Living Conditions of Malay Immigrants

Source 1: A photograph of a Malay village during the early 20th century Colonial Singapore.

Reference:

Pinterest.com. (Year unknown). Malay Fishing Village. Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/430304939378311050/

Source 2: A description about the beginnings of Geylang Serai in Singapore.

Geylang Serai is one of the oldest Malay settlements in Singapore. In the 1840s, some Orang Laut (sea nomads) settled on the bank of the Geylang River. The settlement expanded to the Geylang Serai area in the latter half of the 19th century. At the time, the rich Arab family of the Alsagoffs owned the large Perseverance Estate on which the extensive cultivation and growth of lemongrass plants led the settlement area to be known as Geylang Serai (serai meaning “lemongrass” in Malay). Some suggest that the name Geylang is a corruption of the Malay kilang, which means “press”, “mill” or “factory”.

In the early 1900s, after the failure of the lemongrass industry, the Malays and the Chinese farmers remained on the Alsagoff estate but turned to cultivating coconut, rubber and vegetables, as well as rearing poultry for a living. By 1910, Singapore’s first tramline service had its eastern terminal at Geylang Serai.

Reference:

Cornelius-Takahama, V. (2017). Gelyang Serai. Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board. Retrieved from https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_747_2004-12-09.html

Source 3: A description about the history of Kampong Glam in Singapore.

Kampong Glam was land set aside for Sultan Hussein Mohamed Shah and 600 family members in 1824, after he signed the treaty that ceded Singapore to the East India Company. He instructed the Temenggong Abdul Rahman to build his palace here – a large attap-roof istana (palace). Aside from the sultan’s family, residents of the area included the Bugis, Arabs, Javanese and Boyanese. By 1824, at least one-third of the residents were Chinese. Muslim immigrants were allocated to reside at Kampong Glam. These migrants settled amongst their own ethnic groups, which gave rise to different “mini-kampongs” such as Kampong Bugis, Kampong Java and Kampong Malacca. Stamford Raffles himself donated $3,000 for a “respectable mosque”, which served the community until 1924 when the current landmark, Sultan Mosque, was built. The location of Kampong Glam caused a rift between Raffles and William Farquhar – the latter believed that the land would be better used as the island’s business centre. Kampong Glam was developed in 1831 by 200 convict workers in eight months, at a total cost of $500.

At the founding of Singapore, there was a village by the sea where the orang laut (sea gypsies) from the Glam tribe resided. According to Wah Hakim, the area was known as Seduyong before it gained the name Kampong Glam, introduced by the orang laut. The bark of the cajeput tree (known in Malay as gelam tree) was used by the orang laut to make awnings and sails. Its timber was often used for constructing boats and served as firewood. Its fruit was ground and used as pepper – mercha bolong – and its leaves boiled and concocted into the cajeput oil, a medication for rheumatism and cramps.

By the 1920s, the kampong had descended into notoriety so much so that it was famed more for its red-light district than for its distinctive community.11 The elegant, Moorish-influenced Sultan Mosque was rebuilt in 1924, and continues to be an important beacon for Muslims.

Reference:

Cornelius-Takahama, V. (2016). Kampong Glam. Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board. Retrieved from https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_249_2004-12-16.html?s=kampong%20glam

Source 4: A brief history of Jalan Eunos during the 19th century Singapore.

Jalan Eunos area was originally quite hilly with many vegetable farms and coconut plantations. In the latter part of the 19th century, many Malays congregated in Geylang along with wealthy Arabs such as the Alkaff, Alsagoff and Aljunied families. The Alsagoffs were landowners of the large Perseverance Estate, which stretched from Geylang Serai to Jalan Eunos. In the latter half of the 19th century, Perseverance Estate cultivated serai (lemongrass).

Jalan Eunos was also home to one of the last Malay settlements on mainland Singapore. The Jalan Eunos Malay Settlement, originally called Kampong Melayu and renamed Kampong Eunos, was situated near Changi Road, off Jalan Eunos. It was founded with the help of Mohamed Eunos Abdullah, president and co-founder of the Kesatuan Melayu Singapura (Singapore Malay Union) and the first Malay representative of the Legislative Council. In 1927, Mohamed Eunos successfully lobbied the Legislative Council for land to resettle the Malays who had to move as a result of the Kallang Airport project. The council eventually granted 240 ha of land near Geylang Serai and $700,000 to build a Malay settlement. The settlement was gazetted the following year and became the first such designated Malay enclave in Singapore. In 1930, the road leading to the settlement was named Jalan Eunos in honour of Mohamed Eunos for his contribution to the establishment of Kampong Melayu.

Reference:

Cornelius-Takahama, V. (2016). Jalan Eunos. Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board. Retrieved from https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_738_2005-01-24.html

Source 5: An extract of the Jalan Kubor Cemetery in Singapore during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Jalan Kubor Cemetery is the oldest Muslim cemetery in Singapore. Located off Victoria Street, it contains the graves of many prominent Malays and Muslims from the 19th and 20th centuries. The cemetery is made up of three sections: one plot reserved for Malay royalty, an adjoining site for Muslim burials that came under the care of the Aljunied family, and a third area originally designated for Indian Muslims that later became popular with Bugis and Banjar merchants.

Between the late 1850s and ’60s, the three burial grounds that later became collectively known as the Jalan Kubor Cemetery caught the government’s attention due to high burial rates. Around 1858, the municipal commissioners were alerted to the overcrowded state of the “Mohamedan Burial ground in Campong Sultan” through a petition by the Malays, suggesting that the grounds had reached its limits.

This resulted in the unhealthy practice of placing corpses near the surface, which triggered a noxious odour when sunlight hit the burial ground after heavy rains. Passing by the area during these periods was described as “equivalent to walking through a charnel house”. The squalid state of the area must have triggered the instruction to the municipal engineer in 1863 to examine the “Victoria Street Malay burial ground”, which was reported as being too full.

Reference:

Nor Afidah Abd Rahman. (2016). Jalan Kubor Cemetery. Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board. Retrieved from https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2016-03-09_142226.html?s=kampong%20glam

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