Tan Tock Seng’s descendants honour forebears in Tiong Bahru​

SINGAPORE — What began as an effort to address the illegal parking situation in the Tiong Bahru estate has led to a further glimpse into the estate’s past, bringing together 68 members of the Tan clan in the area yesterday to honour their forefathers.

Kim Cheng Road is named after Tan Kim Cheng, the eldest son of pioneer philanthropist Tan Tock Seng. Yesterday, their descendants — some of whom flew from as far as the United Kingdom — gathered to unveil two storyboards, one on Tan Kim Cheng (also spelt as Tan Kim Ching) and the other on Tan Chay Yan, grandson of Tan Tock Seng.

“Yes, this is my great-great-great grandfather’s road. “It reminds me of him and he is such a powerful person in my memory,” said Mr Tan Hsien Chuang, great-great-great grandson of Tan Kim Cheng.

Mr Kelvin Ang, Chairman of Seng Poh Residents Committee, which organised the Is This Your Grandfather’s Road? campaign with the Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru Citizens’ Consultative Committee, said: “This project has made history real and very immediate. It has made us realise that within all of us, there is history that can be shared.”

The Tan clan also visited several historical sites related to their family, such as Tan Tock Seng’s grave on Outram Hill.

There are streets named after 18 personalities in the estate and the descendants of three have been identified. Next week, the descendants of Seah Eu Chin — the founder of Ngee Ann Kongsi after whom Eu Chin Street is named — will be unveiling a plaque.

Meanwhile, Tanjong Pagar GRC Member of Parliament Indranee Rajah, who unveiled the storyboards yesterday, shared that there had been some improvement to the illegal parking situation in Tiong Bahru estate.

The campaign has seen residents taking to the streets to remind motorists to be considerate and park legally, and distributing pamphlets to let motorists know about alternative parking spots.

Calling it an “ongoing education battle”, Ms Indranee, who is also Senior Minister of State for Law and Education, said installing cameras might “be helpful”.

She had also asked the Housing and Development Board to look into how to inform motorists about where the parking lots are.

“Unfortunately, it must still be accompanied by enforcement. Because if you don’t have the enforcement aspect, people will feel they can park illegally without any disincentive. The LTA is studying this. Cameras may be helpful, but it is a question of where do you put them,” she said. ASHLEY CHIA AND CHITRA KUMAR