Guest Writers, Main Stories, Top Story - Written on Thursday, January 1, 2009 1:46 - 41 Comments
Singapore expunged – bit by bit
Ng Beng Choo
As Singaporeans ring in the new year with celebration, some residents of one area will leave their homes as development moves in on 1 January and demolishes their houses. The area will then be turned into an aerospace hub.
Expunge – verb (used with object), – punged, -pung-ing
1. – To strike or blot out; erase; obliterate
2. – To efface; wipe out or destroy
Gone, off the face of Singapore – The Oval, Edgware Road, Hyde Park Gate, Hamilton Place, Duke Street, Knights Bridge, Regent Street. The sign board said it all: “This road will be expunged on 1 Jan 2009”. The word “expunge” sent a chill to my heart.
I did not know the meaning of the word, but it was easy to guess: The picturesque estate of black-and-white houses in Seletar Airbase had come to an end. Of the 378 Seletar houses, 204 will be retained, and 174 demolished. Of those left standing, 131 will be retained as homes, and the remaining 73 redeveloped for non-residential use like food and beverage outlets.
I spent the last few days driving round the estate, soaking in the atmosphere. If you wanted to know what Singapore looked like in the 40s, in the 60s, in the present – it was all here. I feel gutted that yet another piece of Singapore’s history is gone.
Contrary to what many Singaporeans think, Seletar Airbase is not an exclusive expatriate dig. Many Singaporeans lived here.
938LIVE’s presenter Keith de Souza once lived at 5 Hyde Park Gate; Violet Oon, artists Han Tsai Por, Vincent Leow and Yvonne Lee, all made it their home at some point in time. Then there are ordinary Singaporeans like Regina Meals and Bernadette Wong who, though no longer live there, continue their attachment to place by working at the Seletar Golf Course.
Why did these Singaporeans choose to pay rent to live in such tenements when a far wiser thing would be to put that money towards a property of their own? I know a number of these Singaporeans who, after paying the rent, have not much left for shopping, dining, massages and travel treats, but feel richer living in an environment surrounded by nature.
I spent my childhood growing up on British army camp property – Sussex Estate, Medway Park, Nepal Park – but none of these estates compare with Seletar Airbase – the trees, verdant stretches of land, fowls scurrying in the backyard, red hibiscus and bougainvilleas peeping out from someone’s hedge, greeting you as you walk past.
And the roads – with names like Old BirdCage Walk, Knights Bridge, The Oval – it is like living in an English countryside but in the tropics. Sadly, from tomorrow, they are gone.
According to Julian Davison, author of “Black and White: The Singapore House 1898-1941”, which has now gone out of print, these houses were built from the end of the 19th century until World War Two by “the Public Works Department and the British Armed Forces, incorporating Art Deco elements. I love architecture and Art Deco. I have stopped in mid-stride, arrested by the sight of good architecture. Aesthetics is subjective, but good aesthetics simply takes your breath away – just like the simple clean lines and structure of Seletar’s black-and-whites.
And as I took photos of Hamilton Place, Knights Bridge and The Oval, I lamented the loss of history. The reddish terracotta tiles which line the porch, the French windows, the quaint fencing and gates (the last time I saw such metalwork was my grandmother’s house in the 70s), the 1940s masonry, the postboxes, the drains – have you heard how gently the water gurgles? Listen to this: Lap, lap, lap, glug glug glug… And the birds – where will they go?
The gates to the houses were padlocked. But No. 5, The Oval, wasn’t. A door in the middle of the house leads to the backyard. And as the door swung open, I saw birds chirping merrily amongst the shrubs. You can see your neighbour’s yard a yonder from here. It is more than anything in the world I could want for, and I’m sure many Seletarians feel the same. Even if we had the money to buy a house in district 10, we would rather live here instead.
Unfortunately, nostalgia and physical history have no place in land-starved Singapore, not when 10,000 jobs can be created.
Sitting on 300 hectares, the Economic Devement Board and JTC Corporation to upgrade Seletar Airport to an aerospace park to the tune of $60 million.
When completed in 2018, the park will elevate Singapore’s status as an aviation hub, and contribute $3.3 billion a year or one per cent of GDP.
How do you argue against these numbers? You can’t. You mourn, you realize that life is so fleeting, and you move on, but not before kicking and screaming your heart out.
Click on pictures to enlarge.
Visit: http://postcardsfromseletar.com/
Read also: Sad farewell to tranquil Seletar Airbase.
And: Seletar Airbase residents hope to keep its rustic charm.
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41 Comments
Can someone tell which hub Singapore built has been successful (other than money-sucking StarHub) ?
- Education hub = Totally blown, now can only attract substandard universities instead of world-renowned university to set campus here
- Financial hub = Need I even need to mention the disgrace and shameful act of our wayang gov ?
- Sport hub =, Sex hub will be more profitable and sustainable given that majority of our sportmen are now foreigners ! Talking about more Choice, sizes and diversity !
- BioTech hub = Like some old arrogant fart says about his Fartup invesment, it might just takes 30 years to revive the old farter from his grave through R&D to create the perfect Miracle pills.
Giving credit where it due, Singapore is very successful in
- Pigean hub = No doubt about that, what a waste Singaporean don’t grow wings.
- Kangaroo hub = The world most famous hub of all time. We can ask Chen Shui Bian to teach how Singapore gov can become greater Kangaroo.
- Caveat Emptor hub = Anything that can make money here, and deceive Singaporean, please come here. Our gov welcome you as long as you increase the GDP !
- Slave Hub = It is clearly understood what is the role of each of Singaporean other than those elites in Ivory Tower.
Aviation Hub ? For who , for the oldman and families to fly kite ?
Yes, this may be the cost we all have to pay for economic development. Besides loosing the greenery, the lands and the trees, what appears to me which is more important is the relationship of the people, among friends, relatives and families because of hectic work schedules. We need to put in our best efforts to strike a balance of these issues in order to live a more fulfilling life for all. Money is not the most important thing after all.
Can we collate pictures for a gallery commemorating the place? I’ve been there several times on military dispatches and I love how tranquil it is.
Oh beautiful Rustic Seletar that I used to work….is going, going and be gone!
How am I to relate to my grand children on the lost CHARM!………..perhaps the Ex-British Servicemen will not be able to understand! …………..NO MORE TOURIST ATTRACTION!
i am sad i do not have the opportunity to visit the place again before it is gone. :(
Dear No 4, if I call your name out during a frenzied football game… many people would be smiling away!
Ya i just got back from Sydney and I felth that there was a major transformation going on in our small island. Many places that I went to either disappeared or were renovated till they are unrecognisable.
There are also too many people I think on our small prosperous red dot. We must be the most densely populated country in Asia or even the world!
Many I know are trying to migrate to other countries too. It is true that one gets more physical space when living abroad especially in NZ< Canada, US, Britian or Australia. The weather is also wonderful though for now snow is something that some may not welocme too readily.
A bit strange that we locals want to leave our own country whereas foreigners flock to our island in droves. Very ironical. This doens’t measure up.
This looks more promising that the other White Elephant hubs… but the $3.3b promise seems a tad far to reach.
weijia, my sentiments exactly. Its damn sad that we aren’t able to visit Seletar airbase again, especially since its near my place, and probably your place too.
So sad to see this relentless destruction of our heritage places. One by one, they are all being decimated – or “expunged” – for the dollar.
A couple of years ago, SM Goh Chok Tong suggested that street names be named after well-known personalities such as politicians. This, he said, was to give S’poreans a “sense of belonging”.
Yet here we have them destroying such places which gives us true sense of belonging.
The Tekka Market is one more exmaple. They’re turning it into a IT hub when just down the road, there’re already Sim Lim Square and Sim Lim Tower. Furthermore, they’re renaming Tekka as “The Verge”.
What a ridiculous and inane name.
The Verge of Destruction!
Goh Chok Tong – 26 December 2006:
“The Government is partly to blame for this state of affairs. The leaders did not believe in glorifying their place in history. They did not name streets, MRT stations, buildings, stadiums and parks after their colleagues who had departed. I think we should do so from now on so that Singaporeans can remember the pioneers, philanthropists, social workers, leaders and others who had made a difference to the lives of Singaporeans. This will make the history of our nation alive for Singaporeans.”
Source here.
Instead of preserving places of historical value, they’d rather name streets and roads after people to “make the history of our nation alive for Singaporeans.”
the problem of being an island state……………..no space or land to preserve our part of history or heritage. Hope the economic situation will change the ambitious plans of an aerospace hub………….never too late!
and the first street will be named?
leekuanyew alleyway perhaps?
not davidmarshall lane?
Memories sold for economic gain. Nostalgia robbed with excuse of sustainability.
Roots dug up and thrown to reclaim some land from the sea. How to tie S’poreans down if they have nothing to remember by? Do we have a choice? Will encourage my children to migrate.
was when they dug up National library so that cars can go thru a hole and save 5 minutes of travelling time.
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
There’s a serious lack of reflection on how far this purposeful expunging of culture and history contributes to the brain drain. Why would people have any attachment to a place that keeps changing?
ai yoh, andrew, who knows some roads behind ur house will be known as lee kuan yew road when he kicks the bucket.
ai yoh, andrew, who knows some roads behind ur house will be known as lee kuan yew road when he kicks the bucket.
p/s:I like it when my friend drives into seletar road to look at those old colonial houses, now part of the same common memories singaporeans have are gone.
worse still by the time he kicks the bucket, he may even insist to have his portrait embedded onto our national ensign.
Believe me when the old man die, one of the building or road will be named after him. The new sing dollars will hv his f *** face imprinted
or maybe he will want a big statue of himself to be erected next to the merlion, a huge one just like the one of saddam hussein that has been taken down by the people.
Some photos capturing the airbase are on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22977800@N03/sets/72157606760166804/
18) saddest on January 1st, 2009 8.39 pm
was when they dug up National library so that cars can go thru a hole and save 5 minutes of travelling time.
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
I was sad too when the old national library has to go so that they can collect ERP for vehicles to go through the tunnel…And you wonder why singaporeans don’t feel a sense of belonging…here.
EXPUNGED!!! ? ???
ex⋅punge /ɪkˈspʌndʒ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ik-spuhnj] Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object), -punged, -pung⋅ing. 1. to strike or blot out; erase; obliterate.
2. to efface; wipe out or destroy.
sounds as scary as Nuclear ?
But i must say, this cannot be lah.
u no believe me?
why dont they build a hub right on the Istana? It is the most underused and we know who gets to enjoy it most…
Former resident (#25),
Thanks for the link to the pictures. Wonderfully taken photos…..
Andrew
26) The Joker on January 2nd, 2009 8.48 pm 18) saddest on January 1st, 2009 8.39 pm
was when they dug up National library so that cars can go thru a hole and save 5 minutes of travelling time.
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
Oh they’ve learned alot by placing an ERP gantry just right at the end of the tunnel, see how scheming they can be just to trap those cars who enters it unknowingly. A very unscrupolous way of cashing out money from the mootorists.
once govt want to build a world-class what-hub, you can expect good-byes to all the good things that make Singapore Singaporean. Sacrifice: noise pollution from all the construction, the road diversion that reminds one of a third world country, all for what? a mirage. See what happen to the Singapore Flyer and the F! race. They destroyed forests and coastlines like nobody business and nobody bats an eyelid and raise noises. In the end, see what happen to Singapore flyer. Retribution for destroying mother nature in the name of economic prosperity.
It’s all about the money, isn’t it? As always, in Singapore, when there is financial gain, Mother Nature and the human soul are always slaughtered and sold in exchange for the illusory zero-term benefits of dirty cash, aren’t they?
What thou does money bring? Can money be used as food? Can money help provide real comfort for the human soul in this maddening metropolis? Can it help give us the fresh air we need?
One day, we will all be paying a very dear cost for all of our actions.
Yes, everything here is becoming plastic including the people, just becos of greed, they turning all mother natures into fake plastics, just wait and see what mother nature can do to all those who are responsible, they’ll leave you crying to no end. Remember, whatever goes around, comes around.
Wasted. It’s a beautiful place, I’ve been there once before then make a turn to Jalan Kayu for prata. So sad its gone. But if its to create 10000 jobs for Singaporeans and foreigners alike..I cannot dispute that. But just hope, it’s not some white elephant hub..
10 000 jobs created? for whom? foreigners? or local?
In response to Twasher:
I had a brilliant friend who migrated to Australia for precisely that reason. All the places he loved, that were inextricably linked to his memories and personal history, had been “expunged”.
People form attachments to places, places that are significant in their lives. When those places are gone and changed forever, it’s bewildering – nothing is familiar any more. You no longer have “roots”. What remains familiar become *people* – your family, your relatives, and your friends. And as they move away from this country (yes, all of you have friends who have left Singapore for all kinds of reasons – marriage, career etc.) you find yourself less and less anchored to this country.
Imagine a Singapore that , every few years, *completely* changes the way it looks. You land in the middle of the country and have to learn everything over again – everything is new. You might as well be in another country! Think about it!
And so you uproot your family and move somewhere else because Singapore feels like such an unfamiliar place anyway. You don’t recognise anything, so you feel no ties to this LAND.
The National Library is gone – my student days were spent there. My old school is gone, moved to new premises. The place I had my wedding at is gone. My first house in Singapore is gone. The jetty where I used to go crabbing is gone.
As my friend said, when he moved to Australia: “This church near my home is 200 years old, and I know it will be still here 200 years from now and you know what? That’s a really really comforting thought.”
Yeah! they are always changing everything everywhere except themselves, why don’t they just made themselves disappeared one day (I pray very hard everyday)instead of still clinging unto their power and making the people to suffer more.
Expunged…slowly but surely we are seeing everything which the old man cannot claim as his legacy being expunged. Now we the native singaporeans are also being expunged..replaced by grateful foriegners who will worship the old man and his legacy.
We can and we MUST argue against it.
We must stop worshiping at the alter of the false god of GDP growth. The myth of ‘growth at all costs’ has been created by the leadership (along with other myths) to feed its collective ego, disregarding the cost to the country. To say that ‘in 10 years our GDP will be comparable to those of Italy and Australia’ is laughable. Singapore is the size of a large city in those countries. We neither have the space nor the people or the depth of history to sustain an economy of that size; neither do we have a friendly hinterland as Hong Kong does.
The quality of life is suffering. Our transport policy has been a failure, witness the congestion on the roads. Jobs appear to be created for foreigners, causing social disharmony. In the meantime, Singaporeans are quietly leaving the country (the figures are never revealed).
Growth at all costs is a formula for disaster. The population has already doubled in the past 30 years and is projected to increase by another third in the next 30. The effect on the quality of life can only be imagined. Memories of Seletar airbase and other idyllic places in Singapore will remain just those – distant memories.
The only solution is to de-link civil service and ministerial salaries from GDP growth. Focus on higher value added ‘brain-work’ and forget the casinos (let the Gentings of the world have those). It is already late. The mangrove forests of Punggol and Kranji have disappeared. Thanks to the foresight of 19th century colonial civil servants, at least we have the central catchments.
Save what remains and salvage our quality of life. Stop ‘growth at all costs’.
[...] Singapore expunged – bit by bit – Ng Beng Choo [...]
Please visit a Flickr group named Seletar Dreams where a number of people, Singaporeans as well as a former British resident, contributed photos of this wonderful place.
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Uncategorized - Jan 15, 2010 10:12 - 124 Comments
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Uncategorized - Jan 15, 2010 10:12 - 124 Comments
It is affordable – Mah Bow Tan
More In Uncategorized
- Rebutting Law Minister K Shanmugam
- Challenge of communication
- TOC & Talk Politics hold successful Year in Review forum
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good ole seletar camp
home of the british former airforce
home of the cheap cheap propeller flights before tigerairways.com even had its wing painted….
it was my dream
to lived in 1 of dos tudor bungalows
where @ night you can have a beer and a smoke WITHOUT the yellow box junctions
well done sla/ura
you just demolished another historic ground……..