The 1961 Bukit Ho Swee Fire and the Making of Modern Singapore
Loh Kah Seng
- Published: 2013
- Pages: 300 pp., illus.
- Series: ASAA Southeast Asia series
- Series number:
About the book
- Explores the transformation of Singapore’s urban landscape.
- Draws on oral history, official records and media reports.
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.
In a narrative that is both vivid and subtle, Squatters into Citizens lets former residents and fire victims tell their stories, allowing readers a glimpse of what lies beneath the hard surfaces of modern Singapore.
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About the author
Loh Kah Seng is Assistant Professor at the Institute of East Asian Studies, Sogang University. He grew up in one-room HDB rental flats built in Bukit Ho Swee after the fire.
Loh Kah Seng is Assistant Professor at the Institute of East Asian Studies, Sogang University. He grew up in one-room HDB rental flats built in Bukit Ho Swee after the fire.
Reviews
” (…) this study on the 1961 inferno and provision
of public housing is generally written with fluency and clarity. It would
light up certain neglected corners and fire up the enthusiasm of both general
and specialist readers for less monochromatic histories.”
” (…) this study on the 1961 inferno and provision
of public housing is generally written with fluency and clarity. It would
light up certain neglected corners and fire up the enthusiasm of both general
and specialist readers for less monochromatic histories.”