First and foremost I need to confess that before embarking on the heritage trail in Balestier I knew nothing about Balestier, absolutely nothing. Never heard of their famous Bak Kut Teh, didn't know Shaw's defunct Jalan Ampas studio (which I studied on for last semester's exam) was actually there and I had zero idea which part of Singapore it was in. And also I only found out on that day of my trip that my mother grew up studying in a primary school in Balestier about 40 years ago! Well ok I maybe ignorant but then Balestier never came across to me as a interesting place which is so rich in history.
And so I begin the trail with an open or rather 'empty' mind, hoping that I would be learning and discovering the special places in Balestier. The following will be my reflection of some of the memorable sites we visited in Balestier.
The Novena church. I read about the church when it made news headlines no thanks to the exorcism case against its priests a couple of years back. The high court has since thrown out the case. One interesting fact I found out was that the MRT station and roads surrounding the church were named after the church. I have always thought that Novena church was named after the location not the other way round. Though this is one of the earliest churches built after the second world war, it hardly looks its age with its clean and neat hall and well painted walls.
At the Sun Yat Sen memorial hall, we went on a journey of China history. Going through all the exhibits and magnificent paintings in the museum made me felt for a moment that I am learning more about China history than I am learning Balestier. To know that Singapore had played a part in assisting Dr Sun during his quest to revolutionize China I feel is something worth knowing and to be proud of. I was also impressed with how well this building has been maintained, the exhibition halls are all air-conditioned while the exhibits well organized making our tour of the memorial hall very comfortable, well worth the $3 student entry fee I paid.
I was full of anticipation walking into the lane of Jalan Ampas, having read and studied on this once famous Shaw studio I was looking forward to visiting it. I was hugely disappointed when I finally reached 8 Jalan Ampas, the site was fenced like a construction site but there were obviously no construction going on inside. Except for a lone information marker, there were nothing else there to indicate the illustrious past of the Shaw studio at 8 Jalan Ampas. Peeking through a gap between the metal fence, I see a dismal piece of land with a few crates and a tree. 'Is this all that was left? Are they going to just let this place fade into history?' I strongly believe more could have been done to develop this site.
Many of the shophouses along Balestier still retained its original decor and the designs blended in very well with its building. I hope the young people nowadays would be able to appreciate the unique art on these buildings as it could tell us so much about our past and heritage.
The trail was enriching for me. Not only have I visited places that I have not known existed but also attained knowledge about the area's heritage. The National heritage board did a decent job in putting up information markers at various landmarks. However I still feel that more could be done in restoring and preserving certain sites such as the Jalan Ampas site.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
My 2 cents worth of reflection
The whole trip has been an eye opener for me. One major reason is because I have never been to most of the places in this trail and do not even know about the existence of some of them. Amongst the many first I have done is setting foot into a Burmese Buddhist temple and a mosque. If we put in effort to find, they are interesting places and things in Singapore worth looking out for!
Below is my 2 cents worth on Heritage places in Singapore (Most of these places we went to are historical monuments)
Singapore has been modernizing rapidly since the days of our independence whereby we seek to make our mark and be heard in a global setting. In the process of modernizing, many historical buildings that were built by our forefathers are now gone, with the reason given by the government that “it is a painful decision to make, but after much consideration, the building has to be demolished.” Even if buildings are being designated by the Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) to be preserved, many were ‘preserved’ to a large extent for their extrinsic monetary value rather than their intrinsic historical value. There also seem to be a lack of widespread interest to appreciate our historical heritage. Take for example historical buildings like CHIJMES and the Chinatown area in Singapore. These places have become more of “places of interest” where tourist will go to spend their money while looking at “some” aspect of our history. These would also have been places students go to only because schools make it compulsory for them to.
The point I wish to bring out is while it is relieving to hear and know that the government makes an effort to preserve the heritage that our forefathers have left us, what is their hidden agenda? Is it for economic purposes whereby buildings are renovated and not rebuilt to cut down on cost and the same time add some architectural touches? Or is it for tourists to come to see and spend money?
Singapore is a relatively young nation having been founded a hundred and ninety one years ago by Sir Stamford Raffles and gained her independence forty five years ago. The number of historical monuments is insignificant if we compare it to the likes of many other bigger countries. This is one reason why I think we should do even more to preserve our historical heritage. If land is scarce is a reason why we have rigorous criteria for choosing heritage to be preserved, won’t there come a day whereby places like Thian Hock Keng Temple, Sultan Mosque, St. Andrew’s Church have to go because of space constraint?
This trip has also allowed me to bond with some of the people in the History class, something which we do not have much opportunity to do so with our different timetable and work commitment during school days. Although the weather was hot and we did complain a bit, I believe that all of us have truly enjoyed this trip, learned new things and discovered a side of Singapore that seems so foreign to us.
I strongly believe in the application of field trip in teaching a subject such as History. By personally going to historical places to explore and engage in new discovery, evaluating and analyzing, I get to experience things first hand and this leaves me a greater impact and I would most probably remember it for a longer period of time then if I had been simply given some facts to memorize about historical places in Balestier. Given an opportunity, I do hope to bring my students around Singapore and even overseas to engage in field trips to promote an interest in discovering and learning History, something which I hold dear to and would like to share it with them. Perhaps NIE may even like to explore doing more of such local and overseas field trip to promote interest and create greater meaningful learning that will last a long time to come.
Below is my 2 cents worth on Heritage places in Singapore (Most of these places we went to are historical monuments)
Singapore has been modernizing rapidly since the days of our independence whereby we seek to make our mark and be heard in a global setting. In the process of modernizing, many historical buildings that were built by our forefathers are now gone, with the reason given by the government that “it is a painful decision to make, but after much consideration, the building has to be demolished.” Even if buildings are being designated by the Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) to be preserved, many were ‘preserved’ to a large extent for their extrinsic monetary value rather than their intrinsic historical value. There also seem to be a lack of widespread interest to appreciate our historical heritage. Take for example historical buildings like CHIJMES and the Chinatown area in Singapore. These places have become more of “places of interest” where tourist will go to spend their money while looking at “some” aspect of our history. These would also have been places students go to only because schools make it compulsory for them to.
The point I wish to bring out is while it is relieving to hear and know that the government makes an effort to preserve the heritage that our forefathers have left us, what is their hidden agenda? Is it for economic purposes whereby buildings are renovated and not rebuilt to cut down on cost and the same time add some architectural touches? Or is it for tourists to come to see and spend money?
Singapore is a relatively young nation having been founded a hundred and ninety one years ago by Sir Stamford Raffles and gained her independence forty five years ago. The number of historical monuments is insignificant if we compare it to the likes of many other bigger countries. This is one reason why I think we should do even more to preserve our historical heritage. If land is scarce is a reason why we have rigorous criteria for choosing heritage to be preserved, won’t there come a day whereby places like Thian Hock Keng Temple, Sultan Mosque, St. Andrew’s Church have to go because of space constraint?
This trip has also allowed me to bond with some of the people in the History class, something which we do not have much opportunity to do so with our different timetable and work commitment during school days. Although the weather was hot and we did complain a bit, I believe that all of us have truly enjoyed this trip, learned new things and discovered a side of Singapore that seems so foreign to us.
I strongly believe in the application of field trip in teaching a subject such as History. By personally going to historical places to explore and engage in new discovery, evaluating and analyzing, I get to experience things first hand and this leaves me a greater impact and I would most probably remember it for a longer period of time then if I had been simply given some facts to memorize about historical places in Balestier. Given an opportunity, I do hope to bring my students around Singapore and even overseas to engage in field trips to promote an interest in discovering and learning History, something which I hold dear to and would like to share it with them. Perhaps NIE may even like to explore doing more of such local and overseas field trip to promote interest and create greater meaningful learning that will last a long time to come.
Yan Ru's reflection for the trail
I have to confess, I had no idea where Balestier was even before I began on this trip. I think I didn’t even know a Balestier existed in Singapore, and that’s how bad I am in geography. But when I stepped into Balestier, I discovered that not knowing where it was previously was actually a loss for me. There are so many places of interest to visit, and this includes novena church, Sun Yet Sun Memorial Hall, the former Shaw’s Malay Film Studies (which was mentioned in AAH 101 last semester), the Bakery which toast SO MANY loaves of bread daily, and many more. Balestier was really a place of hidden treasures. And if I never did embark on this trip, I never would have knew about all these culturally rich sites.
After going through the expenditure, I think that the preservation of most of the culturally rich sites (as mentioned above) provided me with a good insight into Singapore’s past. By Singapore’s past, I don’t mean how Singapore achieved its independence, how PAP emerged as the victors among the other political parties, etc. I actually mean the local Singapore history, which is made up by the small little corners on this little red dot and great traditional food. These small little corners are neighbourhoods such as Balestier, queenstown, etc. And I feel that every little neighbourhood has its story and one should discover and listen to this story. To me, all these little stories form a distinct local Singapore history.
Nowadays, the younger generations (including myself) are caught up in the frenzy of urbanization and globalization. One notices only the modern Singapore and one knows how to participate and share the glory of Singapore when certain landmarks are completed; the IR resort, the F1 racetrack. However, Singapore is not just about these landmarks. Let us not forget that Chinatown, Balestier, Jurong, etc are the geographical factors that made up Singapore in the first place. And in these are places does Singapore’s local history exist. I think this heritage tour can act as a wake-up call to the younger generations, reminding them that there is more than the superficial tour of going to Sentosa or any other tourist sites (which purportedly shows you Singapore’s history, culture and tradition). Instead, one should embark on this meaningful and enriching culturally rich heritage trip. And one would, as I did, learn a lot and expose myself to different areas, different experiences and different perspectives.
However, one complaint I have about the whole trail is that the landmark only provides a brief summary about the site. I feel that this brief summary does not go in depth, and those visiting the site would not know much about the site, i.e. for the Sim Kwong Ho shophouse, the landmark provides information mostly on the design of the shophouse, but it fails to tell me more about the female developer. Thus, it would be good if the National Heritage Board could add more information to the landmark, making it more detailed.
Btw, one advise to anyone who tries to embark on the trip: drink LOTS of liquid the day before and the day you start your expenditure. I personally drank 2 cans of 100 plus, one cup of bubble tea and a bottle of water on that day but I still got dehydrated!! Spending 5 hours under the sun is NO joke, and at the end of the day you get super exhausted but it will be a very memorable and enriching trip. (:
Rizal's Reflection
This is my first time stepping into Balestier area. It has been an exciting and enjoyable trail. Everything is new to me. The area, the places we went and the information we learn about. The National Heritage Board had done a good job in putting up the markers to inform others of the history behind the different places. Actually, in the early part of the trail, I find it a waste of time walking all around because the information on the heritage markers are similar to the one on the NHB heritage trail website. It was only at one of the Sim Kwong Ho shophouses that I realise the goodness of going through this trail.
It was through this trail, I can see with my own eyes the beauty of the architectures. There were also certain points the website did not put up, such as how run down the Shaw studio has became. Though certain buildings were preserved, Shaw studio is seems to be left to rot. The markers outside wrote the greatness of the Shaw studio in the past, but what we saw is a close gate. Maybe, someone or even the government could do something about this place. Try to bring back the glorious days by turning it into a museum?
Another point to note was that the water point was just there. There is no markers or no signs saying about how the water point came into existence. If i did not know the history behind this, I would not understand or even realise it's for anyone and everyone. If this happens to me, how about the new-er generations?
The rest of the historical places like the shophouses has been use for commercial purposes. It may be open for commercializations, but if the tenants do not realise or understand the history behind this buildings, how can we be convinced that there is really preservation of history being done here? For example, the staffs at Hoover hotel do not know the history behind the name. I am stumped by their answer. Maybe they are being ignorant, or maybe it only happens at this hotel. What if it's true that the tenants do not the "Greatness" about the buildings? Maybe one day, these buildings too have to give way to new roads or buildings in the years to come. It is when these days comes, I believe, the memories of these places will slowly dissappear.
It was through this trail, I can see with my own eyes the beauty of the architectures. There were also certain points the website did not put up, such as how run down the Shaw studio has became. Though certain buildings were preserved, Shaw studio is seems to be left to rot. The markers outside wrote the greatness of the Shaw studio in the past, but what we saw is a close gate. Maybe, someone or even the government could do something about this place. Try to bring back the glorious days by turning it into a museum?
Another point to note was that the water point was just there. There is no markers or no signs saying about how the water point came into existence. If i did not know the history behind this, I would not understand or even realise it's for anyone and everyone. If this happens to me, how about the new-er generations?
The rest of the historical places like the shophouses has been use for commercial purposes. It may be open for commercializations, but if the tenants do not realise or understand the history behind this buildings, how can we be convinced that there is really preservation of history being done here? For example, the staffs at Hoover hotel do not know the history behind the name. I am stumped by their answer. Maybe they are being ignorant, or maybe it only happens at this hotel. What if it's true that the tenants do not the "Greatness" about the buildings? Maybe one day, these buildings too have to give way to new roads or buildings in the years to come. It is when these days comes, I believe, the memories of these places will slowly dissappear.
Mavis' reflections
There was an effort in preserving sites of Singapore’s history. However, it might not be successful due to the lack of publicity, reminders of our history to the generation that has a good life today and have not experienced the history. There is a need to tell the next generation the significance of history using these sites and monuments so that they may appreciate what our forefathers have done for us and how good our life is today. Preservation of our heritage is successful, but something more needs to be done to show that these heritage are important.
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