Preserve parts of old S'pore for future generations

In the name of redevelopment and making Singapore a better place to live and work in, many famous landmarks have been earmarked for the wrecking ball.

Examples include the Rochor Centre, the seven-storey Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) flats in Redhill Close, the Tanglin Halt estate, and Pearls Centre in Eu Tong Sen Street, which has to make way for a new MRT line ("New $18b Thomson Line ready by 2019"; Aug 30, 2012).

Pearls Centre, for example, is famous for the Nam Ho travel agency and the Burger King fast-food joint.

And Rochor Centre is well known for the FairPrice supermarket, the old hardware shops, and shops selling sundries and crockery.

I pass by Outram Park quite often and, given the big sparse empty land nearby, it seems a little strange that Pearls Centre has to be torn down.

As for Rochor Centre, instead of demolishing it, part of the Rochor Canal and the surrounding area can be filled up for the construction of the North-South Expressway.

New major developments to cater to the needs and demands of our society may be essential, but let us not forget about the nostalgic parts of old Singapore that can be passed down to new generations of Singaporeans.

David Tan Yong Chuan

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