Installation of New Statues of Leaders from Colonial Times at Fort Canning Park

Ms Usha Chandradas asked the Minister for National Development what is the basis for the installation of two new statues of colonial figures, Sir Stamford Raffles and Dr Nathaniel Wallich, in Fort Canning Park in view of more recent trends in local and global art and cultural institutions towards decolonisation and the re-examination of colonial histories.

The artwork featuring a pair of life-size bronze figures, titled “Scholars in Conversation: Sir Stamford Raffles and Dr Nathaniel Wallich”, was unveiled on 21 May 2024 at Canning Rise in Fort Canning Park. This was the site of Singapore’s first botanical and experimental garden, which was established by Raffles and Wallich in 1822. The artwork was commissioned by the University of East Anglia Alumni (Singapore Chapter) and donated by the Estate of Mr and Mrs Tan Chee Kow through the Garden City Fund, a registered charity and Institution of a Public Character established by NParks.

Raffles and Wallich’s contributions laid the foundation for botanical discovery and science in Singapore and beyond. Raffles’ keen interest in natural history led him to study and collect specimens of flora and fauna during his expeditions around the Straits Settlements. He amassed a vast collection of natural history drawings over the years, which serve as records for the biodiversity in Southeast Asia during the 1800s. Wallich was known for his extensive catalogue of over 20,000 specimens. Many of the valuable old herbarium specimens collected by Wallich from Singapore and the region are now housed in the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ Herbarium. Raffles and Wallich’s collections contributed to our study and research of local flora in Singapore and the region in the 1800s.

The Member has asked how this sits with the “growing trend towards decolonisation and the re-examination of colonial histories”. It is important to be clear on what is meant by “decolonisation” and “re-examination of colonial histories”.

Decolonisation, in its traditional meaning, is the process by which colonies become independent of the colonising country. That is not a recent trend. The largest wave of decolonisation took place in the aftermath of the Second World War. Singapore decolonised in 1963 and became a fully independent and sovereign state in 1965. Since then, we have charted our own destiny, as a people, and as a nation.

In this context, however, I believe the Member is referring to more recent moves in some places to erase all and anything that may be a reminder of a colonial past.

Re-examination of colonial histories on the other hand, involves looking back at history through a modern lens. It takes different forms in different places. In some places, it involves a reinterpretation of events or how they are viewed. In others, it has involved a latter-day condemnation of all things regarded as associated with colonialism.

In Singapore, we take a clear-eyed view of our colonial past. We do not glorify or celebrate it. However, we acknowledge that it is a phase of our history which stretches way back 700 years to even before colonialism – as we saw in the Bicentennial – and that it has left legacies on which, post-Independence, we were able to build, adapt and transform to bring Singapore to what it is today. This includes our administrative, judicial and even our political system. For example, our Parliament is based on the Westminster model.

The acceptance and display of this donated artwork should be seen in this light. It recognises the contributions of Raffles and Wallich to our botanical heritage and allows visitors to learn more about it.

We need not be afraid of the past. We should be able to reference it with confidence, having regard to all we have achieved together since Independence as a people and a nation, and secure in the knowledge that we continue to carve our own destiny and forge our future.