Many Sengkang West residents are unhappy about the decision of HDB to house a columbarium inside a proposed Chinese Temple in the heart of their town. They argue that they were not told of this when they decided to purchase public housing in Sengkang. The Fernvale Lea future residents are more affected than the others because of the close proximity of their homes to the temple.
The current government policies are efficient and dispassionate. To residents of Sengkang West, being forced to live next to a columbarium where the ashes of thousands of dead people are stored in urns is highly unfair. The current MP for Sengkang West does not seem to empathize. How would MP Lam Pin Min like it if a graveyard was built around his house without him being told about it? It is not about superstition alone. Sengkang West is a new town with mostly young families. Does it seem reasonable to house them alongside the dead? And forcing them to see a columbarium everyday as they go around the town? The quality of life in Sengkang West will be severely affected if this columbarium is built where it has been planned.
Moreover, there has been very little transparency regarding this matter. The columbarium was never mentioned explicitly in the brochures the home owners received. Instead, there was the phrase "ANCILLARY USE" approved by URA. Okay, here's the definition: providing necessary support to the primary activities or operation of an organization, system, etc. "ancillary staff"
It was only recently that residents found anything to do with "columbarium" in the brochure and this part was printed below the map in fine print so small that you'd need a magnifying glass to read it. Here is the photo of the map. Try to read the words yourself:
As many netizens have rightfully commented, this is not different from how Mobile Air and Jover Chew tricked customers into signing up for a scam. In both cases, the fine print contained information that was not made known to the buyer.
MP Dr Lam Pin Min facilitated a dialogue session between residents and the Australian funeral services company, Life Corporation, which won a tender in July 2014 to build the Chinese temple in Fernvale. However, the dialogue session did not achieve anything even though it overran by an hour due to persistent questions from the residents. Resident Ms Sharon Toh, a resident of Fernvale Link asked the panel which comprised of Mr Simon Hoo, Chief Executive Officer of Life Corporation Pte Ltd and Dr Lam Pin Min about the details of the company and what the company would be offering in the Chinese temple. It was revealed that Life Corp is the parent company but its subsidiary, Eternal Pure Land itself is the owner, developer and operator of the temple site. Ms Sharon then pointed out that Eternal Pure Land is not registered as a religious organisation in Singapore, and Simon Hoo agreed to this. At this point, Ms Sharon demanded to know if Eternal Pure Land was a not-for-profit organisation, and Simon Hoo said it was not a not-for-profit organization either. He further conceded that it was not even a charity. Which meant that the building of a columbarium and Chinese Temple in Fernvale was a purely commercial venture!
Ms Sharon then said "If it’s ‘no’ to everything, in that case, you all should also not be registered with the Singapore Buddhist or Singapore Taoist Association.""If you are bidding in the name of Life Corp, I think this is a serious problem. If you are bidding in the name of Life Corp, a listed company, can I say that you are falsely using the name of religion as a way for your listed company?"
Instead of letting Simon Hoo reply to this, Dr Lam instead told her that the problem has two entirely different aspects. "The first aspect is having the Chinese temple with columbarium service located in Fernvale Link. The other aspect will be actually the tendering and the running of the Chinese temple activities." He urged her not to lump the two issues together. To me, this seems like throwing smoke bombs. Apparently Ms Sharon also thought so, because she then asked "But Mr Lam, if he (Simon and Life Corp) does not belong to any religious groups, how can they claim it to be a Chinese Temple?"
In the first place, how can the proposed temple at Fernvale be a real Chinese Temple when it is being built by a non-Buddhist organization?! Furthermore, it is profit-motivated. It claims to provide up-to-date, automated columbarium services. May I know how much they want to charge for all this? Moreover, it has come to light that the company, Life Corporation, has zero expertise and experience in the management of a columbarium or even a temple but was awarded the project to build the columbarium. Apart from this, Life Corporation was set up with just $1 paid up capital just days before the tender for the columbarium-cum-temple closed.
Isn't this suspicious?! An unknown $1 company with ZERO expertise in Buddhist matters shows up last minute, outbids religious organizations and wins the tender for a Chinese temple on that site? And the information about the columbarium inside the brochures was hidden in the fine print instead of being made known to the residents. This is no ordinary Chinese temple but a large building hosting services for profit. Why is all the relevant information not made known to the residents? Furthermore, it is an insult to Buddhists to have their religion commercialized for profit.
I feel that Dr Lam is wrong. The issues are linked. He cannot choose to focus on the first aspect separately. In doing so, he and the mainstream media have painted a too simplistic picture of Sengkang West residents as being petty and selfish. We hear the mainstream media and some netizens talking about a "Not In My Backyard" syndrome, portraying the residents as petty people who just want the columbarium placed elsewhere. They are all missing the forest for the trees. The crux of the matter is transparency! That is what Sengkang West residents are so unhappy about. They want a say in what goes on in their estate. How can the MP, HDB and URA work independently without making all relevant details known to the residents?! This method of running the town is prescriptive and unfair.
Given the lack of transparency and the feeling of betrayal, it is only fair that the residents of Sengkang West are given a second chance to make their voices heard at the ballot box. This is not necessarily a vote against Dr Lam. We want a chance to hear the various proposals on how to solve this fiasco and how feasible each one is. A rational and consultative debate is what can best solve this matter. The dialogue session itself was a good gesture by Dr Lam but it was unproductive. It came across as prescriptive rather than helpful. When residents vote for a MP during an election, they are agreeing to a particular development plan for the estate. We have reached a crossroads where the MP is not actually representing the residents' interests; he seems to be unable to empathize with the situation we face. Hence, it is fully justified that Sengkang West residents have a sort of referendum on how developments in our ward should be managed in future. This is the Singapore Conversation we want now. If there is a re-election now, this is the only issue of importance to us - transparency in the management of our estate, especially for the building of this columbarium. It is definitely not about being petty and not wanting a columbarium for the sake of it. And unlike what the mainstream media implies, we are not greedy and just seeking compensation for the drop in the future resale prices of our flats.
Sean
TRS Contributor