The idea that one town is better than another in Singapore is rather ridiculous. With a singular government running a tight ship on a tiny island, the differences between a town like Yishun and Marine Parade shouldn’t be that extreme but if residents from either places are to be believed, then the gulf is as wide as when comparing Texas and California.
Public perception has so far painted Yishun in an unfavourable light. From cat killings to murder to sinkholes being reported constantly by the media, public bias has been shaped to give Yishun a bad reputation.
However, the youngish northern town of about 40 years is actually a rapidly developing district with many of the conveniences and amenities that makes it self-sufficient. It is also, the first district in Singapore to achieve a couple of impressive feats that have done more for its community that any other districts have.
In this article, we take a look at five things you may not have known about Yishun.
- In January 2015, Yishun was awarded the status of being the first dementia-friendly town in Singapore. Over 2,000 people were trained to identify and assist elderly people in the community who may be suffering from this disease. Additionally, 58,000 households and businesses had information guides distributed to them to keep them informed and abreast of the issues an elderly would face when afflicted with this and other age-related diseases.
- While HDB may think that cats are a nuisance in the flats, residents in Chong Pang, Yishun believe otherwise and had, in October 2012, initiated the Love Cats programme to allow the cute, furry pets to have a home in HDB flats. The programme requires owners to register their cats, sterilise and microchip them too. In addition, it also requires owners to prevent their cats from roaming outdoors, where the animals may get into trouble outside of human supervision. The programme is reaching the end of its four-year trail and one can only hope that it will be seen as successful.
- Yishun is home to the first GV Cinema in Singapore. Opened in May 1992, it was at that point, the largest multiplex in all of Asia. It has since undergone a S$5 million facelift where it is now Singapore and Asia’s first green and sustainable multiplex.
- Singapore’s first one-stop diabetes help centre was opened in November 2015 in Block 839 Yishun, Street 81. The centre allows residents to use its self-help kiosks to perform specific health checks, such as measuring their own blood pressure without the need for a visit to the doctor.
- Northpoint Shopping Centre might currently be the only shopping mall in Yishun, but when it was opened in 1992, it was the first modern mall to be opened in a new town. Nowadays, malls like Northpoint are common in all housing estates but Yishun had it before it was cool.
For reading all of that, you’ve unlocked a special bit of Yishun trivia!
- Yishun has its own twitter account detailing all the weird and frankly, funny things that happen in that exceptionally happening town. Check it out here.