Asia Paranormal Investigators

New alignment for road cutting through Bukit Brown?

New alignment for road cutting through Bukit Brown?
By Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 05 December 2011

SINGAPORE: It is likely that the proposed new road that cuts through Bukit Brown cemetery in central Singapore will get a new alignment.

Channel NewsAsia understands that the road could bypass a cluster of graves belonging to key historical figures.

The announcement of plans for the road in September triggered an uproar among some Singaporeans, who said the cemetery should be preserved.

But authorities said the road can’t wait, as congestion in the area needs immediate relief.

It is expected that the dual four-lane road will slice through a portion of the 80-hectare cemetery site, affecting 5 per cent of the 100,000 graves.

Construction of the road will begin in 2013.

In land-strapped Singapore, there are very few places immune to the forces of development. And a central theme in the Singapore story is the constant tussle between land for the living and space for the dead.

Since 1965, for instance, 156 cemeteries have been cleared for development, according to figures from the National Environment Agency.

One can also see that tension played out in Bukit Brown, which itself houses many graves shifted to the cemetery from private burial sites that had been acquired by the government throughout the 1900s.

Between 1922 and 1973, Bukit Brown was the only public Chinese cemetery in Singapore, and received the graves of many who were re-interred from other cemeteries.

Among those moved to the cemetery were graves of prominent men like Tan Kim Cheng and Cheang Hong Lim.

Charles Goh, an amateur historian, said: “It is not just a cemetery of dead people. It is a cemetery of the early Singaporeans that came, and in a way built up to what we are now. If you understand the heritage value, you will say, let’s not do it.”

The proposed road alignment led to concerns over the future of the graves.

But according to Mr Goh, who is in the construction business, survey pegs in the area now suggest that the alignment has changed.

The Land Transport Authority’s original plan indicated a route that would require many iconic tombs to be cleared. These are located on a hill known commonly as Hill Three.

But the construction corridor appears to have shifted closer towards Lornie Road, raising the possibility that the graves of Ang Seah Im, Tan Kheam Hock and many others will be spared – for now.

(Photo above: API Insert)

The construction corridor measures about 130 metres wide, and delineates the area needed to be cleared for construction purposes. The actual width of the road will be about 40 metres, and – according to Mr Goh – appears to skirt around a few of the hills in the area.

In response to queries by Channel NewsAsia, the Land Transport Authority said the final alignment will only be fixed in February.

But the news is of little comfort for Tan Seok Bee.

The grave of her grandfather-in-law, Tan Boon Hak, will have to go. He was a wealthy timber merchant and the cousin of noted philanthropist Tan Kah Kee. He died in April 1923, and was one of the first to be buried at the cemetery.

Mrs Tan said: “He stays here, in a good place, under a good shade, so his descendants all have good jobs. So it is best that we still keep him here. (If) you suddenly move him, he may not be happy.”

The controversy over Bukit Brown isn’t just about a road.

In 40 years’ time, the rest of the cemetery and the surrounding land, about 200 hectares, will be cleared for a new housing estate.

Plans for the future town, which will take up the 200-hectare site, have been contained in the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s masterplans since 1998. The road will eventually serve the new town.

Land south of Bukit Brown, near the old Police Academy, will be developed sooner, in about 10 to 15 years’ time. Conservationists object to this, saying the area is a carbon sink and an important feeding ground for birds.

Along with heritage groups, they want the land to be preserved.

Dr Ho Hua Chew, a member of the executive committee of the Nature Society, said: “People’s needs can change. They may value the wooded area more, the cultural heritage more 20, 30 years down the road. So why destroy that option for the younger generation? Leave it open.”

Dr Terence Chong, a member of the executive committee at the Singapore Heritage Society, said: “It is because we agree with the idea that land is scarce that we think it is so important not to just think in the old paradigm. I think some concessions should be made for heritage concerns.”

Dr Chong added: “Right now, the rest of Bukit Brown has a window of about 30 years. They are not specific because they want the flexibility to decide depending on future needs. This means that the fate of the cemetery is not assured. As such, gazetting parts of the cemetery as heritage parks to ensure preservation regardless of changing circumstances is crucial.”

Authorities said the road will go ahead. But they are open to ideas on what to do with the remaining space, and have started discussions with various groups.

For Mrs Tan, all this talk is far removed from her family’s immediate concern.

They have started preparations to exhume their ancestor’s grave, knowing that the Qing Ming Festival next year will be their last at Bukit Brown.

Members of the public who wish to locate the burial records of their ancestors buried at the Bukit Brown cemetery will need to first determine their ancestors’ names and dates of death before searching the uploaded records on the website of the National Archives.

The records are in English, and names are listed according to the date of burial.

Those who need more information will still have to make a trip to the National Archives near Fort Canning Park.

– CNA/ms/fa

Debunking the Myth of Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall

A tomb discovery by Raymond Goh in Bukit Brown Chinese Cemetery revealed a startling Myth that everyone had accepted as a fact for a hundred years!

Above: The tomb of Boey Chuan Poh found by Raymond Goh in Bukit Brown. 

UNRAVELLING THE NAME OF HOUSE CALLED BIN CHAN

To verfiy the identity of Boey Chuan Poh, API’s Raymond Goh did a historical background check and reveal, among other things, this Obiturary:-

Translated, it meant:-

Boey Chuan Poh was a honorary gentleman who contributed much to society, He has been in the newspapers industry for more than 20 over years, and always seek for the welfare and benefits of humanity and the world, irregardless of political ideologies. His comments and opinion were accurate and has been appreciated by locals and foreigners. His death due to sickness was sudden and everyone was sadden by his early demise.

Yet his name suffered an injustice by being the person who attributed the naming of a Villa named as Bin Chan House (now Wang Qing Yuan – Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall), as being named after his concubine or Mistress.

According to Singapore Infopedia, it is written that:-

“The former Sun Yat Sen Villa (also known as Bin Chan House or Wan Qing Yuan) at 12 Tai Gin Road, off Balestier Road, is named after the prominent Chinese nationalist Sun Yat Sen………The villa was built sometime in the 1880s by wealthy Chinese merchant Boey Chuan Poh. It was rumoured to be for his mistress Bin Chan, after whom he named it Bin Chan House.”

And according to Wikipedia, it is also written as:-

“The Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall (Chinese: 孙中山南洋纪念馆; pinyin: Sūn Zhōngshān Nányáng Jìniàn Guǎn, also known as Wan Qing Yuan, 晚晴园, and formerly as Sun Yat Sen Villa, 孙中山故居) is a double-storey colonial villa at Balestier in Singapore. The villa is now a museum commemorating Dr Sun Yat Sen who visited Singapore eight times between 1900 and 1911…… The villa is believed to have been built by businessman Boey Chuan Poh in 1880 to house his mistress, Bin Chan, from whom came the building’s original name, Bin Chan House.”

So was the Bin Chan House:-

1) Named after Boey’s Mistress, and

2) Could the Mistress had stayed in the House?

Answer to Question 1 – Whose’s name was Bin Chan?

Fact 1

The House was first designed in July 1900, and not in the 1880s.

Fact 2

The House was erected soon after it was designed and had already been named Bin Chan and appeared on a map dated May 1901. Nearby Houses are also erected around same time.

Fact 3

Boey Chuan Poh loved horses, and built stables in the House erected on 12 Tai Gin Road.

In fact, he had a race horse named Bin Chan

Therefore, was the House was named after a Horse instead?

Fact 4

Boey Chuan Poh, being a well educated man and the director of the Union Times, 1 of the earliest Chinese daily newspapers. 

Mr Boey named his House in Cairnhill Road the ‘Eng Ho House‘, which in Mandarin, ‘Eng’ might meant Forever or Glory, and ‘Ho’ might meant ‘Harmony…. 

When Mr Boey celebrated his mother-in-law’s birthday in Dec 1911, each piece of the cultery for dinner was ordered from England and inscribed with the words ‘Jolly Boey‘.

Thus when the House at Balestier was erected, he could have gave the name Bin Chan House to mean Bin – Bright and Clear, and Chan – Treasure…. as in Bright Treasure House?

Answer to Question 2 – Did the Bin Chan House ‘house’ the Mistress?

Fact 5

Bin Chan House was designed in July 1900, and built by May 1901.

• He used it once in Feb 1902 to host a farewell dinner for Dr Chan, a friend of Dr Lim Boon Keng. In early 1902, he advertised to either let or auction the house.

  
  

  In Sep 1902, Bin Chan House was sold to a Lim Ah Liang.

  
  

  Therefore, base on the short time of possible human occupation period, and how it was used, and how it was advertised to Let or Auction just 1 year after it was built,  it was very unlikely it was ever used to ‘house’ any Mistress.

  
  

  So now you know.

Community for Bukit Brown calls for moratorium on plans for Bukit Brown