SUNGEI ROAD SAYS ITS GOODBYES, OXLEY ROAD WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Today marks the last day of the Sungei Road Thieves Market. A well known market that has been part of a facade of Singapore, it will be gone like so many other historical landmarks in Singapore. And it will go without so much of a fanfare.

This market had been around since the 1930s, and had survived World War II. And yet, it cannot survive Singapore’s constant need to build condos. After all, what is more important than to provide expensive housing for Singaporeans and foreigners alike.

While Parliament debated about the merits of keeping one house intact, because it was the birthplace of Singapore, allegedly, the sad thing is that no Parliament debate about the merits of keeping Sungei Road intact, or indeed the National Library at Stamford Road intact, among other things, had ever taken place.

Singapore keeps demolishing its history in its inane desire to modernise. Every historical building have shelf life. There is no historical building safe from the bulldozers, unless of course, the historical building is located at Oxley Road. Then the government will do all it can to preserve, including defying the wish of its founding father

Kelvin Soh

A.S.S. Contributor