Singapore is an ever-changing society, with constant urban renewal. Efforts have been made to keep Tiong Bahru the same after so many years, but it seems as the façade of the buildings stay the same, yet Singaporeans are losing the meaning behind Tiong Bahru. Is conservation really effective thus far? Conserving these physical landmarks may not necessarily keep the spirit of Tiong Bahru the same.
To many, Tiong Bahru was a home, where they grew up; where their mothers shopped at the markets and they played in the neighbourhood, a place that held memories for them.
The façade of the buildings may be kept the same, yet it is unimportant if conservation has not succeeded in capturing the spirit of Tiong Bahru. If the place fails to remind Singaporeans about their memories in Tiong Bahru in the past, then urban renewal and conservation in Tiong Bahru has not fulfilled their purposes.
If positive changes to Tiong Bahru are not implemented, it may not be long before it becomes a place simply preserved for appearances purposes, and it may become meaningless to Singaporeans, just like how Chinatown is changing now. Thus, Tiong Bahru should be conserved in an effective manner in order to bring together Singaporeans through their shared memories of the past Tiong Bahru, so that they would form strong bonds.
So what is worthy of preservation in Tiong Bahru?
Firstly, it is an important heritage site pertaining to Singapore history, before we gained independence from Britain. It is the only housing estate not built by HDB, and the differences in design are obvious. Stepping into the Tiong Bahru Estate gives one the slight impression of stepping back into time. These physical attributes of Tiong Bahru are well kept, but that does not mean that the heritage of the area has been preserved.
One important thing about Tiong Bahru would be their community spirit. People there do care about their neighbourhood, and the many websites dedicated to Tiong Bahru is an attribute to that. There is even a website for the Tiong Bahru Heritage Club, the purpose of which is to lead the community to make decisions about Tiong Bahru while keeping it relevant to their heritage. Not only do the residents care about each other, they care about their home too, and this is an admirable spirit in comparison to most apathetic Singaporeans.
However, there are still parts of the Tiong Bahru Estate which require improvements, in order for Tiong Bahru to truly become more uniform in terms of conservation.
The pre-war SIT flats cost approximately S$800,000-900,000, and the price of flat rental is about S$2000 a month, which is rather steep in comparison to other HDB flats. The high prices of homes there make it exclusive to certain Singaporeans. The housing estate is meant to be a common space for residents to come together, interact and form bonds. Yet if this estate excludes Singaporeans, then that defeats the purpose of this physical construct. Conservation is partly to unite Singaporeans through their common memories of Tiong Bahru, and thus the conserved flats should definitely not stand in the way of this purpose by making this common space exclusive to some Singaporeans.
Therefore, steps should be taken to lower the prices of the flats in the area, so that it would be inclusive of everyone, and more people can thus enjoy Tiong Bahru.
There are many businesses located within the estate, especially below the shophouses. Some of these businesses have been around for a long time, such as the old-fashioned coffeeshops. However, they now face problems due to lower patronage and less revenue. Many of the shops have already moved away or closed down, as there are many empty shophouses as well. The stallowners in the Tiong Bahru Market also face this problem, and the many empty stalls in the wet market bear testament to this. The only way to ensure survival of these shops would be to promote them, such that more people will return to patronize the businesses. For example, media articles could feature the shops inside the estate, as they may not be as well known, since they are located within the labyrinth of shophouses. This would create positive attention for them, and also draw more customers!
After all, conservation is only the means to an end of holding on to what we treasure in a particular place. By keeping physical structures the same, we are also trying to remind ourselves of what we want to remember of the place.
Thus far, the conservation has successfully kept the physical attributes of Tiong Bahru somewhat authentic, and now it is time to implement more changes to keep Tiong Bahru truly the same at heart.
