Clementi, Singapore

Clementi is a town in Singapore, located in the west between Jurong and Dover, and commonly refers to the Housing and Development Board (HDB)'s housing estate of Clementi New Town. The town was named after the Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner Sir Cecil Clementi Smith. The Clementi Planning Area encompasses this entire area. Clementi is also the capital of the West Coast Group Representative Constituencies, whose head office is located at Clementi Avenue 3.

Clementi New Town has an area of 4 square kilometres of which slightly over 50% is used for residential purpose. There are 24,000 HDB residential units with an estimated population of 88,000.

Etymology

Clementi Town Centre, near Clementi MRT Station

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

Mosque in Clementi.

Clementi and the roads therein are named after Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner 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. Having been a popular governor, the Chinese community petitioned for his continuation as governor when he left Singapore in 1893.

History

'Clementi Road' used to be known as 'Reformatory Road' due to a boys' home located in the area. In 1947, the Singapore Rural Board discussed renaming the road after Sir Hugh Clifford but eventually decided to name it 'Clementi' after Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, who was the first British High Commissioner in Malaya including the Straits Settlements.

The present area occupying Clementi Avenue 1 used to be known as 'Sussex Estate', named after the historic county of Sussex in England. It was developed in the mid-1950s to house the families of British senior non-commissioned officers. When Clementi underwent a major transformation beginning in 1975, Sussex Estate was the only pre-development feature that was retained. It was demolished in 1997.

Most of the present Clementi New Town area used to be occupied by 'Colombo Camp'. It is not known when the camp came into existence. However, the Singapore Guard Regiment, formed in 1948, was stationed there. The regiment was disbanded in November 1971. The camp was demolished in 1975 when the area was cleared for development.

Clementi New Town was developed between 1975 and 1979. Planned as a self-sufficient residential town with a range of facilities and services, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) began clearing the area in 1974 and affected villagers were resettled.

An iconic landmark at Clementi is the steel truss railway bridge crossing Sungei Ulu Pandan. This is part of Jurong KTMB Railway Line which was constructed to facilitate the transportation of manufactured products from Jurong to Malaysia, and raw materials from Malaysia to the industrial estate at Jurong. Construction of the railway began in 1963, and the first train ran in 1966. It was closed in the early 1990s. The disused track continues to attract much interest from the public, especially people with a taste for history, nature and photography.

Geography

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 HDBflats 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, West Coast Highway for the South, and Clementi Avenue 6 for the West.

Politics

Clementi was last an independent political constituency in the 1984 general election. 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.

West Coast GRC is led by Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang. The constituency first faced a challenge from the Workers' Party in the 1997 general election. Since then, the constituency has received walkovers in both the 2001 and 2006 general elections.

In the 2011 general election, the PAP slate for five-member West Coast GRC, comprising Lim Hng Kiang, S. Iswaran, Arthur Fong, Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai and Foo Mee Har, faced a contest against the Reform Party led by Kenneth Jeyaretnam.

Arthur Fong currently serves as MP for Clementi, representing the Clementi division of the West Coast GRC.

Amenities

Unlike many neighbourhoods in Singapore, Clementi originally did not have any shopping centre in its central vicinity. However, there is a wide range of retail shops, hawker food stalls and wet markets.

The Commonwealth Cinema opposite the MRT station has been demolished in 2008 and rebuilt into a 3-storey small shopping mall, named as 'CityVibe'. The former Eng Wah's Empress Entertainment Centre Cineplex has been closed and is currently undergoing reconstruction.

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-hours eateries 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, while Clementi Neighbourhood Police Post is located at Clementi Avenue 3. Clementi Fire Station is also situated off Commonwealth Avenue West.

Clementi Polyclinic - a major clinic of the town, is located at Clementi Avenue 3.

NTUC FairPrice operates two 24-hours supermarkets at Clementi Avenue 2 and Clementi Avenue 3.

In April 2005, the HDB announced plans to build a new mixed-use development at Clementi Town Centre, on the existing bus interchange site. The new development complex will house a 5-storey retail podium with two basements, two 40-storey residential blocks (Clementi Towers), the West Coast Town Council (Clementi Office), a public library and an air-conditioned bus interchange. On 21 May 2011, The Clementi Mall - the new retail shopping mall which is part of the mixed-use development, is officially opened. The mall is linked directly to Clementi MRT Station on the 3rd level, and the new air-conditioned Clementi Bus Interchange at the 1st level has direct access to the mall. It is the first development in Singapore to integrate public housing, public transport and commercial facilities built together within a single complex. On 15 May 2012, the mixed development won the prestigious international FIABCI Prix d'Excellence award, bagging the Runner-Up award under the Master Plan Category.^[1]

Education

The Japanese School Primary School Clementi Campus

Clementi is serviced by several educational facilities, some of which have a long history. Primary schools in the area include Clementi Primary School, Nan Hua Primary School, Pei Tong Primary School and Qifa Primary School. Secondary schools include Clementi Town Secondary School, Nan Hua High School, New Town Secondary School, Tanglin Secondary School, Clementi Woods Secondary School and Kent Ridge Secondary School. The NUS High School of Mathematics and Science, an independent school specialising in Mathematics and Science, is located at Clementi Avenue 1. The School of Science and Technology, Singapore, which specialises in Science, Technology and Applied Learning, is located at the junction of Clementi Road and Commonwealth Avenue West near Dover MRT Station and Clementi MRT station as well.

Tertiary educational institutions bordering or situated along Clementi Road include Ngee Ann Polytechnic, SIM Headquarters, SIM University and the National University of Singapore (NUS). There is a direct bus service from the Clementi bus interchange that loops around the NUS campus. Singapore Polytechnic is located along Commonwealth Avenue West next to Dover MRT Station.

The Japanese School, Singapore or Singapore Nihonjin gakko operates one of its two primary schools at Clementi Road, directly opposite NUS.^[2] A private Japanese Kindergarten is just next to the Japanese Secondary School. Waseda Shibuya Senior High School Singapore campus is also located at West Coast Road.

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

Transportation

Clementi New Town is served by Clementi MRT Station (EW23) on the East West MRT Line and bus services to Clementi Bus Interchange and different parts of the town

The Clementi Bus Interchange is used mainly by SBS Transit. The following bus services are in operation (which is SBS Transit unless stated otherwise):

• Feeder services

• Trunk services

Service	Between	And	Notes
SBS Transit Trunk Services
7	Clementi Bus Interchange	Bedok Bus Interchange
14	Clementi Bus Interchange	Bedok Bus Interchange
96	Clementi Bus Interchange	National University of Singapore (loop)
99	Clementi Bus Interchange	Jurong West Street 91/92 (loop)
147	Clementi Bus Interchange	Hougang Central Bus Interchange
156	Clementi Bus Interchange	Sengkang Bus Interchange
165	Clementi Bus Interchange	Hougang Central Bus Interchange
166	Clementi Bus Interchange	Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange
196	Clementi Bus Interchange	Bedok Bus Interchange
SMRT Buses Trunk Services
173	Clementi Bus Interchange	Bukit Batok Bus Interchange

In addition, the following bus services pass through parts of Clementi:

• SBS Transit

Service	Between	And	Notes
SBS Transit Trunk Services
30	Bedok Bus Interchange	Boon Lay Bus Interchange
51	Hougang Central Bus Interchange	Jurong East Bus Interchange
52	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Bishan Bus Interchange
74	Hougang Central Bus Interchange	Buona Vista Bus Terminal
78	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Clementi Avenue 2 (loop)
97	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Marina Centre Bus Terminal
105	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Serangoon Bus Interchange
143	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Toa Payoh Bus Interchange
151	Hougang Central Bus Interchange	Buona Vista Bus Terminal
154	Boon Lay Bus Interchange	Eunos Bus Interchange
183	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Singapore Science Park (loop)
185	Soon Lee Bus Depot	Buona Vista Bus Terminal
197	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Bedok Bus Interchange
198	Boon Lay Bus Interchange	Bukit Merah Bus Interchange
SBS Transit Chinatown Direct Services
CT28	New Bridge Road Bus Terminal	Clementi Avenue 4 (loop)
SBS Transit Fast Forward Services
74e	Hougang Central Bus Interchange	Buona Vista Bus Terminal
97e	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Marina Centre Bus Terminal
151e	Hougang Central Bus Interchange	Kent Ridge Bus Terminal
SBS Transit NiteOwl Services
5N	Marina Centre Bus Terminal	Jurong West Street 92

• SMRT Buses

Service	Between	And	Notes
SMRT Buses Trunk Services
61	Bukit Batok Bus Interchange	Eunos Bus Interchange
75	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Marina Centre Bus Terminal
106	Bukit Batok Bus Interchange	Shenton Way Bus Terminal
176	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Bukit Merah Bus Interchange
184	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Clementi MRT Station (loop)
188	Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange	HarbourFront Bus Interchange
189	Bukit Batok Bus Interchange	Kent Ridge Bus Terminal
963	Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange	HarbourFront Bus Interchange
963R	Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange	Resorts World Sentosa
SMRT Buses NightRider Services
NR5	Marina Centre Bus Terminal	Jurong West Street 75
NR8	Marina Centre Bus Terminal	Bukit Batok West Avenue 5

Places of worship

• Ang Chee Sia Ong Temple
• Church of the Holy Cross
• Clementi Bible Centre
• Darussalam Mosque
• Singapore Buddhist Youth Mission
• Tentera Di-Raja Mosque
• Wu Tai Shan Buddhist Temple

Recreation

Clementi has a swimming complex and a sports hall for badminton or table tennis located near the MRT station. The Clementi Stadium (capacity 4,000) and West Coast Recreation Centre are located near West Coast Road and can be seen from the Ayer Rajah Expressway. West Coast Park and Clementi Woods are situated further away from the central area but are still accessible by bus.

Neighbourhoods

There are 4 constituencies in the town, and 7 neighbourhoods (N1 to N7) within the Clementi vicinity; made up primarily by Clementi, West Coast and Sunset each with their own different traits. Most of the neighbourhoods are centralised or aligned along their respective neighbourhood centres, where most of the commercial activities are conducted, other than Clementi Town Centre.

Further reading

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

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clementi.

• Clementi Free Online Community Forums (ClementiToday.COM)

Neighbouring areas

	Toh Tuck	Bukit Timah	Ulu Pandan
	Teban Gardens		Dover
	Clementi
	Pandan	West Coast	National University of Singapore