Source: The Electric New Paper

http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,98216,00.html

On December 2, 2005 The Electric New Paper reported, "In an old two-storey shop house, Mr Kwa Cheng Choon, 58, carves and paints wooden statues of Taoist deities. His shop is one of the last in this dying trade here. Mr Kwa, whose great grandfather started the trade in China, said none of his four children wants to take over. 'It's a pity,' Mr Kwa said. 'But they have better prospects elsewhere. Society has changed.' Master Lee Zhiwang, President of the Taoist Mission (Singapore), said only a fraction of the temples that Singapore had in the 1960s remain today. In 2000, the Census Report recorded only about 300 temples and altars left here... Many Taoists are also ignorant about their religion, Master Lee said. That's why the Taoist Mission is planning to build a Tao Theology and Culture Centre. 'We need to educate Taoists on their beliefs. If they are ignorant about Taoism, they will leave it,' he said. 'We want the youth to give Taoism a second chance.' In 1990, the Taoist Federation was formed. 'The Taoist community was like a pan of scattered sand,' said Mr Tan Kok Hian, first deputy chairman of the federation. 'We wanted to unite it.' The federation organises lectures and classes to educate Taoists about their faith."