These days, residents in Nee Soon have practically everything at their doorstep. Food markets, malls, libraries, a hospital, two polyclinics, plenty of recreational facilities and even a public hot spring. It is safe to say that this enclave up north is no longer the backwater many have made it out to be. Instead, Nee Soon, home to nearly 200,000 residents, is now a vibrant and family-friendly town with a rich and unique history.
It wasn’t always that way. And just like Rome was not built in a day, neither was Nee Soon. Here’s a look at how careful planning and progressive development transformed the Nee Soon into what we know and love today.
Pre-1965: Nee Soon in colonial times
Rubber estate along Sembawang Road in the 1920s.
Way before the area became known as Nee Soon, northern Singapore was filled with farms, rubber and pineapple plantations. The largest of these plantations was leased by one of Singapore’s earliest entrepreneurs, Lim Nee Soon. The King of Pineapples, as he was known, managed 6,000 acres of land that forms part of today’s Nee Soon and Sembawang.
Lim Nee Soon standing in front of a truck full of pineapples in 1915.
By the 1920s, the banks of Seletar River had become synonymous with Nee Soon. As a landlord to the villagers who worked for him, Nee Soon looked after their welfare and helped develop settlements around the plantations. His generosity left a lasting legacy. In recognition of his efforts, in 1930, the British government renamed Jia Chui Kang Village into Nee Soon Village after the man himself.
Nee Soon Village in 1942. The area, with its low-rise attap houses would remain largely unchanged until the 1970s.
Throughout the post-war era, the kampongs that comprised modern-day Nee Soon were typical of how Singaporeans lived then. Many families were cramped in overcrowded shacks with poor public sanitation and no flushing toilets. This was an era when water was still drawn from the well, and roadside taps were a rarity.
Fishing villages along Sungei Seletar in the 1950s. The area is now part of Lower Seletar Reservoir.
1965 – 1970s: A village on the cusp of change
Prime minister Lee Kuan Yew visiting the rural areas of Nee Soon during a tour of the constituency in 1966.
When Singapore became newly independent, change came to Nee Soon. The young PAP Government introduced piped water and electricity to the villages. Around the same time, community centres grew in prominence.
Prime minister Lee Kuan Yew speaking at Nee Soon Community Centre’s first anniversary celebration in 1965.
It was, after all, a time of great divide between races and clans. Community centres became a meeting ground for Singaporeans to participate in shared activities. Playing sports, borrowing books and watching TV programs on a communal television, at a time when these appliances were luxuries.
A weekly mobile library service at Nee Soon Community Centre in 1965
Right up to the 1970s, Nee Soon retained its old-world charm. The area remains an amalgamation of villages, with residents cultivating fruits, vegetables and livestock for a living. Yet once a year, Nee Soon also played host to a star-studded event – the Singapore Grand Prix.
A view of Chong Pang Village in 1970, the rural feel is still evident.
Along a winding street circuit of what is now Upper Thomson Road, drivers from around the world would descend upon this part of Singapore. The area was a hair’s breadth of Nee Soon Village, which became the unofficial gathering point for guests attending the race. The last race ended in 1973, cancelled due to safety concerns after two deaths in two years.
Motorsports would not return to Singapore until 2008, and it remains a source of pride to many that the precursor to the Formula One race started in the humble village of Nee Soon.
Start of the motorcycle race during the 1971 Singapore Grand Prix at Sembawang Hills Circuit.
1980s – 1990s: The metamorphosis of Nee Soon
Nee Soon New Town under construction in 1983.
In 1976, to provide housing for the rapidly growing population, the Government initiated the Nee Soon New Town Project. High-rise HDB flats replaced shanty wooden huts. Transport links improved with the opening of Khatib and Yishun MRT stations, which began operations in 1989. Urbanisation finally reached its zenith in the north, with the now familiar new town, beginning to take shape.
1988, Minister for Communications and Information and Second Minister for Defence Dr Yeo Ning Hong (third from left) enjoying the inaugural train ride from Yishun MRT station at its official opening.
With a rail connection in place, Nee Soon began drawing in visitors from other parts of Singapore. This was due, in part, to a heartland feature of which Nee Soon was a pioneer. And that was the rise of the suburban mall.
An advertisement for Northpoint Shopping Centre, the first suburban mall in the northern heartlands of Singapore in 1992.
Today, the gargantuan Northpoint City remains the beating commercial heart of Nee Soon. But it was in the world of cinema that Nee Soon left a mark, not only on film aficionados but on the cinema operators of Singapore.
The Ultraman-like façade of Yishun 10, as seen in 1994. Renamed GV Nee Soon in 2010, it continues to attract a new generation of cinemagoers.
Built in 1993, Yishun 10 was Asia’s first Cineplex. Nobody thought a cinema with ten auditoriums screening films concurrently would work. But it did. And to think it all started here in Nee Soon.
2000 to now: Rejuvenating our heartlands
Adding more greenery to the estate, Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng hones his green fingers as he joined residents on Tree Planting Day.
By the turn of the millennium, Nee Soon had become a self-contained town and one of Singapore’s many success stories. MPs of Nee Soon turned their attention to addressing the changing needs of the community, with big plans to spruce up and rejuvenate the neighbourhood with greener, more inviting and inclusive spaces.
Former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Nee Soon GRC MPs (from left, Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Carrie Tan, K Shanmugam) at the Chong Pang Groundbreaking Ceremony. When completed in 2027, residents can enjoy swimming pools, fitness studios, a hawker centre and market, as well as a rooftop running track at the new Chong Pang City.
The rejuvenation has brought about new parks, playgrounds, bike lanes, covered walkways and sporting facilities. A network of two hospitals and polyclinics, wellness kampungs and a caregiver resource centre, makes Nee Soon the healthcare hub of the north.
Nee Soon GRC MP Carrie Tan channels her inner child at the Nee Soon N8 Park playground, a popular spot for the young ones as well as the young-at-heart.
A dementia-friendly wayfinding system in Nee Soon, which was designated as Singapore’s first “dementia-friendly” town in 2016.
Minister for Law and Home Affairs and veteran Nee Soon GRC MP K Shanmugamspeaking to staff at the opening of Khatib Polyclinic in May this year. The new addition is expected to serve some 80,000 residents living in the area.
Over the years, the changes in Nee Soon (both big and small) have made this northern suburb a tranquil and attractive place to live. To fulfil the aspiration of Singaporeans who want to make Nee Soon home, the Government has been planning new public housing projects in the area.
Artist’s impression of Chencharu estate. A new park will incorporate a 100-year-old colonial-era bungalow along Bah Soon Pah Road to preserve the area’s heritage.
Nee Soon’s Chencharu estate will have more than 10,000 new public and private homes, announced Minister for National Development Desmond Lee at the Committee of Supply (COS) debate in March. So far, 1,200 BTO flats have been launched in June, with more to come in the years ahead.
These days, the Nee Soon we see today is a far cry from the rubber plantation that lines its streets and the dilapidated settlements surrounding it. Instead, it is a bustling and modern community for young and old alike. And with the PAP in charge, we can be sure that Nee Soon will continue to evolve into a heartland fit for the future.
Photo Source: National Archives/ Roots.sg/ AIC / HDB/ Louis Ng/ K Shanmugam via Facebook