(Left) Compass Point, a shopping mall in Sengkang Town Hub. (Right) Sengkang Community Centre
(Left) Sengkang LRT viaducts. (Right) Sengkang Sculpture Park, a green space created below the LRT viaducts
I live in Compassvale, a neighbourhood east of Sengkang New Town. Sengkang New Town is a young satellite town in Singapore, situated in the North-East region. Compassvale has been my home for about 11 years, having moved here since I was three. I am sentimentally attached to this place, not just because it was where I live, it also provides me with an emotional state of “residence”. This is where I feel safe and secure; where I can be together with my family; where I reflect most on my identity as a Singapore citizen.
It is here in the neighbourhood that I discovered our Singapore identity. I think that it is our racial and religious diversity that makes us unique as one nation, which can be seen from the various races interacting and living together harmoniously in a neighbourhood. Why, my very next-door neighbour is a Malay! We are like the various condiments on the kitchen shelf, where each condiment adds a different taste and yet contributing to the whole experience.
Actually, Sengkang means "prosperous harbour" in Chinese. This area was originally known as Kangkar or "foot of the port" as there was once a fishing port located along Sungei Serangoon. In the past, there were kampongs here where everyone knew their neighbours and doors were often unlocked, with chickens running loose and fruit trees growing by the houses. It is kind of sad now that we often find barred doors and people who do not even want to know their neighbours from two doors down the corridor. I guess this is the price to play for Singapore’s rapid economic advancement!
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