Were local groups even consulted about Bukit Brown plan?

TODAY Voices
Nov 2, 2011

Were local groups even consulted about Bukit Brown plan?

Letter from Danny G Tan

The report "Affected Bukit Brown graves to be documented" (Oct 25) said the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Land Transport Authority will work with local groups to document the graves affected by the new road that will cut through Bukit Brown Cemetery.

The two agencies said the work and discussions "have been going on for a few months".

This contradicts what the Singapore Heritage Society said a few days earlier, that it was informed about the road but not consulted during the decision-making process.

Around the same time, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke in Parliament about citizens having "a say, a stake, and a sense of belonging" in Singapore.

But with the Bukit Brown road, it seems the agencies had made up their minds; involving the local groups was almost an afterthought.

This putting of the horse before the cart was probably not what Mr Lee had envisioned in the heartening speech he made.