Preserving Green Spaces and Heritage in Jalan Kayu Constituency

Thank you. Members can see from the URA Masterplan that Kampong Lorong Buangkok is the small little purple square that is now sitting on what is planned to be a highway and two schools.

Mr Speaker, while I understand the need for urban redevelopment, surely, we can still find space in our urban areas to preserve part of our heritage, not simply for sentimental value but for the purpose of heritage, historical and environmental education.

I would like to propose for the preservation of Kampong Lorong Buangkok as a Conservation site or Heritage Education site. Under the URA Masterplan, the land where the kampung is, will be made into two schools – like I said earlier, presumably one primary and one secondary school, and another highway. Is there really a need to displace the kampung residents, tear down the kampung in the name of urban redevelopment? Surely, we can explore ways where the kampung can co-exist and, in fact, enhance and bring value to urban life.

This is the last kampung we have left on our mainland, situated on a land of about 1.22 hectares. There are 26 families or households living in Kampong Lorong Buangkok, each paying a monthly rent of between $6 to $30 to the landlady, a 65-year-old lady named Ms Sng Mui Hong. Some have lived here for more than 50 years and would not live elsewhere even though their children are living in HDB estates and HDB flats and can house them comfortably in their flats.

The neighbours all know one another very well, and each time I join my grassroots volunteers and residents there, the children visiting the kampung would have lots of fun chasing the kampung chickens, learning about the different fruit trees – rambutan, banana, noni, cocoa, you name it – and marveling at the homes that look like they are frozen in time in the 1960s. Our Jalan Kayu grassroots have done several community projects with the Kampong residents, one of which is the drain redevelopment project. Another one is where we gravelled the main entrance of the kampung and we put up signages for the kampung, because back then in the past, the only signage we could see was one that was handwritten in paint.

This was me with Ms Sng, the landlady, and Members can see this is the new signage we put up a few months back. And the old name of the kampong was Kampong Selak Kain. "Selak kain" in Malay means you fold up your sarong or your kain – because in the past, the kampong always used to flood, that is why we did the drainage project; so, you selak your kain. These are some of the houses in the kampong; quite grand. I think this is the biggest house in the kampong out of the 26 available. It is two-storey, all made of wood, and this is what you can see in the kampong now. Members can see in the background that there are Build-To-Order (BTO) flats sprouting all over. This is another look at the kampong.

The neighbours all know one another very well, and each time I join them, they will always be talking about how they want to continue living in the kampong and, even though some of the children may not want to live there, they want to retain the kampong for as long as possible.

It is fascinating to see this kampong, which exemplifies racial and religious harmony. The kampong is owned by a Chinese lady, but the majority of the residents are Malay, living harmoniously with their Chinese neighbours. There is a Muslim surau, a small mosque, within the kampong, and there are altars that adorn the homes of the Chinese residents. Many of our Jalan Kayu residents have expressed their support to preserve the kampong, and one of them, a resident artist, Mr Vincent Seet, has held numerous exhibitions showing his numerous paintings of the kampong. These are some of the paintings by Mr Vincent Seet, a resident living in Buangkok HDB estate.

I am also embarking on a community documentation and preservation project with my colleagues from the Singapore Institute of Technology to compile a photo-journal and oral history accounts of the residents living in the kampong, in a bid to preserve the experiences and memories of our residents who have lived there for many years, from before our Independence, to this day. The changes they have observed and experienced over the years make for good case studies and rich learning for us and, for me, it is useful for the Change Management module I teach my students, which includes topics on urbanisation and gentrification and managing societal change.

I would like to propose for the following to be considered for Kampong Lorong Buangkok. We should retain the kampong as a conservation or heritage education site, where we can educate our younger generations about how kampung living was like and, more importantly, what the kampung spirit is about. The kampong can be integrated within the two schools that are planned under the URA masterplan. The kampong and its residents should be allowed to carry on their lives, but it can play the additional role of a community living lab for our students to learn about our shared history, culture and traditions, race relations, and experience for themselves values-in-action, such as communal living, the spirit of neighbourliness and community activism.

In addition, our students can embark on community nature programmes to learn from and work with the residents on how they can grow plants and vegetables, or take care of animals, such as chickens, cats and dogs, in a more natural environment. On top of that, our kampong residents are exemplary in re-using and repurposing items in their farming and gardening methods. This is useful in helping our young ones be more environmentally friendly and increase their environmental awareness.

I hope that the Ministry of Education can consider this, particularly in creating an authentic learning experience for values-in-action and for heritage and history education for our students. I understand there may be concerns regarding the maintenance and upkeep of the kampong. I would like to propose that once the current generation of residents have passed on, and their children are not keen to continue living there, then maybe the People's Association (PA) or the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth can consider taking ownership of this kampong.

Singaporeans who are keen to experience what it is like to live in a kampung can do so here, as part of a resilience or community leadership training programme. So, instead of having overnight camps at PA or the Outward Bound campsites, this can be done at Kampong Lorong Buangkok in future. In addition, our own school children can have school leadership or training camps at Kampong Lorong Buangkok, too, for them to learn, to live with basic necessities, working and living with nature, and what the kampung spirit is all about.

The second part of my speech is on the strip of green land parcel parallel to Gerald Drive, next to Seletar Springs condominium, that has been planned to be converted to a three-lane highway, which is known as Buangkok Drive extension. Many residents living along Gerald Drive and in Seletar Springs Condominium do not want this strip of land to be converted to a highway, citing a loss of natural flora and fauna. This is the actual strip of land that you can see from a height where the planned expressway or highway is supposed to be.

As Members can see, this is really a green belt for both HDB and private estate residents living here. The strip of green is quite narrow and I can imagine that if URA were to proceed with the road construction here, the roads will come up close, very close to the HDB blocks and the private estates. I have had several dialogues with my Gerald-Mugliston residents to listen to their concerns and to assure them I will work closely with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to ensure that only if the road is needed will it be built. The need to build this road must be contingent on the use of other surrounding roads – Buangkok Drive, Buangkok Crescent, Buangkok Link, Buangkok Green and Yio Chu Kang Road – in terms of traffic volume that these other roads are not able to support. I have requested LTA to carry out a study of the usage of the roads mentioned above to justify the need to build the Buangkok Drive extension highway.

However, I beseech the Ministry of National Development (MND) to consider if we can shelve the plans to build this road. I would instead propose making the strip of land as a linear nature park, with proper footpaths to connect Fernvale HDB estate and Gerald-Mugliston estate, and to put in place cycling tracks, while retaining the flora that is growing there naturally. I hope MND can consider this favourably.

Mr Speaker, our green spaces and places of heritage are precious. Once gone, they are almost impossible to replace. We can, I suppose, create artificial green spaces or traditional setups to showcase our heritage, but they lack the character and soul of what has grown organically for many years.

Once again, I iterate that I understand the need for urban development. But it is not a zero-sum game. Urban development and the preservation of green spaces and our places of heritage cannot be mutually exclusive. There are ways in which we can harmoniously integrate the two.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the hon Member for her speech on Kampong Lorong Buangkok and the future Buangkok Drive Extension.

Kampong Lorong Buangkok is, as she has identified correctly, one of two remaining traditional kampungs left in Singapore, and the other is on Pulau Ubin. The Member may be aware of the work we are doing on Pulau Ubin, together with the Friends of Ubin Network, to enhance the rustic, nostalgic and authentic feel of the island. This includes the heritage and the living community in the kampung. In July this year, we launched the multi-year programme to restore and repair vacant kampung houses on the island and will be looking into how we can breathe new life into these returned homes. We are also studying how we can work with the community to better support the villagers still living on the island.

So, the Member will know where my personal inclinations lie on an issue such as this. But for today's purposes, allow me to set out the position as it currently stands.

Sir, the Master Plan, which the Member referred to in her speech, guides Singapore's physical development over the medium term. It is regularly reviewed every five years to take into account the changing needs of Singaporeans, which may affect our future land use. In the 2014 Master Plan, Kampong Lorong Buangkok straddles four land parcels. Two of the land parcels have been safeguarded for a primary school and a secondary school. Another land parcel will form part of a park, and the last portion of the kampong site has been earmarked for a major road to Seletar, as the Member has indicated in the map earlier.

However, I must emphasise that there is no intention to implement these developments in the near future. For instance, we will look into the need for the planned road only when we are ready to proceed with the longer-term development of Seletar. This is likely to be several decades later.

Sir, when the time comes for us to finalise our plans for the entire area, the Government of the day should work closely with relevant stakeholders to ensure that developments are carried out in a holistic and coherent way. And this must involve deep engagement with the kampong families living there at that time, to understand and consider their needs and interests. Some may not want to move away from the kampong. But they may also not want their community to be turned into an educational or heritage attraction, drawing crowds of curious visitors. We will also consider the wishes of Singaporeans who want the heritage and educational value of kampung life to be properly documented, retained and celebrated. And yet, we cannot simply develop the surrounding areas around the kampong, isolating it from the rest of the community.

Sir, I wish to put on record our appreciation for the Member's initiative to compile visual and oral history accounts from the kampong residents. Indeed, kampung life can impart valuable lessons to Singaporeans about living together in gotong-royong. We should all continue to foster and encourage this spirit of cooperation, bonding, neighbourliness and mutual help in our community.

MND has considered the Member’s proposal in consultation with the relevant agencies. HDB and LTA have assessed that there is a critical need for this road because almost 10,000 new homes will be completed in Fernvale, Sengkang West and Hougang between now and 2022, which is very soon. This road will serve as a vital connection across Sungei Punggol and help relieve potential traffic congestion problems for Singaporeans living there in Sengkang and Hougang Towns, where the existing road network cannot support the higher resident population in the future.

Moreover, there is already a provision of green space for residents in and around Gerald Drive, including existing HDB common greens and neighbourhood parks. The Park Connector Network also runs along Sungei Punggol, linking the Gerald Drive area to Sengkang Riverside Park, which is a large town park.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Member for her suggestions. If she has further queries or concerns, she can raise them to us, and we will get URA and all relevant agencies to take her through the plans in detail.