Partial redevelopment of site a loss to society, says New York-based group
Grace Chua Straits Times 10 Oct 13;
THE historic Bukit Brown cemetery has been put on the 2014 World Monuments Watch (WMW), an international list of cultural heritage sites which are being threatened by nature or development.
The cemetery, which has been the final resting place of pioneering Chinese immigrants to Singapore since the mid-19th century, is one of 67 sites in 41 countries and territories on the biennial listing.
Work is scheduled to start early next year on a controversial eight-lane road through the cemetery, meant to ease congestion. And the 233ha site, closed to burials since 1973, is also slated for future residential use.
All Things Bukit Brown, an interest group which is keen to preserve the site's heritage and habitat, nominated it to the New York-based World Monuments Fund watch list. It was picked from 248 nominations - making it the first time that a Singapore site has made it to the list.
The WMW citation said of the road and redevelopment of the site: "In destroying the cultural landscape of Bukit Brown, it is a loss to all of society."
The non-profit World Monuments Fund has issued its watch list since the 1990s to raise awareness about threatened cultural sites. It has helped to helped restore sites in more than 90 countries, including the historic enclave of Georgetown in Penang .
Nominations are assessed by fund staff and heritage experts, based on the significance of the site, how urgent the conditions are and the viability of a feasible plan of action. Other sites on the list include Hong Kong's Pok Fu Lam Village, the churches of St Merri and Notre-Dame de Lorette in Paris and cultural heritage sites in Syria.
Referring to the decision by the World Monuments Fund to include the cemetery on its watch list, Ms Claire Leow, 46, one of the organisers of All Things Bukit Brown, said: "I hope it motivates communities to do more to take ownership."
While listed sites are eligible for grants from the fund, she said her group was not applying for any as none was needed. The group, which hosts weekly guided tours at the site, is also sticking to a call it made last year for a moratorium on plans for Bukit Brown and for more public engagement with the Government, she added.
Nanyang Technological University cultural studies researcher Liew Kai Khiun said the listing provides another independent validation of Bukit Brown's heritage value.
"It recognises the cultural significance of the place rather than being confined to a local debate about whose ancestors are buried there," he said, noting that the Bukit Brown issue has made it to international publications such as The Economist.
Dr Gillian Koh, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, added: "All Things Bukit Brown, I suppose, would like the international spotlight and pressure to be put on this issue.
"To be fair, while the Government's not said it would never touch Bukit Brown further, it did reduce the number of graves and amount of land that would make way for the road. So it's not as if the Government's been intransigent about the issue."
A spokesman for the National Heritage Board said the listing supported the board's assessment that Bukit Brown is a heritage site rich in resources and memories.
She said the board was working with the public sector and community to document and promote the cemetery's heritage and explore how this could be "preserved, retold and/or integrated with future developments for the area, while recognising the need to balance Singapore's land use and housing needs with heritage preservation".
Interest group's hopes after Bukit Brown placed under World Monuments Watch
Kimberly Spykerman Channel NewsAsia 10 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE: With Singapore's Bukit Brown Cemetery now on the 2014 World Monuments Watch, an interest group hopes this will spur greater community interest and engagement in the site.
The interest group, called All Things Bukit Brown, is keen to preserve the site's heritage and habitat.
The group also hopes that the cemetery being put on the Watch will encourage more discussions on a sustainable strategy for development.
The World Monuments Watch compiles cultural heritage sites threatened around the world, and All Things Bukit Brown had nominated the cemetery for the biennial listing.
The cemetery houses the graves of pioneering Chinese immigrants, but part of it will soon make way for a dual four-lane road meant to ease congestion.
Claire Leow, co-founder of All Things Bukit Brown, said: “It goes beyond what we’ve done for Bukit Brown; it’s more like what we can do for Singapore.
“We're very proud of this. We really hope that we're all pulling in the same direction, that with this listing we can also -- by shining international attention on Singapore -- help the bid for Botanic Gardens to get UNESCO listing, and of course eventually Bukit Brown as well, and hopefully other sites in Singapore as well."
She added: "I hope it shows that we are serious, that we want a seat at the table, just so we can present what we have heard from the community, what we have heard from the people who have encouraged us, and we can share their voices too.
“And hopefully that yes, you want development, but let’s have a discussion perhaps -- if we could contribute just a little part of that discussion, perhaps we can all have a more sustainable strategy for development."
- CNA/nd
Bukit Brown Cemetery placed on 2014 World Monuments Watch
Kimberly Spykerman, Channel NewsAsia, 9 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE: Singapore's Bukit Brown Cemetery has been placed on the 2014 World Monuments Watch, which compiles cultural heritage sites threatened around the world.
The cemetery - which houses the graves of pioneering Chinese immigrants - is one of 67 sites from 41 countries and territories.
Part of the cemetery will make way for the construction of a new dual four-lane road that connects the MacRitchie Viaduct to the Adam Flyover.
Responding to queries, the National Heritage Board (NHB) said the inclusion of the cemetery on the list supports its assessment that it is a heritage site rich in resources and memories.
A spokesman added: "NHB is working with stakeholders in the public sector and the community to document and promote the cemetery's heritage. NHB will also explore how Bukit Brown Cemetery's heritage can be preserved, retold and/or integrated with future developments for the area, while recognising the need to balance Singapore's land use and housing needs with heritage preservation."
A spokesperson for the Urban Redevelopment Authority said the government is aware of the heritage value at Bukit Brown Cemetery and has commissioned the documentation of graves affected by the construction of the new road.
However, Bukit Brown is needed to meet Singapore's longer term housing needs.
She emphasised that the development of the remaining area of the cemetery will not take place so soon.
The spokesperson added: "Singapore has been consciously conserving both built and natural heritage in our urban planning... Elsewhere, we have also been actively conserving buildings, structures and streetscapes that are familiar and endearing to Singaporeans. However, planning for the long term in land-scarce Singapore does require us to make difficult trade-off decisions.
"We will have to continue to ensure that sufficient land is safeguarded island-wide, and find ways to make good use of our limited land in order to meet future demand for uses such as housing, industry and infrastructure."
Other sites on the list include the Karo villages near Indonesia's Lake Toba and Yangon's historic city centre in Myanmar.
- CNA/ms
