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Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
S'pore's age is showing in its latest draft masterplan – and that's a good thing
News analysis S'pore's age is showing in its latest draft masterplan – and that's a good thing SINGAPORE – Hanging in the atrium and pasted on the glass walls of The URA Centre in Maxwell Road are portraits of people – members of the public, activists, architects and others who call Singapore home. Some of them were among nearly 220,000 people who took part in a months-long exercise to put together a new blueprint that will chart the country's development for the next 10 to 15 years. Unveiled by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on June 25, in Singapore's 60th year of independence, the Draft Master Plan 2025 and its accompanying exhibition show Singapore's age – and that is a good thing. Initiatives under the blueprint demonstrate that Singapore is now old enough and eager to tell its story through its conservation programme or by other means of remembrance. Telling Singapore's story While Singapore's unlikely and rapid growth since independence has been well documented, the country's post-independence buildings have been under-represented in the more than 7,200 buildings and structures conserved thus far. At the launch of the draft masterplan exhibition, URA announced a thematic framework that will improve the way it assesses buildings' significance, by considering how they contributed to Singapore's history under at least one of four themes – economy, housing, social and defence. On top of the architectural, historic, traditional and aesthetic lenses through which buildings are considered for conservation, the thematic framework broadens the scope used to assess buildings, and considers what they mean in Singapore's story – and to Singaporeans. The exhibition hints at the buildings and sites that the authorities have in mind. Facade of Prima Flour Mills, which was Singapore's first flour mill when it opened in 1963. PHOTO: ST FILE URA cited Prima Flour Mill in Keppel Road, which started operations in 1963 as Singapore's first flour mill, as well as Selegie House, also completed in 1963 as the country's then tallest mixed-use development. The hope is that as Singapore turns 60, this renewed emphasis on telling the nation's story, as well as a more holistic heritage framework, will prevent another nationally loved building – like the old National Library – from being lost to redevelopment. The old National Library at Stamford Road, which was demolished after its closure in 2004. PHOTO: ST FILE Time for details With decades of work shaping the city-state and Singaporeans' basic needs largely met, the planners of today are looking beyond just quantity – the need to rapidly establish new towns – and focusing on improving the quality and variety of existing living environments. By 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be 65 or older. As the population greys, talk surrounding new homes is now not just about whether they are public or private, but also whether they are senior-friendly, with more assisted living options and senior activity centres in the pipeline. In the recreational realm, the authorities have in recent years also focused more on quality. In the last decade, large, airy 'community living rooms' have become a feature of new and refurbished malls, giving patrons a comfortable space in which to chill out and chat, read a book, or sip a coffee. Called Privately-Owned Public Spaces, or Pops, more than 30 of these spaces have sprung up, thanks to guidelines that URA rolled out in 2017. Geneo's Privately-Owned Public Space, The Canopy, which opened earlier in 2025. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH The provision of Pops shows the detail that goes into planning – not just providing malls, but using policy levers to nudge developers towards providing meaningful and accessible public spaces. While areas where basic infrastructure is already in place may be easy to overlook, planners have continued making improvements. Upcoming efforts to upgrade the walking and cycling paths in three identity corridors – elongated stretches with identities and characters that the authorities aim to strengthen – are a case in point. A stretch of Zion Road between Ganges Avenue and River Valley Road will be repurposed to accommodate wider walking and cycling paths. The stretch of Zion Road between Havelock Road and River Valley Road will be repurposed for wider walking and cycling paths. PHOTO: NATIONAL PARKS BOARD And along a stretch of Kallang River next to St Andrew's Junior College where there already is a park connector, more public spaces and cycling paths are being planned for visitors and students to enjoy the waterfront. New cycling paths along the riverbank fronting St Andrew's Village will connect to the Kallang Park Connector. PHOTO: URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY These plans show that planners are not just focused on creating new estates, but are continuously finding ways to improve the living environment for residents. Be that as it may, the provision of more homes remains a key priority. The upcoming redevelopment of Sembawang Shipyard, Kranji Racecourse and Paya Lebar Air Base shows that future development needs are still front and centre, while as-yet-undeveloped land plots slated for housing remain in areas such as Tagore and Clementi Road. Users as experts In many aspects of the draft masterplan, public feedback was sought . Improvements to existing areas, such as upgrades to walking and cycling infrastructure along the identity corridors, were proposed after engagements with 2,300 residents and users. Draft Master Plan 2025 marked the most extensive engagement exercise URA has conducted so far, with nearly 220,000 people engaged. It trumps the more than 15,000 engaged for the Long-Term Plan between 2021 and 2022 – during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Long-Term Plan, which informs the draft masterplan, charts the country's needs for the next 50 years and beyond. All this shows that when it comes to urban planning, regular users of spaces are the experts. URA's engagement efforts are in line with broader global trends in urban planning, which has become much less top-down or expert-led, and where citizens have a stake. To ensure Singaporeans were heard, multiple exhibitions and roadshows were organised for the draft masterplan from October 2023, which almost 186,000 people visited. More than 26,000 people participated in focus-group discussions, workshops and other conversations. About 7,000 people responded to public surveys. Some members of the public even joined planners in kayaks and paddled down Kallang River, as part of efforts to generate ideas on how to improve an identity corridor there. Participants at a kayaking expedition in Kallang River organised by the URA on July 21, 2024. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY Such interactions build trust and understanding between those with differing needs and interests, and between the public and planners. The latest land-use plans show that public feedback does make a difference. In response to suggestions from a focus-group discussion for the Katong-Joo Chiat area, where participants requested more shaded public spaces and seating, URA is planning a new pedestrian mall in East Coast Road, between i12 Katong shopping centre and Katong V mall. The future pedestrian mall in Katong could include landscaping, seating and recreational spaces for community use and interactions. PHOTO: URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Engaging widely for Draft Master Plan 2025 is a step in the right direction, and it would augur well for URA to keep up this scale of outreach efforts for future reviews of the masterplan. Only then can land-use plans closely mirror the needs of the public. A long-term endeavour While a refreshed blueprint is put out roughly once every five years, planning is an ongoing endeavour, with old plans revived and new ones in the works for years. Upcoming developments under the draft masterplan – such as turning Bishan into a business hub and the rejuvenation of Istana Park and its surrounds – were already announced in 2019, following the previous review of the masterplan. Reaching further back, plans to build new homes in Pearl's Hill were announced in June 2003. Yet much of the land there that has been zoned for residential use has not had new homes built on it for the past two decades . Outram Park Complex on the day of its official opening in 1970. The HDB-built complex was demolished in the early 2000s. PHOTO: ST FILE After works on the Thomson-East Coast Line were completed in the area , these plans were presented again in November 2023, when the authorities said 6,000 new public and private homes will be built. A 2004 photograph shows the area the Outram Park Complex once occupied (left), which has been vacant for more than two decades. PHOTO: ST FILE Notably, a plan revealed in 1991 to reclaim a 'Long Island' off East Coast Park has in recent years been revived as a coastal protection solution, in addition to meeting other needs. It may be hard to reconcile Singapore's pace of rapid urban change with the protracted, continuous nature of longer-term urban planning. Yet, as the Draft Master Plan 2025 has shown, Singapore can make development decisions that honour its past and reflect the needs of its citizens, while remaining open to change. Ng Keng Gene is a correspondent at The Straits Times, reporting on issues relating to land use, urban planning and heritage. 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Scotsman
2 days ago
- General
- Scotsman
Dear Library, thanks for a lifetime of enjoyment with books
I can't wait to pop into the National Library to see their new exhibition, Dear Library, which marks the library's 100th birthday. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Books and libraries have been an important part of my life from when I was a toddler. Today, I am lucky enough to live within a very short walking distance of my local library. The National Library is just down the road and with my library card, I can even go online and read glossy magazines to my heart's content. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Borrowing my fortnightly fix of books was rather more of a challenge growing up in rural south west Scotland, which is why my mother and I were delighted when a mobile library started in our area. She died very recently, peacefully in her bed, surrounded by books and some of my fondest memories of her are the times we spent together choosing books to read. We shared many of the same taste in authors, though she was rather taken aback when, as a rebellious 14-year-old, I came home with a copy of Das Kapital by Karl Marx. 'I think you will find it heavy-going,' she predicted. She was right. I don't remember getting past the first chapter. Catcher in the Rye was more my style. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Little did I dream when I was poring over Jean Plaidy's historical novels or losing myself in F Scott Fitzgerald's magical prose that one day I too would be an author. At the ripe old age of 60, I embarked on a new, (very) part-time career as a writer of non-fiction. My first book, published at the peak of the pandemic, tells the story of Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries. My husband and I spent six months living there in 2019, interviewing scores of people from the then Vice-President to a traditional midwife. The Spirit of Malawi was not a best seller and the book's research cost me far, far more than the modest royalties I received, but it was the proudest day of my life when it was published. And last year, I was privileged to co-edit The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht with my good friend, Lucy Hunter Blackburn. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Working on my kitchen table, we pulled together essays from more than 30 women telling the story of the five-year campaign to protect women's rights. To our huge surprise and delight, the book made the Sunday Times best seller list, and last month Lucy and I were pleased to be able to use proceeds from the book to support a charity working with women who are silenced elsewhere in the world. The Dear Library exhibition features books recommended by the public, as well as by famous authors including Ian Rankin and Val McDermid. Of course, I don't expect to see one of my books on display, not even the bestseller, but I am still very excited at the prospect of seeing which books were chosen. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad If I had to pick the one book that changed my life, it would be The Secret Seven, the first in Enid Blyton's famous series about a group of kids who solve mysteries. And the worst book I have ever read? Das Kapital, of course.
The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
Jail for Singaporean who stole money boxes with almost US$39,000 from wedding, gambling most of it away
SINGAPORE: A couple's joyous occasion was marred when a stranger stole money boxes containing red packets worth nearly S$50,000 (US$39,000) from their wedding reception. Lee Yi Wei, 36, was a former part-time banquet server and habitual gambler, who subsequently gambled almost all the money away. The man was sentenced to 12 months' jail on June 24 after admitting to one count of theft and one count of gambling with an unlicensed gambling service provider. District Judge Christopher Goh also ordered Lee to compensate the victims, failing which he will face an extra 100 days in jail. The offence happened during the wedding lunch on April 5 at the grand ballroom of JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach. State Prosecuting Officer Segathesan Kannapan told the court that Lee was familiar with the layout of the ballroom as he had worked there previously. He knew that during wedding receptions, money boxes with red packets would be placed on a registration table at the ballroom's foyer. When the table was momentarily unattended at about 12.50pm, Lee took two money boxes containing $48,939 and fled. The wedding organiser, who was notified about the missing boxes and viewed the closed-circuit television footage capturing Lee's actions, called the police at about 1pm. Investigations revealed that Lee kept the loot in a locker at the National Library in Bugis, and used S$348 of the cash to buy new clothes from Bugis Junction. After changing into the new clothing, he retrieved the rest of the money from the locker and left the library. Subsequently, he used S$60 to buy more clothes at the Raffles City shopping mall. That same day, he deposited S$36,331 of the stolen cash into a bank account via Automated Teller Machines at various locations. These cash deposits were then converted into online gambling credits. Over the next two days, he placed 195 bets via an unlicensed gambling service provider's website. He also visited the Singapore Pools outlet at Middle Road and used S$12,200 of the cash to gamble. Lee was arrested on April 7, with S$3,000 of the stolen cash still in his possession. Lee, who did not have a lawyer, apologised to the victims during his mitigation. 'I should have thought of the consequences... (It was because) of my own gambling addiction, and I acted out of desperation,' he said. 'So this is the kind of thing that you do to a person on the day of their wedding?' asked Judge Goh, to which Lee stuttered and could not reply. Judge Goh said Lee had clearly planned the offence, rather than committing it on the spur of the moment. The judge also noted that Lee was previously jailed for ten weeks over criminal breach of trust, but details of this offence were not revealed in court. Lee, who has been in remand since May, has started serving his sentence. - The Straits Times/ANN
Malay Mail
4 days ago
- Malay Mail
Gambler jailed 12 months for stealing nearly S$50,000 in red packets at Singapore wedding
SINGAPORE, June 25 — A wedding lunch at the JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach turned into a nightmare for a newlywed couple when nearly S$50,000 (RM165,658) in red packets was stolen from their reception by a former banquet server. The Straits Times reported that Lee Yi Wei, 36, was sentenced to 12 months' jail yesterday after pleading guilty to one count of theft and one count of gambling with an unlicensed service provider. The court also ordered him to repay the stolen amount, or face an additional 100 days in jail. Lee, a habitual gambler, made off with two money boxes containing S$48,939 during the wedding event on April 5. According to State Prosecuting Officer Segathesan Kannapan, he had previously worked at the hotel and was familiar with its ballroom layout and reception arrangements. Knowing that red packet collections were typically placed on a registration table in the foyer, Lee struck when the area was momentarily unattended at about 12.50pm. The theft was discovered shortly after, and the wedding organiser contacted police around 1pm after reviewing CCTV footage showing Lee's actions. Investigations revealed that Lee hid the money in a locker at the National Library in Bugis. He used S$348 of the stolen cash to buy new clothes at Bugis Junction, changed into them, then retrieved the rest of the money before spending another S$60 on clothes at Raffles City Shopping Centre. That same day, he deposited S$36,331 of the stolen cash into a bank account via multiple ATMs, converting the sum into online gambling credits. Over the next two days, he placed 195 bets on an unlicensed gambling website and used another S$12,200 to gamble at a Singapore Pools outlet in Middle Road. When Lee was arrested on April 7, police recovered S$3,000 in cash from him. Appearing in court without a lawyer, Lee said in mitigation: 'I should have thought of the consequences... (It was because) of my own gambling addiction, and I acted out of desperation.' In response, District Judge Christopher Goh questioned his motives: 'So this is the kind of thing that you do to a person on the day of their wedding?' Lee was unable to respond. The judge stressed that the theft was premeditated, not a crime of impulse. The court also heard that Lee had a previous conviction for criminal breach of trust, for which he had served a 10-week sentence. Lee has been in remand since May and has begun serving his sentence.
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
No book is entirely useless — let's support all of them
Warwick Jordan in his Hard To Find Books bookshop. Photo: Linda Robertson When Rudyard Kipling wrote "a man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition" he probably had me in mind — apart from the ammunition, of course. Thus, I almost choked on my pinot noir when I heard the National Library plans to destroy half a million books. Mark Crookston, encumbered with the title "National Library director of content services", informed us "most books haven't been requested in decades", which tells us more about the acquisitions policy of the National Library than about the quality of the books themselves. With a number like 500,000 in the firing line I feared that some of my works would be on the bonfire. However the books facing the death sentence "cover a range of topics like bibliography, religion, philosophy and computer science". Intellectual stuff — nothing of mine there. But is any book so unwanted that it should be pulped? Warwick Jordan, the standard bearer for second hand books, thinks not. Jordan started his second-hand book business from his Auckland garage in 1983 and eventually had nine outlets. His Hard To Find Books (But Worth the Effort) book stores were book lovers' meccas. The big move south came in 2013 when Jordan found just the place he needed to house 250,000 books. It was the 1873 Hallenstein building in Dowling St where once three hundred workers toiled making about 3000 garments each week "I love Dunedin: the people, the architecture and the climate," Jordan enthused. "I'm able to get a central-city location, the kind of space that would cost me $1million in Auckland." Container loads of books arrived in Dowling St and row upon row of shelving was gradually filled with thousands more books to now total 500,000. Among them were the personal libraries of Edmund Hillary, Robert Muldoon and David Lange. When my own big shift from Dunedin to Patearoa came along it was Jordan who turned up, offered a fair price and most of my books found a home at Hard To Find, including a few I should have held on to and may have to buy back. Many a university-type's library has found its way to Hard to Find and thus the lifetime collections of a professor of English or a highly respected historian await your perusal. Before long, the word spread and Dunedin's book lovers were making regular visits to the Dowling St treasure trove, using the irresistible chair lift at the front steps if they were getting on a bit. On cruise ship days you'd see the visitors happily clutching parcels of books they'd never find elsewhere. There's usually about three staff working at the Dowling St shop and when there's a vacancy applications flood in like the books themselves have. If you can talk your way into a guided tour behind the public area, you'll be in a bibliophile heaven. Stretching before you in every direction books, books and more books. Not arranged as you might find in a library but shelved as they arrive in an efficient system known only to the staff. Thus, the joy of tumbling upon the unexpected. But Jordan's David and Goliath battles with two formidable adversaries, the Catholic Church and the National Library, are making times tough for a man dedicated to books. Over 20 years ago the National Library was also in disposal mode and Jordan tendered successfully for about 30,000 books. More recently the library offered 45,000 books to Lions clubs to sell as fundraisers. Jordan believes only about 5000 books were sold and the library gave him the leftovers. Now, with another 500,000 books on death row, Jordan knows what type of book is involved. He believes about two-thirds of them would find a buyer and admits the rest could be junk which no-one wants. He knows his books and I wish him success. On the other hand, troubled waters for Hard To Find Books in Auckland could benefit the Dowling St treasure house. Jordan told the ODT last week he was looking at relocating all the Auckland shop's stock to Dunedin even though Dowling St was "already pushing it for space". If that happens it's "highly likely" Dunedin would become its sole retail outlet. Meanwhile Jordan is off to London to pick up an International Antiquarian Bookdealers' Study Scholarship to the University of London. Dunedin has been home to the country's largest second-hand book shop in the past when Newbold's in George St reigned supreme. Hard To Find Books in Dowling St carries the banner today and may yet be even larger, thanks to Jordan, the man who believes too many books is never enough. I'll drink to that — a red, of course. - Jim Sullivan is a Patearoa writer.
