Clementi, Singapore

This article is about the neighbourhood Clementi in Singapore. For other uses, see Clementi.

Clementi is a town in Singapore, located in the west between Jurong and Dover, and commonly refers to the Housing and Development Board's housing estate of Clementi New Town. The Clementi Planning Area encompasses this entire area.

An upcoming development next to the Clementi MRT Station is under construction to integrate a shopping mall, library, supermarket and HDB flats under one roof. This is slated for completion in the second-half of 2010.

Geography

Clementi Town Centre, near Clementi MRT Station

Bird's eye view on HDB blocks at Clementi Town.

Clementi's arterial road, Clementi Road, runs for some 5 kilometres, from the vicinity around Bukit Timah, at Jalan Anak Bukit, to the West Coast Highway, but the geographical entity of Clementi is generally regarded as the area dominated by HDB apartment blocks around Commonwealth Avenue West and the Clementi MRT Station.

The primary residential district in Clementi is Clementi New Town and forms a large bulk of its residents and identity. The area also consists of many landed properties, especially in the West of the area. The boundaries of Clementi New Town are Sunset Way estate for the North, Clementi Road for the East, Clementi Woods for the South, and Sungei Pandan for the West.

Etymology

Clementi and the roads therein are named after Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, Governor of the Straits Settlements from 1887 to 1893. The governor was an accomplished Chinese scholar. Among his achievements during his stint in office were laws brought into force to control secret societies in Singapore.

History

Clementi New Town was developed on land once occupied by squatters and the British armed forces barracks. Clementi Road was formerly known as Reformatory Road because there was a boys' home situated along the road.

Amenities

Unlike many neighbourhoods in Singapore, Clementi did not use to have a shopping centre in its central vicinity; however, there is a wide range of shops and hawker food stalls. Big Bookshop, located in the Clementi Town Centre, is reputed for its affordable tertiary textbooks. The Commonwealth theatres opposite the MRT station have been closed and rebuilt into a 4-level small shopping mall, 'City Vibe'. The former Eng Wah Empress Cineplex is closed and no plans are in place to redevelop the site.

Further from the town centre, a shopping complex, West Coast Plaza, serves the upmarket residents of the condominiums along West Coast Road. The shopping mall has many restaurants and house a variety of small stalls selling fashion accessories and handicrafts.

Towards Pasir Panjang, there is also the stretch of mostly 24-hour eating places, such as Fong Seng nasi lemak, Niqqi's cheese prata and also the new takeaway food store, Ai-Takeaway. National University of Singapore students frequent these popular late-night eating spots.

The Singapore Police 'D' Divisional Headquarters is located at Clementi Avenue 5. Clementi Fire Station is also located off Commonwealth Avenue West.

In April 2005, the HDB announced plans to build a 40-storey complex in Clementi Central on the existing bus interchange site. The complex will comprise housing and commercial zones, a public library, and an air-conditioned bus interchange. It is planned to be completed in 2010 and is tentatively named as The Clematis. A temporary bus interchange has been built at a site across the road from the old interchange.

Politics

Clementi was last an independent political constituency in the 1984 general elections. Most of Clementi now comes under the West Coast GRC and is managed by the West Coast Town Council, whose head office is located in Clementi Central. The bulk of this area is managed under the Clementi division, the rest under the West Coast division. However, some parts of Clementi are not part of this GRC but of the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC. That constituency is in turn administered under the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council.

The PAP slate for five-member West Coast GRC, comprising Lim Hng Kiang, Cedric Foo Chee Keng, S. Iswaran, Arthur Fong and Madeleine Ho Geok Choo, was unchallenged in the 2006 general elections. Arthur Fong currently represents the Clementi division of the GRC, while Iswaran represents the constituents residing in some HDB blocks around Clementi Avenue 1 and the Ginza Plaza area as part of the West Coast division.

Education

Clementi is serviced by several educational facilities, some of which have a long history. Primary schools in the area include Qifa Primary School, Nan Hua Primary School, Clementi Primary School and Pei Tong Primary School. Secondary schools include Kent Ridge Secondary School, Tanglin Secondary School, Clementi Woods Secondary School, Nan Hua High School, New Town Secondary School and Clementi Town Secondary School. The NUS High School of Mathematics and Science, an independent school specialising in Mathematics and Science, is located at Clementi Ave 1. E.R International School is also located close by, on Ulu Pandan Road

Tertiary educational institutions in Clementi include Ngee Ann Polytechnic and a branch of the Institute of Technical Education - ITE Clementi. Singapore Polytechnic and the National University of Singapore borders on Clementi, although they are technically part of Queenstown. There is a direct bus from the Clementi bus interchange that loops around the NUS campus.

The Japanese School or Singapore Nihonjin gakko has two elementary school campuses on Clementi Road and Upper Changi Road North and a middle school campus on West Coast Road. Waseda Shibuya High School Singapore campus is also located at West Coast Road.

A bird's eye view of Clementi Town, facing West

References

• Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1