Bukit Purmei

Bukit Purmei
HDB Estate
Bukit Purmei
Other transcription(s)
 • MalayBukit Purmei (Rumi)
بوکيت ڤرماي (Jawi)
 • Chinese武吉宝美 (Simplified)
武吉宝美 (Traditional)
Wǔjí Bǎoměi (Pinyin)
From top left to right: Bukit Purmei Avenue, Bukit Purmei Hillock Park, Radin Mas Primary School, Tang Gah Beo, Keramat Bukit Kasita
Interactive map of Bukit Purmei
Bukit Purmei is located in Singapore
Bukit Purmei
Bukit Purmei
   Bukit Purmei in    Singapore
Coordinates: 1°16′27″N 103°49′34″E / 1.274169°N 103.826017°E / 1.274169; 103.826017
Country Singapore
RegionCentral Region
Planning areaBukit Merah
CDCsCentral Singapore CDC
Town councilsTanjong Pagar Town Council
ConstituenciesRadin Mas SMC
Government
 • MayorsCentral Singapore CDC
 • Members of ParliamentMelvin Yong
Postal districts
09
HDB flats15

Bukit Purmei is a housing estate within Bukit Merah planning area in Singapore, near Telok Blangah estate. Bukit Purmei consists of 15 HDB blocks. Construction of the flats were completed by late 1981 to 1982, and in 1997, levelling of the hill and renovations were conducted in the estate.

Within the estate, there is Bukit Purmei Hillock Park, a Chinese temple named Tang Gah Beo, and a compound containing a Muslim cemetery called Keramat Bukit Kasita.

Etymology

Bukit Purmei translates to "beautiful hill", with bukit meaning "hill" and purmei meaning "beauty".

History

By late 1981 to early 1982, construction of flats in Bukit Purmei was completed by the Housing Development Board, located at the foot of a hill, creating about 2300 units of houses, with 878 three-room units, 1,284 four-room units, and 135 five-room units. By 1997, it had 15 blocks of flats. Teo Lian Huay of New Nation described it as an alternative to living in Telok Blangah, which was a popularly vied for location. In 1997, an Interim Upgrading Project was conducted on Bukit Purmei, which created facilities such as parks, renovated lifts and sheltered walkways, and did some levelling on the hill.

In 1997, there were plans to rename "Bukit Purmei" as "Purmeiville", to "[capture] the new environment" according to Simon Koh, the person in charge of the Interim Upgrading Project for Bukit Purmei. However, the plans to rename it to "Purmeiville" were received with many letters of disatisfaction to The Straits Times' forum page, such as Chang Wai Tee who wrote to The Straits Times, saying that the name had historical value, and that the construction showed no care for the landscape of Bukit Purmei. Following the reaction, Koh said in 1998 that the estate will not be renamed.

In November 1999, Bukit Purmei Hillock Park was vandalised, such as by defacing barbecue pits and breaking water pipes. It was formerly a dim location for drug trafficking activities. Volunteer residents, around the size of 39 people, were gathered by Lee Yew Lee, chairman of the residents' committee in Bukit Purmei, to keep a watch on vandals and do cleaning.

Landmarks

Tang Gah Beo

Tang Gah Beo, a Taoist temple, named after the Dong Yue Mountain, a sacred mountain in China, and was gazetted for conservation in June 2014. According to Alyssa Woo of The Straits Times, it is believed to be built in the 20th century by Biyu, a Buddhist from Fujian. Woo describes the Chinese mythology structures atop the roof as its defining feature. The roof and the halls are built with a Teochew style and a Hokkien style, respectively, which Yeo Kang Shua, an assistant professor in architecture from the Singapore University of Technology and Design, describes as surprising.

Keramat Bukit Kasita

Keramat Bukit Kasita is a compound surrounded by heavy foliage, comprising a Muslim burial ground named Tanah Kubur Diraja, containing about 200 tombs belonging to the Johor sultanate. According to Melody Zaccheus of The Straits Times, some accounts describe it having been opened by 1530 by Sultan Alaudin Riayat Shah II, the seventh descendant of Sang Nila Utama, but John Miksic, a historian and archaelogist from the National University of Singapore said that it dates to the early to mid-19th century. By 2023, it was assigned as a reserve site by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, and has a caretaker, housing about cats, rabbits, and roosters. As of 2013, it received about 50 visitors monthly. As of 2021, an elderly woman, who calls herself a "spirit healer", lives in the compound since the 1990s, who suffers from health and cat-hoarding problems, owning 30 cats.

Neighbouring areas

Notes

  1. ↑ IPA: /ˈbʊkɪt ˌpɜːrmaɪ/ BUUK-it PUR-mye (Chinese: 武吉宝美; pinyin: Wǔjí Bǎoměi)

References

  1. ↑ 林, 美玲 (21 August 2025). "武吉宝美路组屋凌晨火患 三人送院". Lianhe Zaobao (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "Our Towns and Estates". Housing & Development Board. Retrieved 24 July 2026. Over the years, HDB continued to build housing estates at Redhill, Kampung Tiong Bahru, Telok Blangah, Bukit Purmei, and Depot Road, all of which are part of Bukit Merah town.
  3. ↑ "Our District". Central Singapore CDC. Retrieved 22 July 2026. Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC) serves ... residents living in ... Radin Mas ... Single Member Constituencies (SMCs).
  4. ↑ "Radin Mas SMC". Tanjong Pagar Town Council. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  5. ↑ Mungcal, Alyssa Karla; Tampus, Charles; Chee, Wei Xian; Lee, Pei Jie; Kurohi, Rei; Sverdan, Roman; Adeline, Stephanie (11 March 2025). "Singapore GE2025: Which constituency will you be in?". The Straits Times. Retrieved 22 July 2026. BUKIT PURMEI HILLOCK PARK ... Your constituency is Radin Mas SMC
  6. ↑ "Mayors (Over the Years)". Community Development Council. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Find MP(s) in My Constituency". Parliament of Singapore. Retrieved 22 July 2026. Street Name: BUKIT PURMEI AVENUE Constituency: Radin Mas Members: Melvin Yong Yik Chye
  8. ↑ "Find a postcode". SingPost. Retrieved 22 July 2026. By Landmark: Bukit Purmei ... Postcode 090101, 090102, ..., 090115
  9. 1 2 Wai Tee, Chang (15 December 1997). "Why strip a land of its roots, beauty?". The Straits Times. p. 38 – via NewspaperSG.
  10. 1 2 Teo, Lian Huay (3 December 1980). "New estate at foot of hill". New Nation. p. 5 – via NewspaperSG.
  11. 1 2 3 Andrianie, Siti (8 December 1997). "Change of name to Purmei View after upgrading". The Straits Times. p. 38 – via NewspaperSG.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Zakaria, Zuzanita (8 December 1998). "Upgrading gives new life to hillock". The Straits Times. p. 29 – via NewspaperSG.
  13. ↑ "Park watch". The New Paper. 10 February 1999. p. 5 – via NewspaperSG.
  14. 1 2 3 Chin, Soo Fang (10 February 1999). "Bukit Purmei residents will protect their turf". The Straits Times. p. 31 – via NewspaperSG.
  15. ↑ "Forget baywatch". The Straits Times. 10 April 1999. p. 52 – via NewspaperSG.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Woo, Alyssa (4 June 2016). "Teochew roof, Hokkien layout". The Straits Times. p. 4 – via NewspaperSG.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Zaccheus, Melody (6 December 2013). "HDB estate with grave links to the past". The Straits Times. p. 6 – via NewspaperSG.
  18. ↑ Sun, David (11 November 2021). "Cats and birds being hoarded in Radin Mas cemetery hut by self-proclaimed spirit healer". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 22 July 2026.