ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL AND SAF NCO CLUBHOUSE ALONG BEACH ROAD (Preservation)

Mr Ong Kian Min asked the Minister for Information and the Arts whether the Alexandra Hospital and the SAF NCO Clubhouse along Beach Road have been placed on the list of buildings considered to be "Gazetted Monuments" by the Preservation and Monuments Board affording these buildings a level of protection and, if not, whether his Ministry will consider doing so as these buildings are of great historical significance and worthy of preservation.

The Minister for Information and the Arts (Mr Lee Yock Suan): The Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) and the National Heritage Board (NHB) have done some research on Alexandra Hospital and the SAF NCO Clubhouse.

During the war, on 14th and 15th February 1942, Japanese soldiers massacred an estimated 200 staff and patients of Alexandra Hospital. The hospital and NHB have already put up a plaque to mark the history of the building. PMB is studying the historical and architectural significance of Alexandra Hospital building to see if it qualifies under current guidelines to be gazetted as a national monument.

The SAF NCO Clubhouse was built as a clubhouse in 1951 by the British for their servicemen. When the British withdrew in 1969, the building was handed over to the Singapore Government. It became the SAF NCO Clubhouse in 1974. From PMB's research, this building does not have sufficient historical significance to qualify as a national monument. NHB will consider installing a plaque on the history of the building at the Club.

Mr Tay Beng Chuan: May I ask the Minister what are the other criteria adopted by PMB, apart from the historical value, such as age and condition of the building.

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Mr Speaker, Sir, broadly the criteria are in two groups. One group would be the historical aspects, and the other group will be the architectural aspects. So there are two different bodies looking at these two aspects. The one looking at the architectural aspect is chaired by somebody from URA who is familiar with architecture and so on. The two different committees will award points for the two sets of criteria and, if they meet the cut-off point, the building will be considered for preservation.

Mr Tay Beng Chuan: In order to encourage and justify certain preserved buildings for further redevelopments, would PMB consider granting them certain incentives to further redevelop such shabby buildings, for instance, by giving greater plot ratio and greater height to encourage them to carry out redevelopment?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Mr Speaker, Sir, my Ministry and the PMB are aware that there are costs involved in preserving these buildings. But I hope the building owners realise that these are important historical and national assets. As far as possible, we have tried to accommodate the requirements and the needs of the owners. For example, recently, during the opening of the MITA Building, I announced that we have come up with a new scheme known as Monuments Category II where we allow the building owners to redevelop the building so long as they preserve essential components of the building. It might be certain sections like the facade. This is following the approach taken by URA where they have conserved certain areas in Chinatown and Little India, so that the development potential of the building is preserved, the plot ratio is still allowed within the limits as set out in the Master Plan, and so on.

There are two buildings which have been gazetted under this category and these are the MacDonald House where we had the bomb incident during Confrontation, and the other one is Cathay Building. In these two cases, there will be substantial redevelopment. We are only preserving the front of the MacDonald House and, for Cathay Building, we are only preserving the podium and the entrance. The Cathay Building will be redeveloped into a cineplex with seven or eight cinemas. It will be a very interesting and attractive redevelopment. But having said that, I am not so sure whether there is a need for further incentives. I think the Ministry has tried to preserve the values of the buildings in so far as to allow redevelopment within the limits of their potential under the Masterplan, but to go beyond that is something I am not sure whether Government will agree.