Bukit Brown (Part 1) : The Debate

When the government announced two years ago that a highway would cut through Bukit Brown cemetery -- the resting place of more than 100,000 people, including some of Singapore's pioneering business and clan leaders -- it provoked a rare outburst of anger among Singaporeans. Interest groups started lobbying in earnest on both heritage and environmental grounds. It's the last great historic cemetery in Singapore and contains Qing dynasty tombs dating back to the 1830s. Named after a British merchant who arrived in the early 19th century, Bukit Brown was established as a public Chinese burial ground in 1922 and supports a rich ecosystem which is home to 25 per cent of Singapore's bird population many of which are endangered. But despite the uproar the government stuck to its guns and argued that the new road was needed to reduce congestion nearby where the volume of traffic is forecast to grow by 30 per cent by 2020.
Activists continued their fight which the media dubbed the 'Battle for Bukit Brown' and after months of engagement, a compromise was finally reached last year when the authorities changed the road's design to a partial flyover so that the number of graves lost would be reduced from 5,000 to 3,746.
The character of the place will however change forever once construction begins later this year as it will herald a wave of building that will eventually include a new train station and a massive housing estate. But the activists have not given up. Last week Bukit Brown was put on 2014 World Monument Watch -- an international list of cultural heritage sites threatened by nature or development.
But this issue goes far beyond the "Conservation vs Development' debate. In trying to stop the road Singaporeans are showing they are prepared to be a lot more vocal on matters that concern them, thereby testing the government's promise to be more responsive following the 011 General Election when it was accused of being out of touch. The argument over the fate of the graveyard may look like a fight over Singapore's past, but it is really about its future and Singapore's national character. So how much of a national treasure is Bukit Brown? Will its eventual loss leave Singapore soulless or should it be a place for the living and eventually make way for a new township? And how much do Singaporeans really care? Does it engage grass root support or is it just the preserve of the educated? How land scarce is Singapore and how transparent has the government been in consulting with the Civil Society Groups that have been championing Bukit. Brown? And what does it mean to be placed on the World Monument Watch list?
Host: Kenneth Liang
Speakers : Erika Lim, Dr Ho Hua Chew, KC Chew, Liew Kai Khiun

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