Encouraging community efforts to conserve our heritage and monuments

Mr Jamie Teo and members of The Ngee Ann Kongsi 

Head of Culture Unit, UNESCO, Bangkok, Dr Timothy Curtis

Distinguished Guests, 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. I'm very happy to join you this afternoon for this award ceremony.  

2. First of all, let me extend my heartiest congratulations to the Yueh Hai Ching temple as well as everyone in the Ngee Ann Kongsi on winning this prestigious UNESCO award. Well done! It's also a timely occasion because we are celebrating our Singapore Heritage Fest right at this moment. It's also a timely occasion, because this year, it's Singapore's 50th anniversary of independence, our 50th birthday, so I think this is a very timely birthday gift for Singapore.

3. This award is a very prestigious award and it has very high standards. It recognises efforts in restoring or conserving places of heritage value all over Asia-Pacific. In Singapore, we are very proud to have 7 such awards already. It speaks to the achievement that we have been able to make in this area of heritage conservation. We are a small nation with a relatively short history, we have made rapid progress in our development in these 50 years and yet we have maintained a very strong commitment to conserving and protecting our heritage. And that's why today we are able to have 7 UNESCO Awards in the area of heritage protection.    

4. Many of these conservation efforts are initiated from the ground-up by the community, working in partnership with the government agencies.  

5. In this case, it was the Ngee Ann Kongsi which committed to restoring the Temple over five years ago.  It's truly an enormous investment in the protection and preservation of our heritage. This included trips to China to seek out a specialist contractor for the fine ceramic ornamentations. Craftsmen were also brought in from Shantou to ensure that the restoration was as faithful as possible to the original Teochew style.

6. The Chairman of the Restoration Committee Mr Jamie Teo and his team also invested a lot of their personal time and effort into this project. It's truly a labour of love for everyone involved. So please join me once again in giving a big round of applause to Ngee Ann Kongsi and everyone of you for making this possible.    

7. The result of all these investments over the last few years is what you see today – the intricate frescoes of majestic dragons and stately tigers; the ceramic figurines from Chinese classics, like 三国演义 (or Romance of the Three Kingdoms). They all attest to the excellent restoration work, as well as the temple's original beauty and rich culture.

8. The Yueh Hai Ching temple is special to us for many reasons. First, it's the oldest Teochew temple in Singapore. Second, it's a temple that reflects not only the quality craftsmanship of Teochew architecture, but also tells the story of how our forefathers came to this land, and made this place their home.   

9. In the 1800s, sea travel was treacherous.  Our ancestors braved a perilous journey from Southern China to Singapore.  When they reached the shores of Singapore, they built this temple to give thanks to the Goddess of the Sea. So there is a rich history and story behind the Temple. 

10. Our early settlers wanted a better life for not only themselves, but also their descendents. They set up associations like the Ngee Ann Kongsi. And these associations in turn have been providing tremendous support to members of the community, especially those who are less well-off, those who are more vulnerable and the Association has also played a major role in giving back to our society, and building an inclusive and harmonious society in Singapore.   

11. So these values of resilience, grit, and generosity – these are some of the values of our founding father and our pioneers. And structures like Yueh Hai Ching Temple continue to embody these virtues today.  

12. That's why I'm glad to see that the hard work of restoring the Temple is now being given due recognition with this UNESCO award.  

13. Besides the Temple, we have many other heritage gems in Singapore. We have 68 national monuments in Singapore altogether. Like Yueh Hai Ching Temple, all of these monuments all have a special place in the hearts of Singaporeans. 

14. We just had a UNESCO Award today, we hope we will have another UNESCO Award before too long, because we are putting up the Botanic Gardens for inscription to be Singapore's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. This process is underway, in fact, we are awaiting the results of the assessment and we will eventually know the outcome at the World Heritage Committee meeting in Bonn in July this year. We are hopeful, and besides this birthday present, before too long, we hope we will have another birthday present for our 50th anniversary. 

15. All of these monuments and sites are sacred spaces for all Singaporeans. They contribute to our shared experiences and memories, and they help form the core of our national identity. Collectively, they tell the Singapore Story, of our past, where we came from, and our rich multi-cultural heritage.  

16. I want to assure you that the government will continue to do our part to protect our heritage and to support the preservation of our monuments. That's why I had recently announced in Parliament a $12 million top-up to our National Monuments Fund.   

17. Today's award ceremony shows that we are continuing to move in the right direction in our conservation and heritage efforts. So I thank The Ngee Ann Kongsi and the restoration team for being at the forefront of these endeavours.  

18. I believe there's much more that we can do together – to build up our heritage capabilities, strengthen our collective expertise, and to build greater public awareness about our heritage gems and national treasures. I look forward to continue working with all of you as partners in preserving our shared heritage. Thank you very much.