Name: Cai Xinyi

Tutorial Group: TG06

CC0107 World Histories and Issues
GBA Individual Summary
Singapore River
My group decided to explore the Singapore River as it features meaningful landmarks such
as the Raffles Landing Site, Clarke Quay and Merlion Park. This site is a popular tourist
attraction spot as it recollects the history of Singapore and symbolizes the journey towards
the success of Singapore.
The Raffles Landing Site, which holds the famous statute of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles
is built to commemorate his first landing on Singapore. In 28 Jan 1819, Sir Stamford
Raffles landed in Singapore while he was searching for a new British settlement around the
region. Discovering that Singapore was a strategic location, he signed a treaty on behalf of
British East India Company to set up a trading post in Singapore. He then planned to
remodel Singapore from a small fishing village into a modern city by proposing the
building of facilities such as roads, schools and lands. This site holds significant importance
as it signifies the strong foundation he had built on Singapore. Raffles insights and wellformed plans have contributed significantly to the success of Singapore today.
In the early days of flourishing trade, water pollutants caused by human activities had
turned Singapore River into a dump waste. With increasing number of squatters, farms and
street hawkers contributing to the environmental hazard, late Prime Minister Lee Kuan
Yew implemented a massive cleanup programme in 1977. Within 10 years, night soil
buckets and sand washing were phased out, heavy industries and street hawkers were
relocated. After the cleanup efforts by government and locals, aquatic life could thrive
again and Singaporeans were able to access clean water. I would like to highlight that
throughout the process of the cleanup efforts, many might be affected in terms of relocation
but however it has brought together the spirit of the country in progressing for the better
future.
Lastly, traditional bumboats were remade as a popular tourist attraction ride along
Singapore River where local and tourists can discover more about Singapores history as
well as the amazing transformation of Singapore today. Without Stamford Raffles and the
initiative of the cleanup project, Singapore would not have a blooming economy and clean
Singapore River like today.
Word Count: 358 words
References
Quay, R. (2015). Old & New Singapore River. Robertsonquay.com. Retrieved 4 October
2015, from http://www.robertsonquay.com/singapore-river.html
Yoursingapore.com,. (2015). Raffles Statue. Retrieved 4 October 2015, from
http://www.yoursingapore.com/see-do-singapore/history/memorials/sir-raffles-statuelanding-site.html
National Library Board, S. (2015). Sir Stamford Raffles's career and contributions to
Singapore | Infopedia. Eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 4 October 2015, from
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_715_2004-12-15.html