It was with a mixture of much satisfaction and some surprise that i responded to reading yesterday that the Civilian War Memorial is to be gazetted as a national monument this year. Satisfaction because it is due recognition of the importance of this monument in Singapore's historical narrative. Surprise because i had thought that such an act was unnecessary since it would be understood that such a significant structure (particularly one with the words "war" and memorial" in its name) was something that was to be preserved.
Perhaps regarding my latter sentiment, in response one could argue that the gazetting of the Memorial as a national monument was a necessary formal acknowledgement of its importance, in order to give it official due recognition. After all, as far as i am aware, this is the only one of two post-war structures in Singapore that have been gazetted as a national monument. In fact, it and the Singapore Conference Hall post-date the next youngest national monuments by a good 25 years at least. Not that relative (or for that matter, absolute) age should be the most pressing criterion in deciding to gazette any building as a national monument, though in a place like Singapore where structures dating even from the first half of last century are becoming an increasing rarity, it is understandable why it is one of the most significant criteria.
What i am afraid of is that this official recognition will be just that - a nod to its significance from the higher-ups which has little implication on the consideration given to how the Memorial is to be treated. I say this with the precedent of the recent story of the joggers using the steps of the Cenotaph (another national monument) as a piece of warm-up equipment still fresh in my mind. Regrettably, there was little follow-up to the publishing of that initial story (and if there was, i plead busyness with work as the excuse for my ignorance) in the public square. How can that be, given the fact that the Cenotaph honours those who fought and died in both world wars? (I refuse to elaborate on that statement for the statement alone ought to be enough justification for it to be left alone).
Now we have the Civilian War Memorial, which serves a similar function of according due honour to our war dead, though in this case wholly innocent civilians (the remains of some of whom actually are buried there), being gazetted as our latest national monument. Again, to me the preceding statement alone contains enough weight in itself to warrant the Memorial being given its due respect. Yet to my prolonged horror, for every year since its inception the organisers of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix have deemed it fit to erect a gigantic temporary grandstand (i believe it is referred to as the Stamford Grandstand) on its grounds. Adding insult to injury, by the time they dismantle the grandstand after the race every year, the grass on the smothered ground is dead, smearing the grounds of the Memorial with an unwelcome and irreverent shade of brown. While i acknowledge that i am not a fan of the race in itself, even if i were i would be similarly disgusted. No matter how much big bucks the race can pump into our economy, it should, under no circumstances, come at the expense of desecrating the memory of our ancestors who have lost their lives during a war that we are taught in schools (rightly so) never to forget. What again is regrettable is that there has (again, to my best knowledge) been little, if any public outcry regarding this as well. Could it be because we really do not appreciate the significance of the Memorial, such that the annual emergence of a steel monstrosity that conveniently obscures a good deal of it from view does not bother us?
In the interests of the ongoing and never-ending process of nurturing our Singaporean identity, i hope that this act of gazetting the Memorial will do much more than pay lip service to the importance of treasuring our past, no matter how painful it may have been. Those who have lost their lives, and in fact, the people of Singapore (past, present and future) deserve nothing less.
Perhaps regarding my latter sentiment, in response one could argue that the gazetting of the Memorial as a national monument was a necessary formal acknowledgement of its importance, in order to give it official due recognition. After all, as far as i am aware, this is the only one of two post-war structures in Singapore that have been gazetted as a national monument. In fact, it and the Singapore Conference Hall post-date the next youngest national monuments by a good 25 years at least. Not that relative (or for that matter, absolute) age should be the most pressing criterion in deciding to gazette any building as a national monument, though in a place like Singapore where structures dating even from the first half of last century are becoming an increasing rarity, it is understandable why it is one of the most significant criteria.
What i am afraid of is that this official recognition will be just that - a nod to its significance from the higher-ups which has little implication on the consideration given to how the Memorial is to be treated. I say this with the precedent of the recent story of the joggers using the steps of the Cenotaph (another national monument) as a piece of warm-up equipment still fresh in my mind. Regrettably, there was little follow-up to the publishing of that initial story (and if there was, i plead busyness with work as the excuse for my ignorance) in the public square. How can that be, given the fact that the Cenotaph honours those who fought and died in both world wars? (I refuse to elaborate on that statement for the statement alone ought to be enough justification for it to be left alone).
Now we have the Civilian War Memorial, which serves a similar function of according due honour to our war dead, though in this case wholly innocent civilians (the remains of some of whom actually are buried there), being gazetted as our latest national monument. Again, to me the preceding statement alone contains enough weight in itself to warrant the Memorial being given its due respect. Yet to my prolonged horror, for every year since its inception the organisers of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix have deemed it fit to erect a gigantic temporary grandstand (i believe it is referred to as the Stamford Grandstand) on its grounds. Adding insult to injury, by the time they dismantle the grandstand after the race every year, the grass on the smothered ground is dead, smearing the grounds of the Memorial with an unwelcome and irreverent shade of brown. While i acknowledge that i am not a fan of the race in itself, even if i were i would be similarly disgusted. No matter how much big bucks the race can pump into our economy, it should, under no circumstances, come at the expense of desecrating the memory of our ancestors who have lost their lives during a war that we are taught in schools (rightly so) never to forget. What again is regrettable is that there has (again, to my best knowledge) been little, if any public outcry regarding this as well. Could it be because we really do not appreciate the significance of the Memorial, such that the annual emergence of a steel monstrosity that conveniently obscures a good deal of it from view does not bother us?
In the interests of the ongoing and never-ending process of nurturing our Singaporean identity, i hope that this act of gazetting the Memorial will do much more than pay lip service to the importance of treasuring our past, no matter how painful it may have been. Those who have lost their lives, and in fact, the people of Singapore (past, present and future) deserve nothing less.
