MND aware of Bukit Brown cemetery's rich heritage

Channel NewsAsia 24 Oct 11;

SINGAPORE : The Ministry of National Development (MND) has said it is aware of the rich heritage of the Bukit Brown cemetery and is working with civic groups to document graves that will be affected by planned developments.

Plans for a new road running through the old cemetery have drawn some criticism for its lack of sensitivity to the area's history. The Singapore Heritage Society has also said it was not consulted on the plans.

A ministry statement said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) have been working with partners like the Heritage Society, and that discussions have been going on for months.

An advisory committee will guide the process of documenting over 5,000 graves - or 5 per cent of over 100,000 graves - affected by the new road.

It will record the history of the graves, as well as burial rituals.

Documentation work begins this month and will take over a year to complete.

Minister of State for National Development Tan Chuan-Jin said: "We are aware of the rich heritage of Bukit Brown and its links to the history of our country. We have sought to explore various possibilities for the road but there were no easy choices.

"Once the decision was taken on the road, we began discussing with key stakeholders. We aim to properly capture the history and memories of the affected graves and to do this before the planned road development begins."

The new road is part of planned redevelopments for the Bukit Brown area, first outlined in a 1991 report.

It requires about 5 per cent of the over 100,000 graves in the area to be exhumed.

Mr Tan met with the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, The Peranakan Association and the Singapore Heritage Society (SHS), as well as academics and grave experts on Monday to discuss the documentation framework.

Commenting on the plans, the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan and The Peranakan Association said that while they support the move to document the graves, they would prefer the area to be conserved.

The Hokkien Huay Kuan hopes that the area to be affected is kept to a minimum, and called for iconic tombs to be relocated.

The SHS called on interested Singaporeans to step forward and be part of the process.

"There is room for further collaboration and consultation on plans for Bukit Brown Cemetery and the SHS looks forward to being an integral part of the decision-making process," it added.

- CNA/ms

Road across Bt Brown cemetery to go ahead
Govt will properly record the history of affected graves
Royston Sim Straits Times 25 Oct 11;

THE Government made clear yesterday that it is going ahead to build a new road that will cut through Bukit Brown cemetery, but it will commit resources to properly record the area's rich history.

Minister of State for National Development Tan Chuan-Jin gave the assurance at a meeting yesterday with more than 10 representatives from stakeholders, such as the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, Peranakan Association and Singapore Heritage Society.

Mr Tan said the new road is necessary to ease growing traffic needs on the Outer Ring Road system, a network of major roads around the city.

'We are aware of the rich heritage of Bukit Brown and its links to the history of our country,' he said. 'We have sought to explore various possibilities for the road but there were no easy choices.'

The existing Lornie Road - next to the cemetery - is insufficient to cope with this growing demand, he pointed out.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced last month that a dual four-lane road will be built by 2016. About 5 per cent of the more than 100,000 graves will be exhumed.

The Singapore Heritage Society clarified last week that it was not consulted in the decision- making process.

During the two-hour meeting, Mr Tan explained how the LTA had considered other options which were deemed unsuitable.

Widening Lornie Road further would require acquisition of private land and the removal of mature trees which could damage MacRitchie nature reserve, he said.

Another option is to build a viaduct over Lornie Road, but that would raise the question of where to divert existing traffic to.

Building a tunnel or viaduct through Bukit Brown would affect even more graves than a surface road, he said.

Mr Tan, however, assured stakeholders that the Government will properly record the history and memories of the affected graves.

An advisory committee comprising representatives from key stakeholders and government agencies, such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and LTA, has been formed.

Dr Hui Yew-Foong, an anthropologist at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, will lead a working committee to carry out the actual documentation work. He was involved in the project to document 3,000 graves at the Kwong Hou Sua Teochew Cemetery.

The deadline for documentation of graves is March next year. These graves will be exhumed in the fourth quarter of next year.

Construction of the new road will begin in the first quarter of 2013.

In a statement, the URA stressed that aside from the upcoming road, development in Bukit Brown will not be immediate.

The area south of Bukit Brown around the Police Academy will be developed for public housing in about 10 to 15 years, said a URA spokesman.

The entire area will be developed for housing further in the future. The Straits Times understands that this will not take place till 2030 or 2040.

A Singapore Heritage Society spokesman welcomed the explanation. She said: 'This is really what we wanted to hear all along. It gives us a clearer picture of what's going on. The Government will need to convince everyone this is the best solution.'

The Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan and the Peranakan Association said they support efforts to document the history and heritage of the site.

Affected Bukit Brown graves to be documented
Ong Dai Lin Today Online 25 Oct 11;

SINGAPORE - The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) have partnered the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, Peranakan Association Singapore and Singapore Heritage Society to document graves that will be affected by the new road to be built at Bukit Brown cemetery.

In a joint press release yesterday, the two government agencies said the work and discussions, which have been going on for a few months, will also involve the input of academics and grave experts.

The Minister of State for National Development, Brigadier-General (NS) Tan Chuan-Jin, said: "We are aware of the rich heritage of Bukit Brown and its links to the history of our country ... once the decision was taken on the road, we began discussing with key stakeholders.

"We aim to properly capture the history and memories of the affected graves and to do this before the planned road development begins."

It is estimated that the new road will affect about 5 per cent of the more than 100,000 graves in the cemetery.

A working committee led by Dr Hui Yew-Foong, fellow and coordinator of the Regional Social and Cultural Studies Programme at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, will carry out the actual documentation work.

The joint statement said the development of the cemetery, which was zoned for residential use in the Concept Plan 1991, will not be immediate and will begin south of Bukit Brown, around the old Police Academy area, in about 10 to 15 years. Ong Dai Lin