Nation and Conservation: Postcolonial Water Narratives in Singapore Rituals

Considering environmental themes at memorial sites for the late Lee Kuan Yew in comparison with environmental themes at National Day 2015 and SG50 (celebrating Singapore’s fiftieth year of independence), this paper focuses on two images of water: the Singapore River Clean-up and Water Wally, the iconic Public Utilities Board mascot. Have themes of sacrifice turned to themes of changing habits and rational pleasures? The National Day celebration, though entwined with memorials, and by design invoking postcolonial memory, was also a future-oriented celebration. Where they appeared, green and blue visions of the environmental good delineated necessities, but also hopes. Bringing together analysis of symbols and power, ritual and history, this article considers Singapore’s key environmental and postcolonial history in relation to a palette of red, green and blue cultural politics.