Singapore is packed with architecture of all sorts, some of them controversial but none of them more hotly debated in 2024 than the Founders’ Memorial.
Slated to open at Gardens by the Bay East, the Founders’ Memorial will feature Singapore’s first-generation leaders including the nation’s founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew.
Source: KKAA
The monument will feature exhibition galleries, an outdoor amphitheatre, educational amenities, and a five-hectare public garden. Its intention is to both capture the nation’s spirit, and inspire future generations of Singaporeans.
In September, the Government announced a S$335 million budget for the Memorial, prompting concern from netizens with many questioning the nine-figure expenditure.
First conceptualised between 2015 and 2016, the Memorial has gone through multiple rounds of public engagement and outreach.
Senior Minister (SM) Lee Hsien Loong introduced the idea in Parliament on 13 April 2015.
“A founder’s memorial need not be a grand structure, but it must stand for our ideals, our values, our hopes and aspirations. It must belong to all Singaporeans and mean something significant to us all,” he said.
“It should be a place where we and future generations can remember a key period in our history, reflect on the ideals of our founding fathers, and pledge to continue their work of nation building.”
However, following the announcement of the Memorial’s budget by the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong in September 2024, the ground sentiments from Singaporeans have been rather divided.
Source: Answers.sg
In a poll conducted on Answers.sg, about 54% of 806 respondents expressed that they felt negatively about the Founders’ Memorial, with 40% of this number voting “strongly negative”.
Of the remaining respondents, 22% felt positive about the monument while 23% were neutral.
In response to the news of the Memorial, some have questioned if the Memorial was really necessary considering that other important historical figures had monuments of smaller scales. One netizen had even described the budget as “expensive” and “extravagant”.
“I think it’s a huge splurge that isn’t really necessary,” says 33-year-old media professional Jiahui Wee.
She finds it difficult to see why the Memorial is needed, especially since Lee Kuan Yew was also against glorifying heroes and building statues to commemorate himself.
SM Lee addressed this during his Parliamentary Statement in 2015 when he first floated the idea of the memorial.
Source: Founders’ Memorial
“Mr Lee made it very clear throughout his life that he did not need and did not want any monument,” he said.
However, following the elder Lee’s passing in March of that year, proposals to commemorate Singapore’s founding PM started to come forward.
SM Lee then highlighted the importance of choosing an appropriate way to honour his late father’s achievements — and one idea was a memorial for all of Singapore’s founding fathers.
“Mr Lee was always conscious that he did not act alone, but as a member of a team. His core team included Goh Keng Swee, S Rajaratnam, Othman Wok, Hon Sui Sen, Lim Kim San, amongst others,” said SM Lee.
“Indeed, Mr Lee himself had thought that there was value in such a memorial.”
Nonetheless, there are Singaporeans who have also questioned if this would be a good use of taxpayers’ money, considering competing needs in other segments like healthcare and transport.
Source: Facebook
Sentiment on the ground is that the S$335 million could be better used to resolve pressing issues like MRT breakdowns and reducing public transport fare.
Singaporeans like Jiahui still wonder about specifics of the Founders’ Memorial.
Whether there’s going to be ticketed entry for tourists, and if there’s going to be a global demand for the attraction are some of the questions she has.
Jiahui hopes that these concerns could be addressed so Singaporeans could feel more assured that the project was well thought out.
However, not everyone is pessimistic. Many have also complimented the design and liked the proposed uses of the building.
Some netizens noted that with its strategic location near the Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay, the Memorial could also serve as a tourist attraction in the future.
Source: KKAA
For Alastair Pang, 27, the payoff for the Founders’ Memorial is intangible.
“It fosters national pride and is good for primary school kids to go and see for Learning Journeys, so they don’t keep going to the same places like the Science Centre.”
“The budget sounds like a lot, but for a nation it’s not that much money if you compare it to similar developments,” he added.
Alastair cited Jewel Changi Airport as an example, which had cost Singapore a whopping S$1.7 billion to build. Five years after it was officially opened to the public in 2019, Jewel is now an attraction of its own in the island’s East.
Others feel that while Lee Kuan Yew might have announced that he neither wants or needs any monument, he — and the other founding fathers, for that matter — deserve it.
Healthcare worker Estee Yeo, 60, believes that the Memorial is something that our founding fathers have well earned and that the grand gesture is fitting for the people who put in blood, sweat, and tears to bring Singapore from third world to first.
The whole debate seems to boil down to a single question: is the Founders’ Memorial worth it?
MS News spoke to the founder of heritage education platform The Urbanist Singapore, Yong Min Ho, 40, for his take on the matter. “Upon first hearing about the S$335 million budget for the Founders’ Memorial, my reaction was one of contemplation”, he shares.“It’s essential to recognise that significant investments in public projects often come with a variety of perspectives.”
Ho elaborated: “The question of whether the historical benefits could outweigh the costs is complex. Memorials serve as tangible reminders of our past, helping future generations understand their heritage and identity.”
The intent is not merely to erect a structure but to create a space that fosters reflection on our shared history and values, for hopefully many generations to come.
Source: KKAA
A 31-year-old museum employee who spoke to MS News echoed this point, saying that “the Memorial could be a good opportunity for Singaporeans to become more familiar with our recent past”.
He added that it could also make the spirit and values that drove the founding generation of Singaporeans “relevant and relatable” to the current generation.
Nevertheless, since the Memorial’s budget has proven to be a pressing issue, heritage content creator Ho proposes that extra measures can be taken to ease the worries of Singaporeans. Alternative funding sources is something that can be considered, as long as it doesn’t comprise the memorial’s vision.
Additionally, while he merits that there already have been considerable efforts to involve citizens, more outreach may be necessary to share the government’s intention on how much money to spend on the projects.
Despite the concerns that the majority of poll respondents have towards the Founders’ Memorial, the unease mainly stems from the amount budgeted rather than on the monument itself.
Some have proffered the idea of downsizing the project while others simply wish for more transparency on how the building will be managed in the long run.
However, there’s also a smaller percentage of the population that are in full support of the project in spite of the cost. It will be four more years before the Founders’ Memorial is completed, and till then Singaporeans will simply have to look forward to updates about the project.
In an encouraging roundup by Ho: “Remember, if done well, a good memorial will serve to engage and energise Singaporeans for many generations to come.”
Also read: Founders’ Memorial will cost S$335M to develop, annual operating costs to be worked out
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Featured image adapted from Founders’ Memorial.
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