Monument

This is my idea of the monument. I chose it to be vegetables as Tan Tock Seng started off as a vegetable seller. By putting the monument outside Tan Tock Seng Hospital, it will remind the citizens to be diligent in their daily work and who knows? You may become as rich as Tan Tock Seng and serve the community like him.

Reflections

I learnt that everyone has a part to play in serving the community. We should also learn the values of Tan Tock Seng; he worked hard as a humble man who sold vegetables. When he had money, he donated generously to the society. We also should contribute to the society when we have the ability to do so. We are not required to such big things such as setting up hospitals, but we can take part enthusiastically in CIP activities. Through this research, I am also touched at how a Chinese immigrant can contribute even he was not born in Singapore. We, citizens of Singapore, should be more responsible in taking good care of our nation.

How did Tan Tock Seng Contribute to Singapore?

Social Impact --> He built a temple for the Chinese. This shows that he cares for the Chinese and wants the Chinese culture to be passed on from generation to generation. This is a significant contribution as it enriches the Chinese culture we have now.

Socio-economic Impact --> He was appointed the Justice of Peace. This made a social impact as he stopped disputes and resolved the problems of the Chinese immigrant. As doing such, Singapore was a better place to live in as fights seldom lasted long. This also helped the traders to trade more efficiently and thus Singapore would earn more profits and more traders would be attracted to Singapore.

Other than that, here comes the most important part. He built the Paupers' Hospital to cater for the poor. This contribution is the most significant as the people, especially the Chinese then were too poor to see the doctors which were operated by the British. Hence, Tan Tock Seng wanted to help them and did not want to see so many dead bodies lying on the ground. This was bad for Singapore as trade would go down the slope . This is because the traders would not want to trade in a place with dead bodies lying around. This could also spread contagious diseases and attract pests such as rats and cockroaches. As a result, Tan Tock Seng cleared the corpses away and opened the hospital, which is Tan Tock Seng Hospital or TTSH. Till today, it still serves as a government hospital and it is a major serving hospital during times like SARS or H1N1 flu now.

Bibliography

"Tan Tock Seng." Infopedia - National Library Board, Singapore. 03 May 2009 .

"NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Tan Tock Seng." NationMaster - World Statistics, Country Comparisons. 03 May 2009 .

Biography of Tan Tock Seng

Tan Tock Seng was born in Malacca, Malaysia in the year of 1798 and died in the year of 1850. He was a Hokkien landowner, merchant, philanthropist and entrepreneur. He started as a humble vegetable seller and rose to become one of Singapore's early Chinese leaders. In 1844, he helped set up a pauper's hospital which now bears his name.

Tan Tock Seng left Malacca and came to Singapore in 1819 at the age of 21. He started of as a vegetable seller, bringing produce from the countryside to sell in the city. He was hardworking and scrimped on every cent he made. In 1827, he opened a shop along the riverside at Boat Quay with his hard-earned savings.

Through a joint business with J. H. Whitehead of Shaw, Whitehead & Co., Tan Tock Seng eventually became a wealthy businessman. His landed properties included 50 acres of land where the railway station at Tanjong Pagar is located, and the plot of land from the Padang to High Street and Tank Road. He also owned a block of shop houses at Ellenborough Building and a 14-acre fruit plantation opposite the St Andrew's Mission Hospital.

He contributed generously to charity and became a renowned philanthropist amongst the Chinese. He was known to provide burial costs for the Chinese poor. His most famous gesture was the donation of Spanish $7,000 to the building of the Chinese Pauper's Hospital (later to be named after him , the Tan Tock Seng Hospital or TTSH) in 1844 at Pearl's Hill. The building was designed by John Turnbull Thomson and it was opened in 1849. The hospital was later shifted to Tan Tock Seng Road because the building at Pearl's Hill was too small to cater to enough patients and it was too old.

He was also a founder of the Thian Hock Keng Temple at Telok Ayer Street, Singapore's oldest temple, which had been the centre of worship for the Fujian Chinese.Tan Tock Seng was the first Asian to be made a Justice of the Peace by the Governor Butterworth. His role in helping the early Chinese immigrants settle disputes earned him the title "Captain of the Chinese."

Tan died at age 52 of an unknown disease. His grave lies along the grassy slope next to Jubilee Church, 256 Outram Road, Singapore.