The Sungei Road Market, or Thieves Market, is Singapore's oldest flea market. It was shut down on July 10, 2017 to the chagrin of many (who may or may not have visited it on a regular basis).
Local site Funeral in 25 Objects, however, has taken a decidedly poetic stance in its tribute to the foregone fixture of Singapore's history.
It is, in a nutshell, about "25 Singaporean politicians [who] are each gifted an object from the recently shut down Sungei Road Market, along with a personalised haiku."
The gifts and haikus are based on the politicians' public lives. Each of them were chosen because they have some kind of link — direct or indirect — to the closure of the market.
Let's begin.
1) Lee Hsien Loong
Prime Minister
Young Ecologist & Young Environmentalist pins - $3
Pruning is tiring.
This garden city was not
sculpted in a day.
2) Josephine Teo
Minister, Prime Minister's Office, oversees the National Population and Talent Division
Red "Love" pocketwatch - $4
All uteruses
flow like time, urgent and red.
Count your eggs before.
3) Khaw Boon Wan
Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Transport
Humpty Dumpty piggy bank - $15
Crack a winsome smile
and the world is yours to take
to much greater heights
If you were wondering what they meant by "winsome smile":
4) Vivian Balakrishnan
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Miniature slot machine - $5
Do you want three meals
in a restaurant, food court
or hawker centre?
Context:
5) Ng Chee Meng
Minister for Education (Schools), Second Minister for Transport
Second runner-up carrom trophy - $4
For your seeming lack
of entrepreneurial dare:
Consolation prize
Context:
6) Ong Ye Kung
Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills), Second Minister for Defence
Notes on past-year exam questions - $0
What of a future
if our best and only skill
is breaking the past?
The gifts for all 25 politicians cost S$90.50 in total. To view more of them, head over to their site here.
Top image adapted from Funeral in 25 Objects and Lee Hsien Loong's Facebook.
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.