11/25/2005
my island in the sun
as a kid, i used to go to blakang mati through jardine steps. hopped onto a ferry for a few cents and the island is mine. i could roam freely there, did whatever i want, spent as long as i want, in my island in the sun.
today, my beautiful island in the sun is not mine anymore. i will have to forgo 3 meals just to be allowed to visit the island. all because they erected all the ugly and unsightly things all over the place, changing it into a mess of rubbish concrete. the natural beauty of the laid back island, where the warmth of the sun and the free fresh sea breeze, are now commercialised for gaudy human created things that people thought were what you need. and they demanded that you pay for it.
and the same concept is going to take place in east coast parkway. they are going to spend $160 million to add all kinds of artificialities to a coastal park whose main attraction is the sun, sea and the sand. who needs all the creepy things that you can find in orchard road or any amusement parks when parents conned their kids to give themselves a few minutes of freedom?
and don't be surprised that walking in the park may no longer be free. they need to recoup the $160 million spent. huh, another causeway bridge in the making, collecting park tolls?
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4 comments:
I totally agreed with you. Singapore is fast becoming a concrete jungle and natural spaces are dwindling. The idea for the revamp of EC Park is the hope of attracting more tourist dollars and that they think will boost the economy. Alsa, at the expense of natural beauty and the memory of yesteryears.
I would advise people like us to take as many photographs as possible of EC Park as it is today, or you will have to rely on memory to recapture the past beauty.
hi anonymous,
the only things that east coast parkway needs are more underground car parks and better cleaning facilities. the rest are plain bullshit. a sheer waste of public fund.
That's right. It's public funds and therefore you are eventually going to get into a problem observed in the nature of things called (look it up) The Tragedy of The Commons.
The correct use for all property is for that property to be privately owned. The fact is the EC Park is NOT privately owned, and therefore there is NO INCENTIVE to preserve its value.
If it was privately owned there will be EVERY INCENTIVE to preserve its value, not just for the present, but for the inheritance of the next and subsequent generations.
matilah,
the issue at east coast park is the thinking and concept behind what the planners think the park should be. with a war chest of $160 mil, they are going to re do the park into probably another grotesque miniature theme park.
they do not seem to learn from the distortion of blankang mati into an artificial commercial tourist site. the natural environment and mystic of a tropical paradise is not messed with with disneyland.
we just hope that east coast park could remain a great coastal park and retaining as many of the natural features of a sea side and not another park pasted with money.
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