Preserve our heritage to strengthen ties to S’pore
The old seawall and gate at Nallur Road. Heritage serves as a collective memory of a tribe sharing a habitat. TODAY file photo
I refer to the letter “Conservation of S’pore’s islands vital as mainland runs out of space” (May 26). The best way to preserve an organism is to first conserve its habitat — no different for us too.
Heritage, in the form of landmarks or folklore, serves as a collective memory of a tribe sharing a habitat. Amid the frantic pace of development, we would feel largely dislodged and dispossessed if we look behind and see no footprints.
Conservation is imperative for our well-being. Does everything revolve around efficiency and maximising returns? Is it always down to the last dollar? Is change always for the better? Nothing comes for free. Something has to give.
We have traded the metaphysical for the physical: Glimmering new residences and office blocks reaching stratospheric heights and mega shopping centres replacing the once-thriving pasar malams, neighbourhood kopitiams and corner shops.
Children catching guppies in the drains or trading marbles on sand-filled playgrounds have faded away.
What roots us here? Familiar people and places bind us to this land. Abstract human ties give us warmth and a sense of belonging when we reminisce. The nostalgia withstands stoic gross domestic product figures through good or bad times.
It produces a lump in our throats when we proudly sing Majulah Singapura come Aug 9. Most of all, it gives us our soul as a people.
Our next lap of nation building should not be limited to economics. We should preserve some things that keep the ties to this land. They may not fit neatly into the new developments surrounding them, but they cannot be replicated once gone. The loss to the country and its people is incalculable.
There should be some space for us to look back occasionally while we look forward. That is what keeps us here.
