by Cheryl Tay
The National Heritage Board (NHB) has named the old Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) headquarters as Singapore’s 91st historic site, and the 5.6 ha Phoenix Park (pictured) off Tanglin Road as the 92nd.
During the colonial era, the MHA building served as the office of the Commissioner-General for Southeast Asia, the headquarters of the Far East Command and a nerve centre for British spies.
“It was at this very building where our tough anti-drug laws were formulated to fight the drug scourge,” said Masagos Zulkifli, Senior Minister of State for Home and Foreign Affairs.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Park was completed by the British in 1949, and was the place where Wong Kan Seng, former Home Affairs Minister, created the Home Team concept in 1995.
According to Thangamma Karthigesu, Director of Education and Outreach at the NHB, the two historic sites boast new layouts which increase their visual prominence.
By November, two more colonial-era MHA sites — the former Lower Barracks on Eu Tong Sen Street and Upper Barracks at Pearl’s Hill Terrace — will also have historical markers, she added.
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