Merlion Park

A common space is an area shared by people of different cultures and diverse backgrounds whereby they are forced to learn to compromise and accept each other. This is important, especially for a multicultural nation like Singapore, to provide a common space for people to preserve and express their own cultural heritage, traditions and religious beliefs. and to allow them to live harmoniously together. A harmonious community comes with security and peace and with peace and stability, the economy progresses as it encourage not only local investments but foreign investments.

By this definition of a common space, the Merlion Park is not effective as a social construction of a common space as evidently Merlion Park does not

provide a condusive environment to encourage our own local residents but instead it is mainly visited by tourists or non-locals. The government also does not make it compulsory that Singaporeans must visit the Merlion Park on a frequent basis and this undermines the point or social construct as Singaporeans then take the place for granted instead of giving up a portion of their freedom to include it in their everyday lives.

The Merlion Park is a 2, 500 square metre park and lies at a prominent corner of the Singapore River near Marina Bay. The Merlion, a 40-tonne statue of an imaginary creature with the head of lion and the body of a fish and is the main attraction for visitors. Nearby, is a Starbuck, Coffeeoutlet, a small ice-cream parlour

and two more small souvenir shops. Directly oppositethe statue is the five-star Fullerton Hotel. The costs and set up of the restaurant are obviously catered to tourists.

My first impression of this place seems to be a meeting place for our migrant workers. I do not see many Singaporean families; most of them speaks a foreign language. Migrant workers flock to this place; not only to see the Merlion but also because it has quite a lot of space for them to hang around. Due to the high costs of food, most brought their own food and drinks. There are minimal people patronizing the restaurants. The Merlion is definitely a well-known tourist icon in Singapore and hence tourist buses would drop the tourists for a few minutes to snap some photos.

The Merlion Park is not a common space as the place itself does not compromise to the average or low-income families as the food outlets are not affordable. For local residents to drive, there is little parking space or the parking space is rather expensive. The Merlion is a national identity. However, sad to say, our multi-racial residents visited this place as a “tourist” to see at least once the well-know Merlion. Few would spend their weekends or family gatherings at this place. There are minimal or no opportunities for multi-racial interactions.Undoubtedly, we have seen effort being putin to make Merlion Park not only a tourist attraction but also a common space for locals. This can be seen through the events held at the Merlion park, an example being the Run for Hope annual charity runheld over the last two year. An event like this allows Singaporeans to interact with fellow citizens with a common goal to raise funds for charity. This allows them to understand each other better and accept their differences, thus forming a common space.

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However, much more should be done to enhance the Merlion Park as a common space. It not only houses our national identity, but also has a huge space to allow more activities. More events should be organized to facilitate interactions among our multi-racial residents. Just like the racial harmony days held in schools, perhaps a country-wide racial harmony day can be held at The Merlion Park. With such events, residents of our nation, young and old, of different races, religions and cultures can interact, and learn to respect, appreciate and get along with each other. Other activities to recall Singapore’s historical role as a trading hub, to recall our Kampong days and Singapore Heritage can give our Singapore residents a deeper understanding of Singapore’s heritage and identity. With the growing number of old people and to encourage family bonding for all races, events to encourage a walk down the Merlion Park can also be held. Further to this, local food outlets with lower costs or small stalls could be set up so as to encourage more residents to enjoy their meals with their family after their scenic walk. The Singapore Constitution enshrines meritocracy and multiculturalism. All citizens, regardless of race, language and religion are accorded an equal status and given equal rights and opportunities. Hence, we can see that with all these policies and legislative measures already in place, what needs to enhance the Merlion to be a common place could be to improve the activities and the set-up of economical food outlets.