It may be one of the oldest Chinese temples in Singapore, dating back to the pre-colonial era when the Hakkas first built a shrine to the deity Tua Pek Kong more than two centuries earlier. But the actual Fook Tet Soo Khek temple in Palmer Road, which was built in 1844, has no official protection status. It is not the only historic site without one. Sites like Haw Par Villa – home to 1,000 multi-coloured sculptures and dioramas – as well as Singapore’s last two dragon kilns – built around the 1940s and 1950s are also not protected. Without such a status, they could be erased should a development need arise. Why have their fates been left in limbo? Members of the public became more actively involved in articulating their preferences for community icons they want protected in and around 2004. That was when the National Library building was razed to the ground to make way for the Fort Canning Tunnel. Although the authorities went ahead and demolished the building, the episode was the root of Singapore’s public conservation movement.... Continue Reading