The National Museum has decided to erect a statue in front of its entrance. They have to choose between Stamford Raffles and Tan Tock Seng.If you will working for the museum,who will you choose and why?
If i was working for the museum,i would have erect a statue of Tan Tock Seng instead of Raffles.In my opinion, though Raffles was the founder of Singapore but he did not contribute much to the setting up of Singapore. Likewise,Tan Tock Seng was a prosperous Singapore businessman of the early 1800s, known particularly for his generosity to the poor. He contributed heavily to the 1844 construction of a new hospital for the indigent, which was then named Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
Another factor was that a Stamford Raffles statue was already erected in front of the Victoria Concert Hall but there was no statue erected for Tan Tock Seng although he had made great contributions to Singapore.
Tan Tock Seng was a Singaporean merchant and philanthropist. He was born in Malacca to an immigrant Fukien father and Hokkien Peranakan mother, Tan Tock Seng rose from humble origins. In 1819, Tan moved to Singapore to sell fruit, vegetable and fowl. He worked diligently and was able to set up a shop in Boat Quay and became a notable businessman.
In time, he became an influential Chinese leader and was the first Asian to be made a Justice of the Peace by the Governor. He was skillful at settling feuds among the Chinese.This reduced fights among the Chinese and promotes peace in the nation.
In 1844, he contributed $5,000 to the construction of the Tan Tock Seng Hospital on top of Pearl's Hill.$5,000 was not a small amount of money in the past,it was Tan Tock Seng's hard-earned money.The hospital was later shifted to Tan Tock Seng Road because the building at Pearl's Hill was too small to cater enough patients and it was too old.
Tan Tock Seng also contributed money to the construction of the Taoist Thian Hock Keng Temple at Telok Ayer in 1842, the place of worship for the settlers from the Fujian province of China.Tan Tock Seng's loyalty to his religion was visibly seen through his actions.
Tan Tock Seng was not only the richest merchants in Singapore,but also a philanthropist who gave liberally to charity. He had a passion for the sick and poor and at his own expense buried the unclaimed bodies or paid the funeral expenses of those who could not afford one. Tan Tock Seng, being an ardent Taoist, believed a decent funeral should be conducted for the dead. The Singapore free pass wrote in March 1850 that Tan Tock Seng took it upon himself to bury all Chinese Paupers who died in the streets and verandahs, and between the years 1843 and 1850 supplied 1,032 coffins.
Tan Tock Seng became seriously ill and died in 1850, at the age of 52. His descendants like Tan Kim Ching, Tan Teck Guan and Tan Chay Yan continued his legacy and also became leaders in the Chinese community.
Great contributions made by Tan Tock Seng to Singapore were visibly seen and thus i thought his statue should be erected in front of the National Museum to commemorate his contributions.
done by:
yujia(15)
faith 2-1
word count:601
