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60-457: Siglap is a residential area where a majority live in landed homes such as freehold terrace houses, semi-detached houses, and bungalows. Some of the land parcels near Siglap Centre have been redeveloped into serviced apartments and condominiums. There are also other apartments and condominiums in the Siglap area. The few Housing and Development Board flats in Siglap have earmarked since 2015 under

120-470: A chairman and 11 other members, along with three departments, the Building, Estate and Corporate departments, under the purview of a chief executive officer, who is a member of the board. Each department is further subdivided into different groups. The Research and Planning, Development and Procurement, Building Quality and Building and Infrastructure groups and the Building and Research Institute are under

180-539: A new subsidiary, HDB Corp. The HDB increased efforts to engage residents in its provision of public housing in the 2000s. These efforts included public consultation schemes and the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme , in which facilities within multiple adjacent precincts were improved or upgraded, and residents were able to provide feedback on the planned improvements. Efforts to foster more extensive resident participation were made in 2013 with

240-525: A rare full solar eclipse on 4 March 1821 and hence the darkness might have referred to the eclipse, rather than the dark clouds. Today the graves of Tok Lasam, his wife and his panglima (commander) can be found near Jalan Sempadan off Upper East Coast Road. Siglap in its early days had four kampongs, side by side each other along the coastline, they were from east to west starting from Jalan Hajijah, Kampong Hajijah, Kampong Goh Choo, Kampong Siglap and Kampong Lim Choo which ended near Siglap Road. There were also

300-606: A result, many villagers in the area could not depend on fishing as a form of livelihood and many eventually settled away or were relocated to the neighbouring estates. The reclaimed land was then redeveloped with numerous high rise flats built and the East Coast Parkway was also constructed. The area has throughout history been home to several of Singapore's Presidents, including the first President of Singapore, Yusof Bin Ishak . The terrain of Siglap can be divided into two,

360-563: A rich history of having numerous schools. Excluding the schools that have operated from the holding site campus due to PRIME initiatives by the Ministry of Education at the junction of New Upper Changi Road and Bedok South Road, these are the schools which no longer operate in the estate and all but one of which are defunct: These are the schools that have operated from the PRIME holding site campus chronologically: Marine Parade Bus Terminal

420-607: A small community of Japanese fishermen living in the area, although by the end of World War II (WWII) they had mostly vanished. The inland areas of Siglap consisted mostly of coconut and nutmeg plantations and in 1912 the Frankels bought over these plantations. The Frankels were wealthy Jewish business people originating from Lithuania and had decided to settle in Singapore after accumulating considerable wealth from their sale of rubber, bread and even furniture in Singapore and around

480-662: A sports magazine devoted entirely to sports. In 1932, Yusof joined Warta Malaya , a well-known newspaper during that time. Warta Malaya was heavily influenced by developments in the Middle East and Yusof wanted a newspaper dedicated to Malay issues. He fulfilled his vision by establishing Utusan Melayu with several Malay leaders in Singapore in May 1939. During the Japanese Occupation of Singapore , Utusan Melayu had to stop circulation as machinery used to print

540-825: A well-known Malay newspaper company at that time, before leaving in 1938 and co-founded Utusan Melayu . Yusof held many appointments within the Singapore Government. He served on the Film Appeal Committee from 1948 to 1950 and was a member of both the Nature Reserves Committee and Malayanisation Commission for a year. In July 1959, he was appointed Chairman of the Public Service Commission . On 3 December 1959, Yusof succeeded Sir William Goode as Yang di-Pertuan Negara (English: Head of State ) after

600-635: Is survived by his wife of 21 years, Puan Noor Aishah , and their three children, Orkid Kamariah, Imran, and Zuriana. Puan Noor Aishah continued her husband's legacy of public service and was the first Asian to become president of the Singapore Girl Guides Association . She and her now adult children were interviewed for the Channel NewsAsia documentary Daughters of Singapore , which screened in August 2015 as part of

660-620: Is the final resting place of many Muslims in the area in the past. Several prominent people buried there include Dr Hafeezudin Sirajuddin Moonshi founder of the first Muslim Clinic in Singapore. There are even graves allocated for the mythological Orang Bunian inside. This site coupled with Masjid Kassim located in Telok Kurau originally belonged to Ahna Mohamed Kassim bin Ally Mohamed who was endowed with it in 1921. Today

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720-786: The Bedok Reservoir Park or the East Coast Park runs west of the estate along the Siglap Canal. The Siglap Linear Park which is similar to a park connector cuts through the area too, running from Opera Estate to East Coast Park. Siglap is part of the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency and has one community centre, the Siglap South Community Centre, it is not to be confused with

780-536: The Design, Build and Sell Scheme , in which the flats were developed and sold by private developers. Nevertheless, the HDB was unable to adapt to the changes in Singapore's housing market fast enough in the early 2000s. To determine and redefine its position in the housing market, the HDB was reorganised, transferring the provision of flat loans to private banks, and corporatising its Building and Development Division to form

840-636: The Housing Board ), is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development responsible for the public housing in Singapore . Established in 1960 as a result of efforts in the late 1950s to set up an authority to take over the Singapore Improvement Trust 's (SIT) public housing responsibilities, the HDB focused on the construction of emergency housing and the resettlement of kampong residents into public housing in

900-705: The Langkat region in Indonesia . His father, Ishak bin Ahmad , was also a civil servant and held the post of Acting Director of Fisheries, Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States. His brother, Aziz Ishak , was a Malayan journalist and freedom fighter. Yusof received his early education in a Malay school in Kuala Kurau, Perak and began his English studies in 1921 at King Edward VII School in Taiping , He

960-587: The People's Action Party (PAP) won the 1959 general election . Yusof was subsequently appointed as the first president of Singapore by Parliament after the independence of Singapore on 9 August 1965. Yusof served three terms in office (2 as Yang-di Pertuan Negara) before he died on 23 November 1970 due to heart failure. He was succeeded by Benjamin Sheares on 2 January 1971. Serving as Singapore's Head of State for close to 11 years between 1959 and 1970, he

1020-421: The People's Action Party 's victory at the 1959 general elections , Yusof was appointed as Yang di-Pertuan Negara and was sworn on 3 December 1959, During his time as Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Singapore was divided by racial conflicts. Yusof actively promoted multiculturalism and reached out to people of all races to help restore trust and confidence after the 1964 racial riots . On 9 August 1965, Singapore

1080-670: The SG50 celebrations and commemorated the spouses of Yusof Ishak and David Marshall , two pioneer leaders of Singapore. Yusof participated in several sports in his youth. He won the Aw Boon Par Cup for boxing in 1932, and was the national lightweight champion in weightlifting in 1933. One of Yusof's hobbies was photography, and a collection of his photographs was donated to the National Archives of Singapore by his widow, Noor Aishah. He also cultivated orchids , and had

1140-711: The Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme for redevelopment. The East Coast Park is also located nearby, across the East Coast Parkway . The area is served by the Thomson-East Coast MRT line and the Siglap MRT station which opened in June 2024. The present area of Siglap was founded by Tok Lasam, the penghulu (chieftain) of Siglap. It is believed that he sailed to Singapore to escape

1200-405: The Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), which was then responsible for public housing in Singapore, faced many problems in providing public housing, with the rents for flats being too low to be financially sustainable but unaffordable for many of the poorer people in Singapore. Delays in approval for new housing developments greatly slowed housing construction by 1958. In the mid-1950s, in light of

1260-436: The 1980s, most flat applicants were opting to purchase them. From the late 1960s onwards, the HDB designed flats and estates with improved amenities and fittings to improve the quality of life. To further these efforts, in the 1970s and 1980s, the HDB introduced residents committees in its housing estates to promote community cohesion, loosened regulations on flat modifications, and engaged in upgrading works. These works included

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1320-462: The 1990s. These included the Design and Build and Design Plus schemes, with flats designed in collaboration with private architects and built to a higher standard than other flats, and executive condominiums, with amenities similar to private housing. Further schemes were introduced in the 2000s, such as Build-to-Order, in which construction of flats began only after applicants had applied for them, and

1380-402: The 2.02 hectares cemetery contains a distinctive yellow gate and is at least 90 over years old. Despite it being a cemetery it is entirely surrounded by landed houses and condominiums. 1°18′50″N 103°56′10″E  /  1.314°N 103.936°E  / 1.314; 103.936 Housing and Development Board The Housing & Development Board ( HDB ; often referred to as

1440-652: The British and Yusof, fanned this fervour through his publications which resulted in the formation of the United Malay Nationalist Organisation (UMNO) in 1946. However, his democratic ideals were different from UMNO's vision of reestablishing the monarchy of Malaya. This resulted in rising tensions within the Utusan Melayu and in 1959, Yusof had sold his shares he had in the company and resigned as UMNO had bought over almost all of

1500-704: The Building Our Neighbourhood Dreams! project, in which residents could propose neighbourhood improvements instead of just providing feedback, but the initial projects were not well received. The HDB began installation of solar panels on public housing blocks and in its properties in the 2010s. In 2014, together with the Economic Development Board , it initiated the SolarNova programme to handle solar panel installation on government properties and buildings. Under

1560-680: The Building department; the Estate Administration and Property, Housing Management, Community Relations and Properties and Land groups under the Estate department; and the Corporate Development, Corporate Communications, Finance, Information Services and Legal groups under the Corporate department. The HDB also controls 75% of EM Services, a company handling the upkeep of the HDB's housing estates and properties, and

1620-615: The Bukit Ho Swee estate marked the beginning of the HDB's resettlement efforts, and kampong dwellers were swiftly rehoused in public housing. By 1965, 54,430 flats had been built, with an increasing proportion of the population living in HDB dwellings. The rehousing of kampong dwellers allowed the HDB to pursue its redevelopment plans for the Central Area, and the Urban Renewal Department was formed within

1680-458: The Chinese population. At the end of the war many mass graves had been found in the area, one of such place was near the junction of Bedok South Avenue 1 and Upper East Coast Road. In 1953 during the heydays of Singapore film making, Cathay-Keris Studio, one of two major film companies in Singapore, set up its studio along Jalan Keris and the surrounding area was commonly used for shooting scenes in

1740-741: The Dutch attack on his Sultanate of Gowa in the 1660s. According to legend, it was said that dark thunder clouds had appeared when he first landed in the area which led to the name " Si-Gelap ", derived from the Malay word ‘gelap’, meaning " darkness that conceals ". Other versions of his arrival include him as a Minangkabau prince arriving from Sumatra to visit the Bugis settlements in the Tanjong Rhu area and ultimately establishing Siglap in 1809. According to historians, his arrival might have coincided with

1800-528: The Ethnic Integration Policy, which capped the racial proportions of residents in HDB estates, was introduced in 1989. The HDB began offering flats for purchase in 1964, but as many flat dwellers at the time could not afford to do so, it was initially not very successful. Applicants could use their Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions to pay for their flats beginning in 1968. The take-up rate for flat purchases increased such that by

1860-510: The HDB in 1966 to manage the redevelopment works. This department also handled the construction of new amenities in the Central Area and collaborated with private enterprises in constructing new buildings on cleared sites. However, by the 1970s, the urban renewal projects proved too large for the department to handle alone, so the Urban Redevelopment Authority , a statutory board, replaced the department in 1974. With

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1920-415: The HDB initiated a redevelopment programme, the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) in 1995, in which selected housing blocks were razed and their residents compensated. SERS carried out renewal schemes in town centres in several older estates in the late 1990s. There have been a total of 81 SERS sites as of 2018. Along with the upgrading schemes, the HDB introduced several new housing schemes in

1980-520: The HDB stopped building HUDC flats in 1985. In a bid to encourage younger people to continue living in older public housing estates, the HDB announced a large-scale upgrading scheme for those estates in 1989. Known as the Main Upgrading Programme , it attempted to improve these estates by adding new facilities to these estates, improved fittings in flats and varying the looks of the housing blocks in different precincts. In addition,

2040-659: The Housing & Development Board (HDB)'s formation, it announced plans to build over 50,000 flats, mostly in the city, under a five-year scheme, and found ways to build flats as cheaply as possible so that the poor could afford to stay in them. The HDB also continued the SIT's efforts in building emergency flats in Tiong Bahru , which were mostly used to rehouse people displaced by the Bukit Ho Swee fire in May 1961. After

2100-405: The Housing and Development Act, the HDB is tasked to plan and carry out the construction or upgrading of any building, clear slums, manage and maintain the estates and buildings that it owns, and to provide loans to people to buy land or public housing. The HDB also carries out land reclamation works and handles the infrastructure for Singapore's national resource stockpiles. The HDB consists of

2160-912: The Siglap Community Centre that serves the Bedok South Estate which is part of the East Coast Group Representation Constituency . The Wisma Mendaki Headquarters is another social facility located in the estate and serves the Malay community of the greater Geylang area too. There are various places of worship like the Bethany Evangelical Free Church , Bethesda Frankel Estate Church, Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Ean Keng Si Buddhist Temple (延庆寺), Kim San Temple (金山寺斗山宫), Masjid Kampong Siglap and The Emmanuel Assembly of God Church. The area falls under

2220-474: The city or Changi Airport . The East Coast Parkway (ECP) is an expressway that lies south of Siglap. Exit 7 and 8 of the expressway lead directly into the estate. The streets in Siglap (First to Fourth Street) off Siglap Road, were numerically named in 1958. The historic site of Kubur Kassim (also known to contain Keramat Sheikh Ali), an old Malay Cemetery that is nestled in the heart of Siglap

2280-459: The construction of the Bukit Ho Swee estate, the HDB also sought to change how estate residents behaved, and to give the state greater control over their lives. Moreover, with the new housing estates not segregated by race, the HDB facilitated the formation of multiracial communities in place of racially divided ones. Nevertheless, by the 1980s, racial divisions within HDB estates became increasingly pronounced, so to mitigate possible ethnic tensions,

2340-510: The estate that would be discharged after the rain has stopped. Siglap is served by amenities like the Siglap Centre, Fairprice Siglap New Market, and Siglap V which are found at the junction of Siglap Road and East Coast Road. East Coast Road and Upper East Coast Road are also lined with restaurants, food courts and shops. Additionally the estate has shophouses for the convenience of residents. The Siglap Park Connector that leads to either

2400-569: The expansion of old one-room flats and the construction of new amenities in older estates. In addition, the HDB started soliciting feedback from residents through the Sample Household Surveys (SHS) from 1975. In 1982, control over the Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) was transferred to the HDB. With the prices of HUDC flats approaching those of private housing, and the middle class being able to purchase HDB flats,

2460-464: The films. In 1962 a huge fire broke out at Kampong Siglap when firecrackers were burnt out of control and set the village ablaze. The few HDB flats built in the area were built in the aftermath of the fire to house the homeless victims. Starting from the mid-1960s, the Government embarked on an ambitious land reclamation project that saw the coastline of the entire East Coast Region shift outwards. As

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2520-587: The findings of the Committee on Local Government, the government initiated efforts to set up a new housing authority in place of the SIT. These efforts culminated in the Housing and Development Bill, which was read to the Legislative Assembly in 1958 and passed the next year. With the bill's passing, the HDB was formed in February 1960, taking over the SIT's public housing responsibilities. On

2580-427: The fire, the HDB focused its efforts on Bukit Ho Swee 's redevelopment, rapidly designing and constructing a public housing estate on the fire's site, with people displaced by urban renewal projects and kampong fires rehoused in the estate's flats. Their occupants disliked the one-room emergency flats, so by the mid-1960s, the HDB had moved on to building larger flats, especially around the Central Area. Nevertheless,

2640-528: The first president of Singapore between 1965 and 1970. His portrait appears on the Singapore Portrait Series currency notes introduced in 1999. Prior to his appointment as Singapore's head of state , Yusof was a well-known journalist who co-founded Utusan Melayu , which was in circulation until 9 October 2019. He started his career in journalism after his graduation from Raffles Institution in 1929. In 1932, he joined Warta Malaya,

2700-496: The first few years of its existence. This focus shifted from the late 1960s, with the HDB building flats with improved fittings and offering them for sale. From the 1970s, it initiated efforts to improve community cohesion in its estates and solicit resident feedback. In the 1990s and 2000s, the HDB introduced upgrading and redevelopment schemes for mature estates, as well as new types of housing intended to cater to different income groups in partnership with private developers. The HDB

2760-564: The infrastructure of Singapore's national resource stockpiles. The HDB is also a major purchaser of state land from the Government with the purchase price payable by HDB going into the past reserves . By the 1940s and 1950s, Singapore experienced rapid population growth, with the population increasing to 1.7 million from 940,700 between 1947 and 1957. The living conditions of people in Singapore worsened, with many people living in informal settlements or cramped shophouses . Moreover,

2820-657: The inland and the outer coastal areas, with the former considerably hilly while the latter because it had mostly been reclaimed generally flat. The uneven terrain inland can be seen with the steep descent of Fidelio Street into the lower lying areas of Opera Estate at the Fidelio Circus. This has caused frequent flooding in Opera Estate in the past whenever it rained. The Government has since, starting from 1996, improved drainage and installed Singapore's first underground water detention tank to store excess rain water from

2880-561: The jurisdiction of the Siglap Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP), which is part of the Bedok Police Division , and the 2nd Singapore Civil Defence Force DIV HQ. There are currently several schools in the area namely (4 of which are public government schools): Despite the lower population density of the estate because it contains mostly landed houses, as opposed to HDB flats, the area still has

2940-517: The paper were requisitioned to publish the Japanese paper, Berita Malai . Yusof then moved back to Taiping and with the remaining money he had, he opened a provision shop and lived there until the war ended in 1945 and Utusan Melayu resumed publication. In 1957, Yusof moved to Kuala Lumpur and in February 1958, the headquarters of Utusan Melayu was also relocated to the city. During the post-war period, many Malays wanted independence of Malaya from

3000-638: The properties of other public organisations. HDB employees are organised under a house union, the HDB Staff Union (HDBSU). Yusof Ishak This is an accepted version of this page Yusof bin Ishak DUT SK DUBC PJG ( / ˈ j ʊ s ɒ f b ɪ n ˈ ɪ s h ɑː k / YUUSS -off bin ISS -hahk ; 12 August 1910 – 23 November 1970) was a Singaporean journalist and senior civil servant who served as

3060-482: The region. They settled in the estate and developed the area by building roads named after famous Operas of their time including Carmen and Aida , which gave rise to the name of Opera Estate as it is known today. They were influential people that welcomed distinguished guests like Albert Einstein to visit and tour the area. At the onset of WWII the Frankels left for the United States. The area as well as along

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3120-599: The shares of Utusan Melayu . Yusof held several appointments within the Singaporean government, he had served on the Film Appeal Committee from 1948 to 1950 and was also a member of both the Nature Reserves Committee and Malayanisation Commission for a year. After his resignation from Utusan Melayu , Yusof took the position of Chairman of the Public Service Commission of Singapore at the invitation of then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew . Following

3180-682: The south of Siglap, in contrast, however the services cutting through the Frankel and Opera Estate areas are limited and these services are 32, 40, 42, 135 and 401. Siglap is served by the Kembangan and Bedok MRT Stations, on the East West MRT line . However, in 2023 a closer station, Siglap MRT station , on the Thomson–East Coast line , will open on Marine Parade Road near Victoria School and bring greater and faster connectivity to

3240-401: The wider East Coast Stretch saw machine gun pillbox being installed by the British in anticipation of a sea-bound attack by the Japanese that never materialise. During the Japanese Occupation, the coasts of Siglap and several of the nearby hills were used as execution sites in the Sook Ching operation carried out by the Japanese to clear out anti-Japanese personnel, the operation mostly targeted

3300-413: Was Singapore's longest-serving Head of State until S. R. Nathan surpassed this record in August 2010. Born on 12 August 1910 in Kampung Padang Gajah, Terong , Taiping , Perak Darul Ridzuan , which was then part of the Federated Malay States (present day Malaysia ), Yusof was the eldest son in a family of nine. He was of Minangkabau descent from his father's side while his mother was a Malay from

3360-456: Was commissioned as the first ever cadet officer in the Corps due to his outstanding performance. Yusof received his Cambridge School Certificate with distinction in 1927, he was also awarded the Queen's Scholarship and decided to prolong his studies at Raffles Institution until 1929. After graduating from Raffles Institution in 1929, Yusof began his career as a journalist and went into partnership with two other friends to publish, Sportsman ,

3420-556: Was expelled from Malaysia and became an independent nation . The position of Yang di-Pertuan Negara was abolished and Yusof then became the first President of Singapore . As president, Yusof reached out to the people to reassure citizens astonished by Singapore's expulsion and continued to promote multiculturalism and a national identity within the country by visiting constituencies and reached out to different racial and religious groups. Yusof served for three terms in office before he died on 23 November 1970 due to heart failure. Yusof

3480-440: Was operational from 5 July 1981 till 16 September 2001 when it was closed to make way for the construction of Victoria School. Most of the bus services that originated from the terminal were subsequently extended to Bedok Bus Interchange or Upper East Coast Bus Terminal further east, while other routes were cut short. Today, there are still many bus services that ply along Upper East Coast Road and Marine Parade Road that run through

3540-458: Was reorganised in 2003 to better suit Singapore's housing market in the 2000s. Efforts to engage residents with upgrading schemes increased in the 2000s and 2010s, and the HDB also began solar panel installation works from the early 2010s. The HDB consists of a 12-member board and three departments, the Building, Estate and Corporate departments. Besides the provision of public housing, the HDB handles land reclamation works in Singapore and maintains

3600-436: Was then admitted to Victoria Bridge School in 1923 when his father was posted to Singapore. In 1924, he was enrolled in Raffles Institution for his secondary education. During his time in Raffles Institution, he played various sports such as swimming, weight lifting, water-polo, boxing, hockey and cricket and had also represented the school in various sporting events. He was also part of the Singapore National Cadet Corps and

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