I picked the district of Tiong Bahru because it is close to home – both literally and metaphorically.
This is the neighbourhood where I grew up, and as a child I only saw it as an area “full of old people”, as I often lamented to my parents.
It is only in recent years that I have started to see beyond the timeworn faces of its inhabitants and explore its heritage, given that much has changed since I moved here 14 years ago.
This is a truly “Singaporean” place to me which bears the overtones of “Southeast Asian-ness”, which means to say it is unique to Singapore yet cannot be completely removed from the other countries in Southeast Asia.
I believe a visit to Tiong Bahru (if you have not already done so) is necessary to ascertain its distinctness as a place rich in culture and history because there is only so much words and pictures can communicate, and relishing its quiet charm will require engagement of all the senses.
Introduction
“Nothing endures but change”, mused Greek philosopher Heraclitus (540BC – 480 BC). Change is the only constant we can count on. It is a universal concept, yet exceptionally significant to Southeast Asia, having undergone Colonisation, the Japanese Occupation and the subsequent De-colonisation.
It is easy to forget how interconnected we are to the other Southeast Asian countries as each country strives to distinguish themselves, to create an individual identity and be recognised globally. No longer are we “merely names of far-off places in foreign lands [that] conveyed little to the average minds” (Christie, 1998, p.100), but independent active participants in the world trade.
Nevertheless, Singapore remains a part of Southeast Asia through its ability to embrace the past yet move forward with time: in its conserved architecture, food and lifestyle. All of these can be found in the humble estate of Tiong Bahru.
Tiong Bahru as seen on the map, is at the edge of Chinatown, hence it most likely housed the overspill of Chinatown's population.
Tiong Bahru is possibly the oldest Modern Public Housing Estate to be found in Southeast Asia today.
According to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Tiong Bahru is classified under Secondary Settlements gazetted for conservation in 2003. Other Secondary Settlements include Beach Road, Geylang, Jalan Besar, Joo Chiat, River Valley, Balestier, Mount Sopia and Tanjong Katong. "They are called Secondary Settlement areas because they were developed later, between the 1900s and the 1940s, where people started to move out of the crowded city to live at the fringe." (Koh-Lim, 2004, p. 6)
This links us back to our colonised days, where Raffles came up with Town Plan of Singapore in 1828 where Chinatown was the allocated area for the Chinese to live.
This is common in every single block of flat.
Buddhism is a major religion in Southeast Asia, predominant in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, though practised with slight variations.
A Census done in 2000 reveals that 42.5% of Singaporeans are Buddhists.
What makes Tiong Bahru a Southeast Asian place is firstly its occupants, who are mostly Chinese Buddhists.
A poster outside Tiong Bahru Community Centre.
Generations may have grown up and departed from the same place, but the context of that place in time is vastly different.
"Places are active participants in the historically contingent process of the making of place: within the context of their times they construct places by investing them with human meaning." (Pred, 1984)
In Sir Stamford Raffles' days, the different races in Singapore had segregated living quarters.
The plaque states, "Our Mother of Perpetual Help/ Pray For Us"
Today, it is not uncommon to find people of other races and religions in Tiong Bahru. This brings us to the unique multi-culturalism in Singapore. Despite that, 3/4 of our population are of the Chinese ethnicity, similar to how the Southeast Asian countries have a dominant race.
Pre-World War 2 flat.
Flats like this one serve as a reminder of our Colonial days. A total of 20 pre-WWII flats in Tiong Bahru have been conserved. The steep spiral staircase is an European feature.
This is significant as all the countries in Southeast Asia but Thailand were colonised. Hence all over Southeast Asia, Western influence can be seen through the existence of such buildings.
A coat of white paint has been given to this pre-war flat.
"As history is constructed and reconstructed, as each generation emphasizes particular historical 'truths' and subject others to the workings of amnesia, places also change in meaning." (Yeoh & Kong, 1996, p. 137)
It seems like the white wash represents the attempt to recreate the original state of the building, so that as opposed to looking 'old' and feeling irrelevant to the people now, it seeks to make the building feel like an evergreen historic item.
In the same fashion, many other Southeast Asian countries are revamping their historical sites in a bid to attract more tourists, and there is prolific commercialisation. Some religious places lose their sacredness, E.G. Angkor Wat in Cambodia, where it is known as a tourist attraction first, then a temple.
A hidden row of air-raid shelters from WWII.
This was what protected the residents of Tiong Bahru when the Japanese dropped bombs down in 1942. Considered a landmark in the neighbourhood, it is now so neglected that a "NO DUMPING" sign has to be put up. Nevertheless, this links Singapore back to the other Southeast Asian countries because the Japanese Occupation invaded the entire territory. No matter where you travel around Southeast Asia, you are bound to find physical traces of history that testify to the invasion.
The standardized Post-War Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) flats with the "rounded balconies" (they are actually staircases)
Built between 1948 - 1951.
Prior to the foundation of Housing Development Board (1960), the Singapore Improvement Trust was the organisation in charge of public housing. Its answer to housing shortage at that time was the building of these flats in Tiong Bahru estate. Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, demographics were also affected by the Post World War II Baby Boom.
Uniformity resulted from the British post-war housing concepts modelled after Harlow and Stevenage. The urban blocks are actually only externally uniformed, for they contain a variety of apartment sizes, catering to different types of families.
The illusion of uniformity can be applied to Southeast Asia during Colonisation. This is because the Europeans saw their Colonies as essentially the same, for economic purposes. However each and every country has its own culture and way of life. Geographical distance does not justify the dismissal of the entire Southeast Asia as a single collective identity. There are aspects of each Southeast Asian country characteristic of another, but not essentially.
A conserved row of shophouses in the Art Deco style.
It is easy to mistake this photo as one taken in Malaysia, which brings Singapore back to the past where we were merged with Malaysia. The 1964 race riots was a significant incident to remember, having caused a total of 36 deaths and 556 injuries in the July and September riots.
Racial tensions was a trademark of Southeast Asia in the past, and is still very much alive in our neighbouring country, Indonesia, between its native population and the Chinese Indonesians who are deemed unfairly prosperous.
This problem can be attributed to Colonialisation, as it "encouraged a policy of immigration into foreign lands [and] in turn involved the creation of segregated socio-economic niches." (Kahn, 1998, p. 56)
The ultimate juxtaposition: A newly built condominium, The Regency at Tiong Bahru in the background, beside a dilapidated building.
As Tiong Bahru is considered a prime area, developers are seizing every chance to build on the land. This is probably a strategy to draw in the newer generation.
The pre-school located within Tiong Bahru Community Centre.
It shows the co-existence of the two extreme age groups: the young and the old. Also, we see the importance of education in our modern times.
Table taken from "Higher Education in Southeast Asia". Source: Higher Education in Southeast Asia
Table taken from "MOE Education Statistics Digest Files 2009". Source: MOE Education Statistics Digest Files 2009
The level of literacy in Southeast Asia is evidently increasing. For some reason, Singapore's statistics in 2000 cannot be found in the first table. However, the one in 2009 shows a clear increase in enrollment into higher education.
What is Tiong Bahru without its delectable array of food?
Tiong Bahru Food Centre (formerly known as Seng Poh Market) is one of the oldest modern Wet Market and Food Centres in Singapore, having been around since 1956. The above picture is of the rebuilt one in 2006.
Lor Mee is a Chinese Singaporean dish of yellow noodles in thick starchy gravy. This stall is a arguably the best in Singapore.
This is another stall in Tiong Bahru, famed for its Chwee Kueh (steamed rice cake topped with chopped preserved radish), commonly eaten by Singaporeans for breakfast.
Every Southeast Asian country has its specialty when it comes to food. But Singapore seems to have taken the term "localisation" to a new level, i.e. we love to adopt other Southeast Asian cuisines and adapt it to the local's taste buds. Hence food is definitely another factor that makes Tiong Bahru "Southeast Asian".
The Tiong Bahru Bird Arena before demolition, used to bustle with life. Elderly men would take their songbirds there every morning while they enjoy a hot cuppa and chit chat.
[photo credits:Tiong Bahru Estate]
All that is left now are rows of empty numbered hooks with "THE LINK" logo emblazoned on the tags.
Tiong Bahru was renowned for its bird singing aviaries. Why the Urban Redevelopment Authority failed to conserve this site escapes me. I suppose a feasible explanation is that it is incapable of generating as much revenue as a hotel? It is quite evident that the Link Hotel is trying to capitalize on Tiong Bahru's location heritage, which is becoming of greater interest to tourists.
The Gourd Temple that is no longer there.
In its place is Nostalgia Urban Boutique hotel.
Aptly named, as nostalgia is "[] a construction of the past but a condition of the present...nostalgia is paradoxically best nurtured not in circumstances when the past has been completely obliterated but when remnants of the past remain to constantly remind one that the past was different, a 'foreign country' where 'they do things differently' (Hartley, quoted in Lowenthal 1985)" Here it is clear that the hotel pays tribute to the once existent bird singing corner across the street.
Conclusion
It is likely that gentrification is taking place in the parts of Tiong Bahru that are not conserved, as we see condominiums and hotels meant for the upper-middle classes springing up at the edge of Tiong Bahru.
Seems like some of the old has to make way for the new, just as how cultures all over Southeast Asia modify themselves to adapt to expectations of modernisation.
Afterall, Economics theory states that due to scarcity of resources, one must consider the opportunity costs and choose the option which has the best resource allocation.
In this case, it almost seems inevitable that sacrifice has to be made in the form of losing some of the relics of the past in order to progress.
Bibliography
BCA PUBLICATION-A Document. (2009). [online] Available WWW:
Conservation Guidelines
Census of Population Office. (2000). Singapore Department of Statistics. [online] Available WWW:
Census 2000
Christie, C J. (1998). Southeast Asia in the Twentieth Century: A Reader. I.B.
Tauris & Co Ltd.
Kahn, J S. (1998). Southeast Asian Identities: Culture and the Politics of
Representation in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies,
Singapore.
Koh-Lim, W G. (2004). Architectural Heritage: Singapore. Octogram Press Pte
Ltd
Lowenthal, D. (1985). The Past is A Foreign Country. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
Pred, A (1984). Places as historically contingent process: structuration and the
time-geography of becoming places. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 74.
Yeoh, B S A and Kong, L. (1996). The Notion of Place in the Construction of
History, Nostalgia and Heritage. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, Vol. 17(1).
