SINGAPORE – The upcoming Founders’ Memorial at Gardens by the Bay’s Bay East Garden is set to cost $335 million to construct.

Responding to a question from Mr Louis Chua (Sengkang GRC), Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong told Parliament on Sept 9 that the development cost is based on current outlook and projections.

The sum “encompasses building construction and fit-out costs for the exhibition galleries, viewing gallery and outdoor amphitheatre, education and family spaces and amenities, and a 5ha outdoor public garden”, said Mr Tong in a written response. He added that the annual operating cost of the memorial “is being worked out in tandem with the development of operational plans”.

Slated to open in end-2028, the memorial – which was mooted in 2015 following founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s death – will be dedicated to independent Singapore’s pioneers and the values they exemplified. It broke ground on June 5.

Mr Tong said the memorial “will be an integrated gallery and gardens experience”, adding that it will be a space “to capture the spirit of our nation and unify Singaporeans”, by enabling them to reflect on the past and be inspired for the future.

Its twin two-storey buildings, which will be connected by a common basement, were designed by Japanese architecture firm Kengo Kuma & Associates, working in collaboration with Singapore firm K2LD Architects.

The opening of the memorial was originally planned for 2025 – in time for Singapore’s 60th birthday – but its completion date was pushed back owing to extensive infrastructural work that was taking place at its Bay East Garden site. Its adjusted 2027 completion date was then revised due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The Founders’ Memorial MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line will open in tandem with the memorial in 2028.

SINGAPORE - Foreign interference in Singapore’s politics and policies, such as the penalties imposed for some criminal offences, is unacceptable, said Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam.

“Singapore’s position on this has been consistent since 1965: Such interference is unacceptable. It is an absolute no,” he said in posts on his social media accounts. “That position has not changed – and it will be firmly enforced.”

His comments come after Ms Fadiah Nadwa Fikri – a Malaysian woman who had completed a PhD at the National University of Singapore in 2025 – was denied re-entry to the Republic after engaging in political activism here.