8/10/2019 The Bangsar Boy - Living in a close-knit community

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COMMENT SATURDAY METRO, 19 FEBRUARY 2011M10

Living in a close-knit communityProgress has not hampered the concept of communal living in Singapore

WHEN people first found outI was coming to Singaporefor a three-month stint,

manyof them askedme whyI choseo go to a country that was so near-

by.Why didnt you consider going

omewhere further, they asked.I replied with a shrug because I

knewexactlywhere theywere com-ng from in terms of life experi-nce, Singapore probably could notffer me much.

However, deep-rooted history,imilar culture and lifestyle aside, I

had one otherthing a Singaporeanmother.

It is more because of this fact thatfeel a connection with this islandountry.

Ever since I wasa child, we wouldmake frequent trips to visit my

randparents. As I got older, I maderiends I visited now and then.

When I started working, I oftenound myself in Singapore as well.

So, when I was told that as part ofmy fellowship programme, the uni-

ersity would be organising tours ofhe city, I went along mostly for theake of fellowship.

For example, what could a tour ofTiong Bahru one of the oldest

reas in Singapore and Toa Payoh,he model city for public housing ffer me that I didnt already know?

Interestingly enough, my mumrew up in Tiong Bahru, and her

amily lived there for many years,ven after I was born.

HDB (Housing Development

Board)flats were also not newto mes this was the only housing type iningapore that I knew of, growing

up.Over the past two weeks since I

rrived, I found myself becomingmore and more fascinated with theway the city works. I suppose itakes looking at something so famil-ar from a fresh set of eyes to snapou out of that mentality.

In this case, I have been lookinghroughthe eyesof 13 other journal-stfromacrossAsia India,Pakistan,

Nepal, Cambodia, the Philippines,Indonesia,Sri Lanka andChina,manyof whom were visiting for the firsttime.

In answering some of their ques-tions, and in listening to their obser-vations and discussions,I too startedasking questions of my own.

One of the things that has reallycapturedmy attention is Singaporesconcept of communal activities.

During the tour of Tiong Bahru,we walked past the singing birdscorner, where some folks wouldmeet in their free time. Then, afterdinner with some relatives atTanjong Pagar, I found myself capti-vated by tables full of older gentle-men sitting down playing checkers.

ConsideringthepaceofSingaporesdevelopment, and the perceivednotion of materialism attached to it,I found it oddly fascinating peoplespending time with one another.

I deduced this was made possibleby Singapores housing infrastruc-ture and areas developed with thisin mind.

The fact that most Singaporeanslive in HDB flats/apartments (over80% of the population, Ive beentold), meant they lived in a commu-nal setting.

I recall similar sights when I visit-ed a few of our local low-cost flatsback home in Kuala Lumpur. Butbecause such housing were muchless compared to Singapore, thiscommunal behaviour was not sig-nificant.

Perhaps its in the way the citywas structured. During the tour ofToa Payoh, our guide Charlotte Chuexplained how public housing wasdeveloped. The older ones (eventhen, only going back 30-40 years)featured a voiddeckat thebottom of

each building, influenced by thestilts on traditional kampunghous-es.

I remember as a kid the void deckof HDB flats my relatives lived inwhere children from the buildingwould meet and play games foot-ball, skateboarding and more and

the older folks would sit playingChinese chess.

Charlotte also mentioned mosthousing areas had a town centre forconvenient shopping (so peopledidnt need to travel far to do theirshopping), a community centre(where people can gather as well asparticipate in short courses) as wellas a public library.

I would imagine the rationalebehindthiswould be tobuilda closeknit community.

However, when I asked a few

locals about this, they said the com-munal activities are now confined tothe older generation. The youngpeople are no different from otherparts ofthe world they have differ-entinterest, andall aremore focusedon their jobs and have taken theirsocialising online.

Still, the town planners inSingapore have not given up. Manyof the newer HDB housing now fea-ture more contemporary designs toappeal to a new generation of homebuyers.

On top of that, many of them alsofeature sky-bridges from one blockto another to continue the commu-nal tradition. I was even told thatthere are online communities forpeople to engage with each otherbased on where they live.

In todays world where people are

chasingtheircareers andbeingsocialdoesnt need to be physical, I find itrefreshing that such efforts are stillmaintained.

It is harder back home of courseconsidering many of the residentialareas feature landed properties, andas such, there is little communal

space other than nearby parks andshopping centres.

Nonetheless, I really like the ideaofcommunity, especially in thistimeand age where many people do noteven know the names oftheir neigh-bours.

>NikiistemporarilybasedinSingaporeforNanyang TechnologicalUniversitysAsia Journalism Fellowship. Keep upwithhimviahisblog(www.nikicheong.com) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/nikicheong).

Moving forward:Many of the newer HDB housing in Singapore now feature more contemporary designs toappeal to a new generation of home buyers.

THEBANGSARBOY

niki@thestar.com.myNIKI CHEONG