Netizens have petitioned the Singapore Government to preserve the Sentosa Merlion, days after it was announced that the iconic statue will be demolished to make way for a S$90-million Sentosa Sensoryscape project.
Built in 1995, the Sentosa Merlion is the largest and tallest Merlion statue in Singapore, standing at 37 metres tall.
While Sentosa Development Corporation has not officially released a demolition date, the last day of operations will be on 20 October 2019. Construction work is expected to begin shortly thereafter and the project is expected to be completed by 2022.
The Sentosa Sensoryscape project is a thoroughfare bridge that will connect Sentosa to Pulau Brani and link Resorts World Sentosa to the beaches in the southern part of Singapore.
Plans to demolish the Sentosa Merlion were announced weeks after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the Sentosa-Brani Master Plan during his National Day Rally speech, last month. The announcement has drawn backlash from many Singaporeans who consider the statue a national icon.
Netizens are now signing an online petition, asking the Government to preserve the Sentosa Merlion. Steven Lim, who started the petition, appealed: “The Merlion at Sentosa is a National Icon, it was the pride of the Nation. This monument share many fond memories with Singaporean kids in the 90s when our parents bring (sic) us to visit it.”
He asked: “Why waste of taxpayers money to demolish it just to construct a pedestrian bridge costing SG$90mil for the convenience of access from RWS Casino to the Beaches? Why can’t this bridge change it’s alignment? Who is benefiting from the construction of this bridge?”
Over 600 like-minded individuals have signed the petition so far. Read the petition in full HERE.