Supporting Heritage Businesses
(Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth)
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Mr Cai Yinzhou: Thank you, Chairman. I am still a youth, so, thank you. First, I would like to declare my interest as the executive director for Chinatown Heritage Centre. I understand that MCCY is developing placemaking initiatives in the locale of Kampong Gelam and Little India, with the hopes to activate spaces and support heritage businesses.
I would like to highlight that Chinatown should also be considered appropriately a historic district with culturally rich, including SG Heritage Business Scheme awardees like, Say Tian Hng Buddha Shop, which started in 1896; and Pek Sin Choon which celebrates its 101 years this year. I would also like to ask if the Ministry will therefore consider expanding the coordination and support to Chinatown?
My second supplementary question is for Senior Parliamentary Secretary Goh. Will the MOE-OBS Challenge Programme be implemented only in OBS campsites? I ask this because there are other campsites, like Changi Coast, Dairy Farm and Jalan Bahtera. So, I am wondering if those other campsites will be utilised and whether OBS will be the only operator for the MOE-OBS Challenge, or will there be other private outdoor adventure companies be operating it as well?
Ms Low Yen Ling: I want to thank Member Cai Yinzhou for the clarification. As far as his historic district is concerned, I want to assure him that the new Place-making Project Office that comes under the Inter-agency Task Force does indeed not only serve Kampong Gelam, Little India, but also Chinatown. In fact, the team is not confined only to MCCY and NHB, but also work across the whole-of-Government, including the economic agencies under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, for example, Enterprise Singapore and STB, to come together to support the businesses in the historic districts to strengthen their capabilities in placemaking. One, to design to implement and to scale up the placemaking so that we can boost their vibrancy as well as to drive footfall to the three historic districts, including Chinatown, and we are working very closely with the Chinatown Business Association on that.
Ms Goh Hanyan: To the Member's questions on sites for the MOE-OBS Challenge, yes, it will primarily be OBS' sites, so, they will be Pulau Ubin and also the Coney Island campus that will be coming up. Also, we want to highlight that the programme is also expeditionary in nature, so there will be certain locations that make use of nature and surroundings. It will be beyond those two campuses.
In terms of the operators, OBS will be the main operator, or the only operator for MOC. There are other operators out there that conduct camps, but these would be more for school-run specific camps.
Image Credit: The Straits Times (Photo: Land Transport Authority/Facebook)