Sentosa Development Corporation is set up

The Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) was established on 1 September 1972 as a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). The mission of the SDC was to oversee the development, management and promotion of Sentosa island. Under the direction of the SDC, Sentosa was made into a premier recreation gateway. Today, Sentosa has a range of multi-faceted attractions for tourists and locals. These include a huge amusement park with rides, an aquarium, golf courses, museums, beaches, bars and a range of hotels and resorts. Sentosa is connected to Singapore by a causeway and cable car.

 

Prior to the formation of the SDC, Sentosa was commonly known as Pulau Blakang Mati, which translates literally as “behind death” in Malay. The island acquired the name from a legend that a Malay had been murdered behind a hill on the island. The name is also thought to be a reference to the piracy and bloodshed that once pervaded the island. Apart from being a fishing site, the 714ac island was used by the British as a military base. In 1887, the British erected a fort on the island. The fort was first called Fort Blakang Mati East, but was renamed Fort Connaught on 1 April 1890. During the Japanese Occupation, Fort Connaught was used by the Japanese as a prisoner-of-war camp (Singapore: The encyclopedia, 2006, p. 465; Hamzah, Teo & Yeoh, 2007, p. 32). In 1968, Pulau Blakang Mati was returned to the Ministry of Interior and Defence of Singapore, which continued to use the island for military purposes (The Straits Times, 23 Jan 1969, p. 4).

 

A tropical island resort

In 1969, Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB) Chairman P. H. Meadows announced the decision to transform Pulau Blakang Mati into a “tropical island resort and a South Sea Island paradise” (The Straits Times, 23 Jan 1969, p. 4). Initially, there were suggestions for an oil refinery to be built on the island. The plan, however, was shelved when Albert Winsemius, then chief economic advisor to Singapore, and Alan F. C. Choe, then general manager of the Urban Renewal Department, proposed to develop the island into a tourism resort (10 years that shaped a nation, 2008, p. 106). This was to complement Singapore’s economic strategy to promote tourism as one of the four pillars of growth. The other three pillars were financial institutions, manufacturing industries and services (10 years ..., 2008, p. 106).

 

Following the decision, the government approached American firm Dillingham Overseas Corporation to study the feasibility of the project (Sentosa Development Corporation [SDC], 1972, p. 3). Completed in September 1970, the study confirmed that the project was a viable one and would contribute substantially to an increase in the rate of growth of tourists coming to Singapore (Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 23 March 1972, Second Reading, Vol. 31, col. 1125). The study also laid out a development plan for the island. Referred to as the Dillingham Master Plan, it proposed the construction of a number of attractions to transform the island into a tourist spot (SDC, 1972, p. 3). Some of the proposed attractions included a vacation complex of international standard, centralised shopping facilities, a golf course, an open air theatre, a gun museum, a marine complex with a coralarium, an aquarium, a maritime museum, hotels, restaurants and a “Pirates Cove”. Such attractions were designed not to “clash with those available on the main island of Singapore” (The Straits Times, 24 Mar 1972, p. 32). The total development cost was estimated at S$68 million spread over a period of nine years (Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 7 March 1972, Second Reading, Vol. 31, col. 1125). The government expected the private sector to invest S$56 million and aimed to complete the implemented projects by 1979 (Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 7 March 1972, Second Reading, Vol. 31, col. 1125).

 

The name of the island was also changed to reflect its new image as a tourist attraction (The Straits Times, 30 Sep 1970, p. 20). In 1970, the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board held a nationwide contest to rename Pulau Blakang Mati. From the hundreds of entries, the name “Sentosa”, which means “peace and tranquillity” in Malay, was selected (The Straits Times, 10 Sep 1970, p. 10). The new name was gazetted on 14 September 1970 (Government Gazette Extraordinary, 14 September 1970, G.N. 2873, p. 3570).

 

Getting down to business 

To oversee the development of Sentosa, especially on policy matters for the initial stages, an action committee was formed in June 1971 (SDC, 1972, p. 3). The committee was headed by G. E. Bogaars, then Permanent Secretary of  Finance (Economic Development). It also comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Urban Renewal Department, Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), Singapore Tourist Promotion Board, Attorney General Chambers and the Bases Economic Conversion Department (SDC, 1972, p. 3). To implement the numerous projects and to ensure the efficient administration of Sentosa, a statutory board was also set up (The Straits Times, 16 Jul 1971, p. 8).

 

On 7 March 1972, the Sentosa Development Corporation Bill was introduced in Parliament by then Minister for Finance Hon Hui Sen (Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 7 March 1972, First Reading, Vol. 31, col. 484). The Bill sought to establish the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC). Under the guidance of the Economic Development Division of the Ministry of Finance, the SDC would be responsible for the control and administration of Sentosa, and the development of services and amenities for tourists and the public (Government Gazette. Bills Supplement, 8 March 1972, B 12/1972, p. 11). As various government departments such as the Jurong Town Corporation and the Urban Renewal Department had previously been responsible for the implementation of the initial projects on Sentosa, the formation of the SDC was to “reduce the burden shouldered” by these departments by taking charge of existing and future projects on the Sentosa island (Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 23 March 1972, Second Reading, Vol. 31, col. 1126). To finance its operation, the SDC was allowed to borrow funds from the government subject to ministerial approval. The corporation was also empowered to invest its surplus funds in trustee securities and would be exempted from stamp duty and income tax (Government Gazette. Bills Supplement, 8 March 1972, B 12/1972, p. 5).

 

Hon read the Sentosa Development Corporation Bill a second time on 23 March 1972 and it was passed on the same day. The Bill became an Act on 4 May 1972 (Government Gazette. Acts Supplement, 30 June 1972, Act 22 of 1972, p. 329). On 21 August 1972, the Sentosa Development Corporation Act was enforced and the SDC was slated to commence operation on 1 September 1972 (Government Gazette. Subsidiary Legislation Supplement, 25 August 1972, S 257/1972, p. 575).

 

As stipulated in the Sentosa Development Corporation Act, the SDC is governed by a board of directors. The board comprises of a chairman, deputy chairman and members appointed by the Finance Minister (Government Gazette. Bills Supplement, 8 March 1972, B 12/1972, p. 2). At the time of SDC’s formation, Bogaars was appointed Chairman (Government Gazette, 1 September 1972, G.N. 2834, p. 3385) and Woon Wah Siang Deputy Chairman (Government Gazette, 1 September 1972, G.N. 2835, p. 3385). Alan F. C. Choe, Lam Peng Loon, Chung Kek Choo, Lock Sai Hung, A. Neysadurai, Warren John Wood and Paul Armstrong were appointed as board members (Government Gazette, 1 September 1972, G.N. 2836, p. 3385). On 1 December 1972, then Permanent Secretary of Finance Ngiam Tong Dow was named to replace Bogaars as the SDC Chairman (Government Gazette, 22 December 1972, G.N. 4085, p. 4693).

 

The immediate task of the SDC was to take over the implementation of numerous projects that were already launched and in various stages of development (Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 23 March 1972, Second Reading, Vol. 31, col. 1128). It also had to evaluate, reassess and implement other projects proposed for Sentosa (Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 23 March 1972, Second Reading, Vol. 31, col. 1128). Most of these projects were completed by 1979 (The Straits times, 20 Nov 1973, p. 13). They included the 18-hole Tanjong golf course (The Straits Times, 27 Dec 1973, p. 25); the 4ha Fort Siloso complex of underground tunnels, ammunition bunkers, gun emplacements and search light posts (The Straits Times, 8 Feb 1975, p. 18); the Sentosa Coralarium with its 60ft coralon tower located on Mt Serapong (The Straits Times, 3 Aug 1974, p. 30); and the Maritime Museum that also housed a marine library (The Straits Times, 15 Sep 1974, p. 10; The Straits Times, 6 Jan 1975, p. 11). However, the first major project to be completed was the cable car service linking Mount Faber to Sentosa. It became not only Singapore’s first cable car service but also the first in Southeast Asia to straddle a stretch of water 1.75km wide (The Straits Times, 15 Feb 1974, p. 8).

Sources

The information in this article is valid as at 2011 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Sports and Recreation
Organisations