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The Workers' Party (WP) will release a documentary on the history of Hougang in commemoration of the party's 65th anniversary.

The WP has held on to the electoral seat of Hougang for 31 years, when former WP chief Low Thia Khiang became its Member of Parliament in 1991.

Leon Perera, Aljunied GRC MP and WP Media Chair said,

"In many ways, the Hougang story is synonymous with the Singapore story. It is a story of Teochew Chinese immigrants eking out a humble living as farmers and making this place their home. But there is something special about the "Hougang spirit": a courage to stand up for your beliefs, a responsibility towards the less fortunate, a quiet resilience, a can-do attitude, the kampung spirit".

Perera hopes that the film "gives one a moment to pause and remember the values that define us".

WP intends to show the full film at public screenings in the next few months.

Documentary to feature residents, academics, politicians and volunteers

According to a press release by the party, the documentary, which is titled "后港 Hougang: The Documentary", seeks to tell the history of the constituency from a grassroots perspective.

The press release added that this documentary follows an earlier film, called "Walking with Singapore: Road to 2011", which was produced in commemoration of the party's 60th anniversary in 2017.

The WP said that the new documentary adopts a stronger focus on Hougang and its people and community, while exploring what makes the Hougang spirit special, and the significance of Hougang in Singapore politics over the years.

The documentary will chart Hougang's history from the mid-18th century onwards and will feature personal recollections of growing up in Hougang, the sentiments of the residents towards state-led redevelopment and relocation, and the political journey of the community.

Louis Chua, Sengkang GRC MP and the WP Media Vice Chair, said that the film "is in essence a ground-up history of Hougang", as "this history has been intertwined with the Party's journey over the past three decades".

Chua dedicated the film to the "people of Hougang, past and present" and thanked them for "for walking with us".

Who are featured in the documentary?

In addition, the documentary will contain commentary by historians, public intellectuals, politicians, and volunteers.

Some of the individuals featured in the documentary include the former MPs for Hougang, Low and Png Eng Huat, as well as the current MP Dennis Tan.

The deputy organising secretary for the party, Kenneth Foo, will also be featured.

The documentary will begin by tracing the journeys of Teochew immigrants since the middle of the eighteenth century, from China to the Riau Islands, onward to Pulau Ubin in Singapore and then Hougang.

It will then focus on the personal responses of the Hougang people to state-led urbanisation, land acquisition and relocation in the 1980s, followed by the background behind the contestation of Hougang by Low in the 1991 General Elections.

The remainder of the documentary will touch on the difficulties in the town council transition process and the kampung spirit evident in everyday interactions among the residents.

The documentary will then conclude with the Hougang Constituency Education Trust — a community which gives out annual bursaries to children from needy families and has been established since 1992.

It will be told in English, Mandarin, Teochew and Hokkien.

Top screenshots via WP/Facebook