Squatters into citizens : the 1961 Bukit Ho Swee fire and the making of modern Singapore
Kah Seng Loh (Author), Asian Studies Association of Australia (Issuing body)
The crowded, bustling, 'squatter' kampongs so familiar across Southeast Asia have long since disappeared from Singapore, leaving no visible trace of their historical influence on the social life in the city-state. Fifty years have passed since the great fire at Bukit Ho Swee destroyed the kampong, left 16,000 people homeless, gave rise to a national emergency and led to the first big public housing project, a seminal event in the making of modern Singapore. The author grew up in one-room rental flats in the HDB estate built after the fire. Drawing on oral history interviews, official records and media reports, the author describes daily life in squatter communities and how people coped with the hazard posed by fires. His examination of the catastrophic events of 25 May 1961 and the steps taken by the new government of the People's Action Party in response to the disaster show the immediate consequences of the fire and how relocation to public housing changed people's lives. This book explores the nature of memory and probes beneath the hard surfaces of modern Singapore to understand the everyday life of the people who live in the city
eBook, English, 2013
NIAS Press ; NUS Press, Copenhagen, Singapore, 2013