Mural at Serangoon MRT station depicts war hero Lim Bo Seng
World War II hero Lim Bo Seng is among the sights greeting commuters at Serangoon MRT station, which has a new mural celebrating the heritage of the Hougang-Serangoon area.
The mural depicts the war hero with members of Force 136, a group of resistance fighters formed by the British.
Lim Bo Seng and his family lived in a house at Sixth Milestone, at the junction of Upper Serangoon and Tampines roads, but were forced to move during the war as Japanese soldiers were looking for him.
The artwork, which can be found at two locations in the MRT station, also shows Block 316 in Hougang Avenue 7 with its iconic rainbow facade. It is one of the first generation of buildings built during Hougang’s redevelopment in the 1980s.
Also featured are the famous Lim Tua Tow Market – known for dishes such as fried carrot cake and Hokkien mee before it shuttered in 1994 – and a rubber plantation, which was a common sight in the area in the early 20th century.
The mural, which was unveiled on Saturday, was designed by a group of Year 5 students from the School of the Arts Singapore’s Visual Arts programme.
It is the fifth in SMRT’s Comic Connect series, which aims to install heritage-themed wall murals across all 35 MRT stations islandwide.
Other murals in the series – launched last year to mark the transport operator’s 35th anniversary – can be found at Toa Payoh, Tampines, Queenstown and Jurong East stations.
“We hope that the Serangoon mural will remind the residents of Serangoon’s rich history and culture, and help build a stronger sense of identity within the local community,” said SMRT chairman Seah Moon Ming on Saturday.
The unveiling was attended by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, who is also an MP for Marine Parade GRC, as well as Lim Bo Seng’s children, Dr Lim Whye Geok and Mr Lim Lam Geok.
Dr Lim said he was proud that his father’s contributions and legacy were being recognised.
Mr Seah said the mural served as a reminder of “the difficult times that Singapore had gone through during the war years and the sacrifice of some brave men and women who put the country before themselves”.
He noted that the war hero’s eldest son, the late Mr Lim Leong Geok, was the first executive director of MRT Corp and managing director of SMRT, oversaw the construction and operations of the entire North-South and East-West lines.
“Today, we are honoured to build upon the firm foundation laid by pioneer transport engineers like the late Mr Lim Leong Geok,” he said
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