March 31, 2023

In early March 2023, the National Heritage Board of Singapore identified the Padang Civic Ensemble as a potential nominee for the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is currently gazetted as a national monument. ‘What might happen if Padang is made Unesco World Heritage Site’ (Straits Times, March 2023) explores the potential implications of this nomination.

Assistant Professor Hamzah Muzaini (NUS Southeast Asian Studies) remarks that if the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site is granted, it might protect the Padang from future national developments. Its classification as a UNESCO World Heritage Site would mean that the Singapore government would not be able to reappropriate the land the Padang sits on even in the unlikely scenario that it deems the space more appropriate for other development projects.

Asst Prof Muzaini also asserts that the nomination process to inscribe the Padang as a UNESCO World Heritage Site would benefit Singapore. The studies done into the history and significance of the site can uncover some of the aspects of Singapore’s colonial and pre-colonial history previously untold or unknown, including unsavoury and negative ones. The potential for these other aspects of the story be told through the nomination could enhance Singaporeans’ understanding and appreciation for their nation’s colonial history beyond currently dominant narratives, which emphasise the benefits of British colonialism for Singapore.

Read the article here: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/what-happens-if-padang-and-surrounding-buildings-become-a-unesco-world-heritage-site