Former Cemeteries in Singapore - Remaining Cemeteries

Remaining Cemeteries

The Choa Chu Kang Cemetery is a state-owned, 318-acre (1.29 km2) public cemetery complex first opened in 1947, and is the only cemetery in Singapore still open for burials. In 1998, the burial period for all graves at the Choa Chu Kang Cemetery complex was limited to a period of 15 years, following which the remains of the deceased would be exhumed. The existing graves 15 years old or older–amounting to some 17,000 to 18,000 graves in each of the two earliest cemetery blocks–were then exhumed.

Pusara Aman Cemetery and Pusara Abadi Cemetery are Muslim cemeteries located along Jalan Bahar and Lim Chu Kang road, respectively. These two cemeteries represent the largest burial area reserved for the Muslim community, and graves within are typically cleared of weeds and debris before Eid ul-Fitr, during which Muslims customarily visit them. Pusara Aman Cemetery is the older, and has at its edge a mosque which was built in 1975. Pusara Abadi Cemetery, on the hand, is newer, and is where the Muslims exhumed from Bidadari Cemetery are interred to rest.

The Kranji War Cemetery was officially opened by governor Sir Robert Brown Black in 1957. The cemetery contains the graves of some 4.458 Allied servicemen and women, and is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The cemetery also contains the military graves of soldiers killed during World War I whose graves were relocated from Bidadari Cemetery. In 1975, owing to the closure of the Pasir Panjang and Ulu Pandan military cemeteries, the War Graves Commission allowed for the use of the Kranji War Cemetery to house the remains of British and Gurkha soldiers and their families who were exhumed. At the north end of the cemetery, next to the Kranji War Memorial, is the State Cemetery. With an area of 2 acres (8,100 m2), the State Cemetery is reserved for the burial of persons who have made a significant contribution to Singapore, and is maintained by the National Environment Agency. Currently, only the graves of President Yusof Ishak (buried 25 November 1970) and President Benjamin Sheares (buried 15 May 1981) reside in the State Cemetery.

The Ying Fo Kuan Memorial is a Hakka cemetery located behind Blk 32 of Holland Close, a stone's throw away from today's Holland Village. It was built in 1887, when the Ying Fo Fui Kuan (应和会馆), the first Chinese Hakka clan association in Singapore, bought over a piece of land from the British government to meet the burial demands of the increasing number of association members. The area was then renamed the Twin Dragon Hills, and a Wu Shu Ancestral Hall was built next to it. The Ying Fo Kuan cemetery was acquired by the local government in 1965, and the remains from the coffins placed in urns and buried under neat rows of memorial stones