Love Singapore? Yes, says National Development Minister Mah Bow
Tan, who thinks the first step is to rediscover the city. He discusses
the political meaning of loving Singapore, its quick transformation
and the places that anchor him here.
THIS is a nation of exceedingly pragmatic souls. So it is remarkable when a man of much purpose like Mr Mah Bow Tan says he reflects on the concept of loving Singapore. The National Development Minister was profoundly struck when he first heard this line on love and the city:
'Men did not love Rome because she was great. She was great because they had loved her.'
That was in April 2005. At a seminar, Mr Mah was listening intently as developer Philip Ng singled out 'love' as a vital missing ingredient in Singapore's quest for the X-factor.
Mr Ng, chief executive of property giant Far East Organization, then quoted G.K. Chesterton, a London writer and thinker who penned that memorable line in 1908.
Mr Mah tells Insight: 'Philip is known to be a businessman and developer, yet he was talking about love.'
Mr Ng went on to say in his speech that love results in rootedness. It motivates people to 'make a difference for Singapore', he reasoned.
Mr Mah, 60, discerns the big question embedded in those comments: What kind of place do we want Singapore to be?
The minister readily supplies his own answer, in an interview with Insight: 'A place that people can really feel connected to, rooted to, bonded to.'
MY NEW SINGAPORE
SO, HE hopes people will take time in this recession to discover the new Singapore that is springing up downtown and all over the heartland. He also hopes they will re-visit old places, which may have changed.
Out of this rediscovery, a new love can arise, he believes.
But how possible is it to embody this ideal in the physical landscape and entrench it in personal experience?
First, there will be no campaign, he says emphatically. Instead, he relies on a matrix of events, plus dogged long-term strategy. So last week, Mr Mah presented a string of activities under the tag, My New Singapore.
The programme showcases the city- state in a variety of ways to Singaporeans - from roving exhibitions of neighbourhood changes to tours of the new Marina Bay. This will take place from now to next year, making for a period of exciting developmeyynts.
A quick scan of the horizon:
The new financial centre will be up in time to catch the future upturn. The integrated resort will open. The new waterfront promenade offers a continuous walking loop. Above, a new signature skyline appears. Reclaimed 30 years ago, Marina Bay will be reborn, creating jobs and opportunities.
The revamped Orchard Road will be replete with malls like the ION and streetside cafes. Over at Sentosa, another integrated resort will open. The remaking of the heartland continues, with one milestone being the tiered boardwalk and park in Punggol Point.
The Republic hosts the first Youth Olympic Games next year, while the F1 race will return.
Mr Mah himself has rediscovered the island since 1999, when he assumed the national development portfolio.
Since part of his job involves land use and planning, he has traversed Singapore, from the heart of the city to the HDB heartland. He also pops into remote corners like Lim Chu Kang and Chek Jawa. Once, he invited his Tampines grassroots leaders to view the landfill in Pulau Semakau. It was eye-opening, and fun.
'For the first time, they realised what happens when they throw rubbish down a chute. A little bit of it eventually ends up in Semakau,' he says.
Looking at the island and mangrove swamps, and even riding on the boat - it was a day of discovery.
'I could draw up a few weekend tours,' he says, beaming. 'I discovered how much there is in Singapore. I'm sure if people saw all this for themselves, they will say, wow, this is really something special.'
But here he inserts a strong note of realism, saying: 'In case you think I'm painting too rosy a picture, I want to say that we're not perfect.
'Many things annoy me sometimes. Many things annoy Singaporeans, whether it's noisy neighbours or rude motorists or dirty hawker centres.'
But a historical perspective helps. 'We became self-governing in 1959. If we look at our lives 50 years ago and today, I think we will appreciate that many things have been changed for the better.
'These annoyances really are part and parcel of life's little irritations.'
A historical view is also applied to landmarks and icons so people can hold on to memories, a facet of loving Singapore.
'Heritage is very important because I think memories keep us rooted to a place,' he observes.
THE POWER OF MEMORIES
IN THIS light, Singapore planners blend the old and the new, he says.
He offers the example of Singapore River, where some old godowns remain. Behind them, skyscrapers soar in the financial district. So in a single glance, visitors have a sense of Old Singapore - and a powerful picture of its future. This co-existence of old and new makes Singapore very attractive.
'It is very much part and parcel of our transformation plans.'
The same principle of saving heritage in dynamic places is at work in the heartland. In Dawson, which is in Queenstown, the old barrel-shaped wet market will be revived as a community centre.
Photo by URA
The Pinnacle@Duxton, with 50-storey HDB flats, stands on the same site as an early generation of 12-floor flats.
There, two trees planted many years ago by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, a long-time Tanjong Pagar MP, will be saved. A Heritage Corner to recognise the significance of the place will be added.
Further away, Old Punggol Road will become a heritage road.
But it is not possible to save everything, he continues. And here he gamely wades into the lingering controversy surrounding the loss of the National Library.
'The tunnel unfortunately went straight through the foundations of National Library,' he says.
With the city and congestion growing, the Fort Canning Tunnel was built, opening in 2007.
'I tried very hard. I remember looking at shifting the tunnel but unfortunately we couldn't,' he recounts. 'Frankly, I felt sad that the library had to go.'
The old library held memories, too, for Mr Mah, who went to school at St Joseph's Institution around the corner. 'We used to go to the library, not necessarily to study, of course. It was a nice meeting place.'
But, he looks ahead. 'I hope and I believe that the new National Library will one day evoke similar memories for the younger Singaporeans.'
A memory of old Singapore is also at play, subtly, in futuristic Marina Bay.
CHILDHOOD JAUNTS
HE SAYS: 'When we were doing the redevelopment of Marina Bay, I told the planners my story of how I used to go down to Queen Elizabeth Walk.'
That was long before the Merlion arrived and land reclamation began.
'One of my vivid memories is of my uncle bringing me for a walk there during Chinese New Year,' he recalls happily.
'Many other families were there. I would have an ice-cream, go to Cathay cinema and watch a show. That was a big thrill for Chinese New Year.'
Families will once again walk along a waterfront promenade, in a new era, this time at the redeveloped Marina Bay.
So the whole city is transforming. Just as public housing was an early success for the People's Action Party, is the revamped Singapore its equivalent today?
And is there a political and national meaning in rediscovering and loving Singapore?
LOVE AND THE GENERAL ELECTION
'EVERYTHING we do as a Government is really about how we make this place a better home,' he replies evenly.
'That's what this Government is all about. So we've done so for the last 50 years because, most importantly, we've received strong support and the mandate of the people continuously for the last 50 years.'
People may deride Singapore as a Little Red Dot and toss more derogatory terms, he says. But the island's transformation involves long-term plans that depend on continuous voter support, he asserts.
'So to that extent, yes, you could say that what I'm talking about is about politics. But then isn't everything that we do about politics? Isn't it what it's all about?'
Probe him on whether shining a spotlight on the transformation may be an early sign of a General Election, and he responds: 'We're always preparing for GE. You ask every PAP minister, every PAP MP, he tells you that in fact the message after every GE, the next morning is, okay, let's start preparing for the next GE.'
That is not a cliche, he continues. 'That's really what we do. Everything we do is about continuing to maintain the trust and consequently the support of the people and the mandate of the people for the next round.'
And so he is analytical about issues - yet also relaxed enough to address the personal dimension. Unfortunately, he says, some places where he grew up are no longer on the map.
'I grew up in Kim Keat, (with the) old three-storey Singapore Improvement Trust flats. It's a little bit like Tiong Bahru.
'I grew up in a combination of places - kampung in Hougang, a shophouse in High Street, SIT flat in Kim Keat which is no longer there, and later on, HDB in Toa Payoh.'
With some of these markers of his early life erased, does he feel the pace of change is too rapid in Singapore?
'Some places are changing fast, yes,' he says. 'But if you look at it in another way, is it for the better?
'If we don't change, I would be back staying in the SIT flats.'
It is a balance between making sure the change is for the better, then trying to keep the old in some way, he indicates.
SUNDAY BREAKFAST IN CHANGI
WHEN he married Dr Sheryn Kaye Von Senden, she worked at Changi Hospital and they lived for some time in old British quarters.
'It was a small, little place but enough for two of us,' he remembers. 'One of my fond memories is of walking to Changi Village every Sunday for breakfast, and then just taking a walk around.'
He returns to his theme of rediscovering Singapore: 'Changi Village is one of those places worth visiting. We've built a boardwalk so that you can actually walk closer to the water.'
His favourite spot is the well-loved Botanic Gardens. 'When it's six in the evening, just around dusk, and the weather is cool...it's so very therapeutic.'
It is abundantly clear Mr Mah loves Singapore. But even he finds it 'hard to put it into words'.
He draws a parallel with New Yorkers, who do not go around saying they love their city.
'They hate the potholes. They hate the traffic jam, maybe the rush. But if we ask them, do you love New York? They say, yes, of course.'
He muses: 'What is it? Is it the culture? Is it the lifestyle? Is it Central Park? I think it's the sum total of all those things. Maybe the pluses outweigh the minuses. But there are minuses.'
He does not intend that Singaporeans should go around talking about loving Singapore. But it would be wonderful to see their love in action.
'When you feel for this place, people will think twice about littering, about dirtying the place. They will think about how they interact with fellow Singaporeans.
'It's that sense of being part of this place, being part of something special.'
As the interview wraps up, he goes to the window. It is a gorgeous day. From the 22nd floor of the MND Complex in Maxwell Road, his point about Singapore being a city in transformation is captured in the vista. It is a panorama he loves showing visitors, for in one frame they see the old and the new, transformation and heritage, the Icon condominium and the Pinnacle@Duxton public housing.
He says: 'I hope one day people will say what a great little city
we have.'
