouraging Singaporeans to visit and enjoy the lush
greenery and historical tombs before it is too late.
Walking
along the tarmac road, one sees that some of the tombs are marked with stakes,
and others not. The markers signify the tombs that will be exhumed and removed
to make way for the eight-lane highway. There are more than 3000 of them,
allowing one to visualize just how huge a construction job it’s going to be,
cutting right through the middle of what SOS Bukit Brown has described as the
“green lung” of Singapore.
As one
of the biggest Chinese cemeteries outside China – proof of the history of
large-scale Chinese immigration in Southeast Asia – the cemetery is also home
to a variety of flora and fauna, and 86 bird species. 12 of the 86 species have
been identified as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable.
Not
every Singaporean wants to preserve Bukit Brown. Many have never been to the
cemetery before and feel that the demolition is a necessary step to take so as
to alleviate traffic problems on the roads around the area. Even those who have
ancestors buried in Bukit Brown may not feel the need to preserve the area.
A
closed-door meeting was meant to be held Monday evening between the government
and campaigners to discuss the issue. However, it was reported that the
alignment for the Bukit Brown road had already been completed the afternoon
before the meeting was meant to take place.
The
Land Transport Authority also announced that a section of the road would be
built as a bridge, which means that a small number of the previously marked
graves would not be affected, and that a larger part of the greenery would be
preserved.
Campaigners
expressed their disappointment that the meeting, which had originally been
meant to be a dialogue and discussion, had turned into “a unilateral
dissemination of information by particular agencies.” In a joint statement,
they stated that, “The fact that this meeting is held after LTA’s announcement
of plans for the new highway demonstrates the old practice of presenting
decisions as fait accompli to concerned groups instead of genuine engagement
and discussion.”
They
also called on a moratorium on all works at Bukit Brown. But with the
government unlikely to listen, the campaign pushes on, persevering until the
last minute in the hopes of saving a portion of Singapore’s past.
Kirstin
Han
Asia
Sentinel
Business & Investment Opportunities
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