RIP Mr Lee Kuan Yew

R.I.P. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, father of modern Singapore.

More Research Resources

Here are some more books relevant to the study of SG200.

Fig 1: Relevant books

As my study of this period in Singapore history continues, I'm sure there will be more resources that I come across that might be useful for anybody interested in learning more.

Happy reading!

Romancing the Stone

On sighting the title of this post, I suspect some readers might have imagined a scene from the 1980's Hollywood movie of the same name, starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. Sorry to disappoint, but take comfort that this post is about a significant historical mystery relating to Singapore's early days.

About a year after "Singapore was established" (presumably meaning after 1819) , a large slab of inscribed rock - about 10 feet high, 9-10 feet long and 6 feet wide - was discovered near the banks of the Singapore River. The inscriptions were in an unknown character. Till today, no conclusion has been reached on what the inscriptions actually mean. It has been speculated that they are in either Sanskrit or Old Javanese or early Ceylonese or Tamil, and date back to between 11th and 13th centuries. In the famous book "Hikayat Abdullah", author Munshi Abdullah described early attempts to decipher the inscription:

"Many learned men came and tried to read it. Some brought flour paste which they pressed on the inscription and took a cast, others rubbed lamp-black on it to make the lettering visible. But for all that they exhausted their ingenuity in trying to find out what language the letters represented, they reached no decision. There the stone rested until recently with its inscriptions in relief. It was Mr Raffles' opinion that the writing must be Hindu because the Hindus were the oldest of all immigrant races in the East, reaching Java and Bali and Siam, the inhabitants of which are all descendants from them. However, not a single person in all Singapore was able to interpret the words chiseled on the rock. Allah only knows ..."

Fig 1: The Singapore Stone

The large rock no longer exists. In 1843 it was dynamited to pieces by a British engineer, during a public works programme to widen the river mouth, and to clear space for a new fort and officers' residences. Some of the pieces became gravel for road works. Others were removed from Singapore. Only a small fragment, now called the Singapore Stone, remains in the National Museum of Singapore (see Fig 1).

There have been mythical tales told about the Singapore Stone. The "Sejarah Melayu" tells of a Singapura war chief and strong man named Badang who planted the enormous stone at the mouth of the Singapore River, as part of a series of challenges from another strong man from Kalinga in India. Here's a picture from a Singapore school history textbook which shows Badang lifting and flinging the stone so far into the air that it landed on the far bank of the river.

.

Fig 2: Badang throwing the stone

(from "Singapore - From Settlement to Nation, Pre-1819 to 1971")

Coming back to the mysterious inscriptions on the Singapore Stone, the following two photographs show close-up views of the Singapore Stone. Due to years of exposure and damage by the elements, much of the surface is worn and the inscriptions unclear, but one can still make them out in certain places.

Fig 3: Inscriptions on the Singapore Stone

Fig 4: Artist rendering of one section of the inscriptions

And so there it sits quietly in the National Museum. So many questions are left unanswered ... 

• What did the inscriptions say?
• Who carved the inscriptions?
• What was the language? 
• (Extra-terrestrial believers might even ask: could the originators of the inscriptions be from out of this planet?)
• If the huge rock had not been blown up in 1843, would we have enough clues today (especially with modern technology) to decipher the message?
• What would it have told us about life in early Singapura?

Over the years, many scholars have attempted to uncover the secrets of the stone, but to no avail. Anyone of you readers want to try?

The Founding of Singapore

Two weeks ago, I took a leisurely stroll around the Kampong Glam neighbourhood of Singapore. In the Malay language, "Kampong" means village or settlement, and "Glam" refers to a certain type of tree found here in large numbers during the early years. This area is located north of the Singapore River,  and is roughly bounded by Beach Road, Crawford Street, Kallang Road and Ophir Street, and has a strong Malay community and connection. There is also a strong link between this area and the story of the founding of Singapore.

Fig 1: Sultan Mosque

Within this area, one can find the splendid Sultan Mosque, quaint textile and handicraft shops, cafes and restaurants serving delicious Malay food (among other cuisines), and a variety of colourful architectures, structures and murals.

Near the centre of Kampong Glam is the elegant building and compound of the Malay Heritage Centre, which was formerly the Istana Kampong Glam, built between 1840 and 1843 by Sultan Ali Iskandar Shah, son of Sultan Hussein Shah (who features prominently in the Singapore story, as will be described later in this post).

Fig 2: The Malay Heritage Centre , which was formerly Istana Kampong Glam

The Malay Heritage Centre houses a well-curated museum of Malay history, culture and heritage.

Inside the museum, I saw this useful diagram depicting royal genealogies relevant to Singapore. For the purposes of our story, focus on the lower part of the chart  showing the rulers of the Johor-Riau Sultanate (which Singapore then belonged under).

Fig 3: Royal genealogies pertaining to Singapore

The Dispute on Royal Succession

In 1812, when Sultan Mahmud Shah III passed away after a fifty year reign, there was a succession dispute. The Sultan had no sons by his two royal wives but had two sons by his two other wives, who came from prominent Bugis families, but were not of royal blood. Tengku Hussein (also called Tengku Long), being the elder son, stood a better chance of succeeding his father over his younger brother Tengku Abdul Rahman. However, Tengku Hussein was away in Pahang for his wedding when his father died. 

The Bugis faction led by Raja Ja'afar, who supported Tengku Abdul Rahman as successor hastily organised a coronation ceremony before Tengku Hussein could return. In exchange for his support, Raja Ja'afar was appointed Regent and had administrative authority. All this also had the support of the Dutch.

The Malays chiefs who supported Tengku Hussein were unhappy but there was little they could do. When Tengku Hussein found that his brother had become the new Sultan, he had no choice but to go and live quietly on one of the Riau islands.


Arrival of Raffles in Singapore

Enter a certain Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in early 1819. At the time, Raffles had been appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the British colony at Bencoolen (on the island of Sumatra). Raffles was able to speak Malay at a time when few Englishmen could.

Fig 4: The region in 1818

Raffles held the view that the British had to find a way to replace the Dutch as the dominant power in the region, in particular to safeguard the important trade route between China and British India. He was able to convince Lord Hastings, then the Governor-General in India and his superior in the British East India Company, to fund an expedition to establish a new British base in the Straits of Malacca.

Here are some key events which led up to the founding of Singapore:

On 18 January 1819, Stamford Raffles left Penang on board the "Indiana" under the command of Captain James Pearl with the objective to establish a new settlement south of Malacca. 

On 27 January 1819, the "Indiana" and "Discover", together with "Investigator" with William Farquhar surveyed the possibility of the Karimun Islands as the British site, but after discussion decided it was not suitable, they pressed on.

On 28 January 1819, the "Indiana" and "Enterprise" anchored at St John's Island and Raffles and some of his men met with locals that evening. Apparently it was then that Raffles spotted the larger island to the north of St John's Island and sent some men to check it out.

On 29 January 1819, Raffles and Farquhar landed by one of the rivers in Singapore and met Temenggong Abdul Rahman. They explained what they wanted to do and asked the Temenggong for permission, but were told that Singapore actually came under the Johor-Riau Sultanate. The Temenggong also told them about the royal succession dispute. Raffles decided to formally recognise Tengku Hussein as the rightful Sultan, on condition that he gave them permission to start a trading post and settlement on the southern part of the island. In return, Tengku Hussein also would receive 5,000 Spanish Dollars a year and the Temenggong 3,000. On 30 January 1819, an informal agreement was written between the Temenggong and the British and the Union Jack was raised for the first time in Singapore. 

This informal agreement had to be endorsed later by Tengku  Hussein, which happened after Raffles arranged to have him brought back from the Riau island he had been living. The now famous Treaty of 6 February 1819 was signed by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Tengku Hussein Shah and Temenggong Abdul Rahman.

Fig 5: A diorama depicting the signing of the Treaty of 6 Feb 1819

Fig 6: Last part of the Treaty of 6 Feb 1819 document

Development of Singapore began in earnest. Raffles made William Farquhar the first Resident and Commandant of Singapore, and it was Farquhar who implemented the earliest development plans outlined by Raffles. John Crawfurd became the second Resident in 1823 and continued the work. [Editor's note: This blog will provide more details on the contributions of these men later]

Reactions from the Dutch

The Dutch were furious with what Raffles and the British had done, as they regarded Singapore as part of Riau's territories and therefore under their control. The Dutch felt that the British had no right to occupy any part of Singapore, and considered taking military action to drive the British out of the island.

Back in Europe, England and Holland were allies in checking France. The Singapore incident caused a sharp deterioration in Anglo-Dutch relations. The East India Company called up Raffles and demanded an explanation. In 1819, Raffles met Lord Hastings in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and continued to make his case that a triad of British colonies (Penang, Bencoolen and Singapore) would greatly strengthen Britain's geopolitical position in the region. Although initially interested, Hastings eventually told Raffles not to waste too much time pursuing this. Raffles had no choice but to return to Bencoolen, where he focused his efforts on administering the colony there, as well as spending time with his family, writing and pursuing his own interests in zoology.

It was only on 17 March 1824 - after four years of hard negotiation - that Britain and Holland signed the Anglo-Dutch Agreement in London, leading to the Dutch recognising the British occupation of Singapore, and the British giving up Bencoolen to the Dutch in exchange for Malacca.

Kampong Glam since 1819

Before 1819, Kampong Glam was home to the Malay aristocracy of Singapore. It achieved greater prominence and the population increased sharply after the signing of the Treaty of 1819.

Under the Raffles Plan of 1822, the settlement was divided according to different ethnic groups, and included European Town, Chinatown, Chulia, Arab and Bugis kampongs. Kampong Glam was designated for the Sultan and his household, as well as the Malay and Arab communities. The Sultan Mosque (or Masjid Sultan) drew many Muslim faithful to prayers.

The later part of the 19th century was accompanied by rapid growth of immigrant communities in Kampong Glam - initially from Sumatra and later from other parts of Indonesia and Malaysia.

In the 20th and early 21st century, there has been an expansion of commercial activities and a multi-ethnic community has developed, comprising not only Malays and Arabs but also Chinese, Indians and others.

Fig 7a: Scenes from Kampong Glam (2015)

Fig 7b: Scenes from Kampong Glam (2015)

Fig 7c: Scenes from Kampong Glam (2015)

Fig 7d: Scenes from Kampong Glam (2015)

Some Research Resources

In developing the content for this SG200 blog, a variety of resources are employed.

The first is a wide collection of books related to the subject of Singapore's early history.

Fig 1: Books as Resource

Secondly are museums, historical archives and institutions which focus on this period.

Thirdly are interviews with specialists - historians, academics and history teachers - who may have studied the subject matter in greater length.

Fourth would be visits to historical sites in or around Singapore that still exist and may offer insights to the past.

Hopefully a fifth source of valuable information will be YOU, the reader of the blog, through your comments and contributions. You can either post your feedback as comments to various blog postings, or you can email me at jslyong@gmail.com. I do look forward to hearing from you.

Welcome to SG200

2015 marks fifty years of Singapore's existence as an independent nation. It was in August 1965 that Singapore was ousted from the Federation of Malaysia, after being part of the union for merely two years. There are many programmes and events planned throughout 2015, as Singapore celebrates this momentous milestone. The shortform or code that's being used in marketing and social media is #SG50.

As one who enjoys the study of Asian history, I think there is another anniversary worth commemorating in four years' time. Specifically in the year 2019, Singapore should celebrate #SG200, i.e. two centuries after the founding of Singapore by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1819.

All schoolchildren in Singapore would have heard the story of how Raffles "founded" Singapore, but I suspect that beyond sketchy dates and facts, few probably know much about the details, such as what were conditions like in the little trading village on the Singapore River that would grow into the present modern metropolis, who were the key players in the early history and what were the key events, achievements and challenges during that century and half before independent Singapore.

Fig 1: Part of Singapore island (circa 1825)

Fig 2: Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

The purpose of this blog is to piece together articles, viewpoints and pictures about the two centuries since 1819 - especially happenings between 1819 and 1965, since events after independence have already been widely documented.

Finally, I'd like to convey my heartiest congratulations to Singapore and to all Singaporeans on SG50. May the nation continue to prosper for many more years. I also hope that some readers of this blog will join me in this journey to learn more about Singapore's history in the preceding one and half centuries,  and possibly look forward to a commemoration of #SG200.