Hwa chong students want station named after their founder

last SG · 2008-10-12T16:28:10+00:00

hwa chong pls go fuck yourselfbrats

teraexa SG

talk so much for what?

in the end it's just a big ego demostration.

argue for what? i seriously don't understand why people really bother go petitioning or arguing over such minute things.

if my sch's ppl were as wuliao as some people here, marymount station will be called Raffles Station (may be confusing with Raffles Place though but that's not the crux).

why so ma fan? a station is just a station.

i am more concerned whether train fares rise though.

gohby SG

talk so much for what?

in the end it's just a big ego demostration.

argue for what? i seriously don't understand why people really bother go petitioning or arguing over such minute things.

if my sch's ppl were as wuliao as some people here, marymount station will be called Raffles Station (may be confusing with Raffles Place though but that's not the crux).

why so ma fan? a station is just a station.

i am more concerned whether train fares rise though.

无聊meh? Cannot even express myself ah? I dont even see it as an argument, but rather, an exchange of ideas. Big ego demonstration? I think you really think too much about ego 了. Oh, you're from Raffles? No wonder la!

SBS9889U SG

Spare a thought for HCI students who will have to bear the noise of the construction right in their school in the near future, especially those in the college section.

teraexa SG

Please refrain from hijacking the right to expressing one's opinion for advancing counter-productive agendas.

Do not abuse the right of expression for creating noise pollution with your overly large empty vessels that make even vacuum look filled.

An exchange of ideas? I hardly consider it so since the flow of ideas went predominantly from others to your thick skull while you reciprocated with nothing but hot air which I will loathe to label as 'ideas'.

In other words, you have been participating in an intellectual monologue. Sadly, your mind ain't the one making up the monologue.

caleb_chiang SG

Kenna force by school to vote is it?

FireIce SG

at least they are crediting an honorable pioneer of SG

and not trying to make a name for their own sch

tts why i like HC guys

laurence82 SG

me like fifi

teraexa SG

at least they are crediting an honorable pioneer of SG

and not trying to make a name for their own sch

tts why i like HC guys

a bit weird to use the MRT station as the way to honour him.

hwa chong is definitely not his greatest nor only contribution to singapore.

deathmaster SG

I actually though about Expo and Changi Airport after I posted my own post; the nature of Changi Airport and Expo is quite different from Hwa Chong Insitution, a school, famous and branded as it may be though.

Expo is part of the government's plan to attract more long-term conventions and exhibitions into Singapore; the Singapore Expo complex (both building and station) is an integral part of that plan. Being a long-term plan, I highly doubt the government had been shortsighted as to build an exhibition hall there and then move it out in the next 20 or 30 years (or even as long as the next 50 to 70 years). That, plus with the combination of Changi Airport (which I will be coming on shortly), the business park, and the industrial areas nearby, it's not likely the government slapped Singapore Expo down there for the short-to-mid term; unless there's some upheaval in Singapore, or the URA decides to redevelop the entire area en masse (the latter being almost impossible given the nature of the industrial area, and the fact that Seletar is being developed because space is running out there).

Changi Airport is a unique case. An airport, like a metro network, is for the long term; plus, Changi Airport station is dedicated to serving Changi Airport, and nowhere else. Even in the unlikely scenario that Changi Airport does moves out, the station will almost surely move with the airport, with the original being closed down unless they find another use for the land or buildings where Changi Airport could used to stand to justify an MRT station, which could result in that station being renamed - again, an almost impossible scenario. It's unique in Singapore's MRT system, being completely dependent on one single building complex for it's load; every other MRT station in Singapore serve a combination of buildings and building complexes, hence why they need names reflecting the area rather than a single building or building complex in the area.

Hwa Chong Insitution, on the other hand, and as famous and branded it may be, is a school, and history has proven to us that schools, even the most famous ones, get moved around. While the Singapore Expo and Changi Airport have very long-term and dedicated plans backing their current locations, no such plans exist to back Hwa Chong Insitution's current location for the long-term. We must also be realistic about the scale of things here: both Singapore Expo and Changi Airport cater to a very broad public, while Hwa Chong Insitution's catering is narrowed down to the students studying there, as well as the people working or teaching there. Expo and Changi Airport's names are relevant not only to the area, but to a large number of people going to the area; the name Kah Kee, on the other hand, will only be immediately relevant to the students and staff of Hwa Chong Insitution. Also, Duchess station is not a station dedicated to students of Hwa Chong Insitution, but also to people living in the Duchess and Watten neighbourhoods.

As for the part about Tan Kah Kee being needed to be honoured, that I have to agree. But - if he was really such a great person, why wasn't he honoured earlier in such a manner? Why weren't there roads, buildings, or such being named after him before this? Why wait until now, in this question of naming an MRT station (which should take it's name after something already established, rather than being the "pioneer" for new names in the area)?

On your argument about ignorant Singaporeans not knowing about the great people in Singapore's history, I can't argue with that. Many of the younger Singaporeans are indeed ignorant on this point.

On the point of names being used as jokes, it's not every name that can be tweaked as such - some names are more prone to such jokes than others, especially if they can be seen as very obvious puns or are obvious alternative names for something else. Your cited example, Khatib, has no puns that can be immediately obvious to most Singaporeans - possibly, when pronounced, it sounds like "car tip" or "car tick", but that mostly happens after people say the name over and over again, and sounds forced; "Kah" in Kah Kee, on the other hand, has it's pun in full plain view of anyone who speaks Hokkien; "Kah" sounds like "leg" in Hokkien, and this is a pun that is obvious to many Hokkien-speaking people; the leg is a body part that sometimes have dirty, negative connotations, and this connotations can result in extremely disrespectful jokes on the name, something I believe will cause Tan Kah Kee to turn over in his grave if he knows about it!

On a final note, I do hope you do not take me as trying to flame you, but while I do agree that there's a lot of immaturity and childishness in this thread, your arrogant attitude and you going around calling names will not help to turn them to your opinion nor help bring mature discussion into this matter; in any case it will only isolate people with your opinions even further, and will only bring about more immaturity. You called others childish, but if you looked at your arrogant attitude in your own mirror, you will find that you yourself is not any better than the people you are spitting on.

With all I have said, I think I will cease participating in this discussion. My arguments, I feel, are enough fodder against your arguments and for anyone who supports my opinion. I do respect differeing opinions; what I have no respect for are immature attitudes. If you insist on using such attitudes to counter me, then this whole debate is effectively derailing from it's subject matter.

Plus, I have more important things I need to attend to in my life.

i must point out that it is unlikely for hwachong to move out, unlike the raffles school.

Like what Gohby said, hwachong is built on private land, and the land deed belongs to hwachong, not the government.

raffles, unlike hwachong, had a public land deed, with the land belonging to the government, and thus, they can be moved as and when the government requires the land.

and given the size of the 2 schools, hci and raffles, now that both have merge into super-sized 6-years school, and given the scarcity of land in singapore, i doubt that the government is able to find alternative sites for the 2 schools, if they are ever to be moved.

unless the government take back(a very serious issue if that really happens, to claim back that big chunk of privately owned land) the entire piece of hci land, hci should still be around in bukit timah for a long long time. so, i guess ur arguments tt hci not being a permanent fixture in bukit timah are invalid.

gohby SG

Please refrain from hijacking the right to expressing one's opinion for advancing counter-productive agendas.

Do not abuse the right of expression for creating noise pollution with your overly large empty vessels that make even vacuum look filled.

In other words, you have been participating in an intellectual monologue. Sadly, your mind ain't the one making up the monologue.

Oh, so fiery! I am so so so scared! LOL. Knowing full well that your intention is to spite me with your use of strong language, (which clearly shows how agitated you are :D), I refuse to stoop down to your level and engage you. You can have the last say and say whatever you want. ;D

teraexa SG

alright. i will have my complimentary "last say" then.

sorry for frightening you with my caustic remarks. anything less than that intensity would have failed to get through that thick concrete-like skull of yours. =)

mrtfan SG

Hi all,

If you are able and willing to put aside all your inherent biasness and pre-conceived notions about this school, ask yourself, whats inherently wrong with naming it Kah Kee station? Tan Kah Kee is a philanthropist who donated large sums of money, not only to Hwa Chong, but to build other schools like Tao Nan School and Xiamen University in China. I'd say his altruism is certainly laudable. And thats only snippets of his contributions. If you dont know about him, go and read up before you allow your inherent biasness and illogical feelings to blind your rational thinking. Personally, its okay if you contain such petty and unsubstantiated biasness within yourself. Because from the way most of you put forth your points, you are making a laughing stock of yourself, seriously. Speaks volume of your maturity and jealousy for some, to put it very bluntly.

Seriously, Duchess MRT station or Watten MRT station!?! If I were to ask you where is Duchess Rd, do you know where it is? Watten? Tsk tsk. You would probably describe Duchess Rd as a road "beside Hwa Chong". If I were to say Hwa Chong, much as many of you hate to admit, you will know decisively that its smack right in the middle of Bukit Timah. So isn't it more feasible to have the station named Hwa Chong, or somewhat related in that matter, for easy identification?

And please dont draw unrelated extrapolations like "oh, if Hwa Chong can name their own MRT station as such, so can Raffles and _________________ etc etc" sort of arguments. Look at the geographical location of the MRT station before you make such flimsy arguments. For instance, some of you might be thinking Bishan Station could be named as Raffles Station instead, or Catholic High Station, (and the list goes on). But pry your eyes wide open. Duchess station is so near to Hwa Chong, what about others?

I find statements associating Hwa Chong with bookworms, muggers, etc blindly most appalling and abhorrent. Are you from that school? If you are not from that school, who are you to criticise and make unreserved, deceitful and impressionistic opinions on that school? How well do you know the school's culture, bonds and dynamics? To me, it sadly exposes your inability to evaluate a scenario rationally.

It does not take a genius to guess where I come from. Yes, your guess is probably right. And I am proud of it. Before opportunistic individuals make use of this as a platform to rebuke me, albeit in an infantile manner, about being an elitist, please allow me to make a disclaimer, I am anti-elitism. I have said my piece. I encourage comments, but I'll only bother replying to sensible and mature replies. Thank you. :)

I agree with gohby. I am from Raffles Institution, and I find it very abhorrant that people think RI guys are nerdy, muggers, etc. etc. If you are not from this school, you have no right to criticise it.

Mr. Tan Kah Kee was a great philantrophist and donated great sums of money to found schools. Naming a station after him is no big deal and I don't understand the fuss. After all, Eunos is named after Enche Muhammad Eunos Abdullah, a great Malay philantrophist, who founded Kampong Melayu, later named after him. Aljunied is named after Syed Omar bin Ali Al Junied, a Yemeni philanthropist. His charitable acts included donating a large plot of land in Victoria Street for the purposes of a Muslim burial ground and the construction of a mosque in Bencoolen Street. The land where St Andrews Church stands was also donated by him. He contributed largely to the setting up of the Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Therefore, Kah Kee Station will not be the first to be named after a philantrophist. Even though Enche Eunos and Syed Omar bin Ali Al Junied have roads named after them, it does not mean that an MRT station can't be named after Mr. Tan Kah Kee. Is it that difficult to accept that?

In other countries, metro stations are also named after great revolutionaries. In Paris, metro stations are named after square or a street, which, in turn, is probably named for something (or someone) else. There are metro stations named Franklin D. Roosevelt, George V, Charles de Gaulle, Pasteur, Bolivar, Michelangelo, Garibaldi and Stalingrad, just to name a few. Even though there is an av. Franklin D. Roosevelt, there are no exits from Franklin D. Roosevelt station to av. Franklin D. Roosevelt. George V station too. So, what's the fuss?

NickL_C151's suggestion is sound. Probably the whole station could be dedicated to Mr. Tan Kah Kee, with miniature statues, paintings, and the station can be done up like a small museum in his honour, depicting his life and contributions to Singapore's educational system. It could even become a tourist attraction! To reduce confusion among the public or in the case that HCI moves out, we can have double names for the station (Kah Kee-Duchess or Kah Kee-Watten). Again, this example is taken from Paris, which has double-named stations like Richelieu-Drouot, Reuilly-Chaligny and Saint Sebastien-Froissart. Doesn't this satisfy everybody?

Could someone suggest this to LTA.

NickL_C151 SG

I would like to add on something.

Where is Eunos? It's near Geylang Serai.

Where is Aljunied? It is between Geylang and Woodleigh.

Where is Kah Kee? Er...

I may sound like I am anti-KahKee but let me elaborate on my point.

Mr Tan Kah Kee has indirectly assisted the education system in Singapore by funding quality schools. If the station was named Hwa Chong, I would still accept it since I can say at a snap of a finger I know where Hwa Chong is. However, Kah Kee station may cause some confusion among the senior citizens in Singapore. Most of them know who Mr Tan Kah Kee is but do not know where the location of the new station Kah Kee is. There are other ways to honour this noble man, it's just that an MRT station would be inappropriate way since people would use the MRT for the purpose of commuting rather than to honour Mr Tan Kah Kee.

If Kah Kee station is chosen, I would like to suggest a mini museum in the station or even a new building beside the station depicting Mr Tan's life and contributions or some other things related to him.

Otherwise Duchess, Watten or even Hwa Chong would be a better option.

Just my two cents worth.

iveco SG

In other countries, metro stations are also named after great revolutionaries. In Paris, metro stations are named after square or a street, which, in turn, is named for something (or someone) else. There are metro stations named Franklin D. Roosevelt, George V, Charles de Gaulle, Pasteur, Bolivar, Michelangelo and Stalingrad, just to name a few. They name stations after foreign heros, and some people can't even accept a station named after a local philantrophist. In our neighbour KL, there is a station named Hang Tuah. The Skytrain in Bangkok is officially named the Elevated Train in Commemoration of HM the King's 6th Cycle Birthday (รถไฟฟ้าเฉลิมพระเกียรติ 6 รอบ พระชนมพรรษา). So, what's the fuss?

Hang Tuah LRT Station in KL is named after the street, not the Melakan hero himself, similarly, Dang Wangi station is so named. It doesn't take its name from the Melakan noblewoman. As mentioned above, the Metro stations in Paris are named in a similar manner.

Boon Keng Road, Eunos Link and Aljunied Road got their names from important people in history, so did Raffles Place. Having subway stations named after them is natural. As for TKK, we have no street named in his honour, so naming an MRT station after him may cause a little bit of confusion.

mrtfan SG

Raffles Insitution's current address, I believe, was not it's address a mere 20 to 30 years ago; a few of our MRT stations are that old, if not older.

RI moved out of Grange Road in 1990 or 1991.

Smugglers SG

i spent 6 years of my life in TCHS and then HCJC, but that's not the point because i didn't like HC that much, in fact i hated it. Maybe because i am not a bookworm and i fail everything? But even with my limited grasp of the english language, i can more or less make out what the objectives of the naming exercise are.

1. Identify the location readily so that all commuters can easily remember the names and identify the area of the station

2. Illustrate the history and heritage of the station surroundings if relevant

3. Reflect the multi-racial, multi-cultural character of Singapore If possible

Ok point 1. Having spent 6 yrs in HC, i only knew about the existence of Duchess in my JC2 year when i jogged past there. Because it is a relatively new and small residential development tucked inside "that road beside hwa chong". Yes, Duchess sounds nice, it sounds ang moh, more high class. But if that development was called "Tay Ah Soon Residences", would you have insisted on it being called "Ah Soon Station"? As for Watten, wth is that???

Of course, an MRT station should ideally be named after it's road, or other major landmark. In this case, Dunearn Rd stretches too long and over too many stations to be a viable naming option. Therefore, the next best thing would be to name it after a significant landmark. Here are a few reasons why i support hwa chong related names (not because i was from that sch, i hated tt place):

1) in 1919, when uncle Tan bought 79acres of land there, there was nothing there but crap. forest or jungle, whichever way you prefer. The Chinese High School was the first major development there.

2) The institution's clock tower has been gazetted as a National Monument since 1999. Move them out? Never heard of gahmens moving monuments before.

3) During world war 2, japanese used the institution as their command base, overseeing their brutal acts as well as the railroad not far from the school. ==> cant get more historic than this, i bet

4) lets face it, most, if not all of the properties in that area cite such a MAJOR FEATURE in their pamplets. "Close proximity to top schools such as NYGH/HCI/RGPS/NJC. You don't see these schools citing on their websites: "Join our school because we are located beside Duchess Residences"

My opinions are narrow-minded and not as creative as some of the other people here. but my point is, name the station after something that has a bit of history and meaning around that area. Duchess? If they en bloc next year how? Name it NYGH or NJC or RGPS or WWII or even after alumni Ong Teng Cheong if you don't like the name HC, but not after a minor residential development with no history in that area please. Otherwise might as well name Woodlands, Bedok, etc etc as "7-11, KFC, ABC CONDO, XYZ Ang Moh Chu".

As for people who think Uncle Tan don't deserve the accolades or "don't name after him because no road named after him, so he can't be so great". Well, this same Uncle Tan not only funded Tao Nan, Jimei Uni, TCHS, he also funded the jungle warfares our grandfathers took against the Japs. And he continued to fund schools during the financial crisis, leading to his bankruptcy. And let's face it, if someone suggests that the station be named after LEE KONG CHIAN, i bet there won't be as many protests, since he is already so successful in the naming game. But do you know that the founder of the Lee Foundation is actually the protege and son-in-law of Uncle Tan? Without Uncle Tan's support, financially and socially, there would be no Lee Foundation.

Anyway name it Mcdonald's MRT station also can lah, just dun name it after a minor residential development. It's an insult to the rich history of that area. Or since so many rich people live there, name it Millionaire MRT or sth...

deli_1971 SG

I suggest that the MRT station to use a Malay name like Maju etc instead of Hwa Chung, Kah Kee etc

deathmaster SG

but there isn't any prominent malay from the bukit timah area wad.

Stage SG

"Next stop, Hwa Chong Instituition. Passengers who are not affiliated to Hwa Chong, please do not alight, but transfer by SMRT bus service (?) if you are going to somewhere near the school. The last bus leaves at (?) "

nenepokey SG

haha!

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