[Singapore Islands] Pulau Semakau: An Island in the Sun?

Marine Transfer Station

The Singapore government recently launched the Phase II development of Pulau Semakau on July 11, 2015. This increases Singapore's capacity to "meet waste disposal needs" for the next 20 years. (1) Refuse was previously dumped at Lorong Halus just off Old Tampines Road till 1999. (2)

Visiting Pulau Semakau

I visited Pulau Semakau in 2013 as part of an organised trip. By then, the island was already a landfill. The guide shared much about the biodiversity in and around the island, but nothing about the island's history. It was a talk by Anthropologists Dr Vivienne Wee, Dr Geoffrey Benjamin, and Ms Normala Manap that opened my eyes to the value of these southern islands.

Pre-Raffles? 

The island was believed to be rich in history. In 1991, a group of explorers found pottery that were probably more than 200 years old. Dr John Maksic opined that part of a clay jar found could have even been from the 12th century.  (3) 

Resettlement

In 1977, more than 600 villagers were ordered to move to mainland Singapore. From thereon, the island laid uninhabited, though not totally. When Dr John Maksic visited Pulau Semakau in 1991, a Malay couple - Mr Rani bin Omar and Mdm Minah bte Gap was seen living on the deserted island. (4)

They shared that:-

a. The villagers of Pulau Semakau and Pulau Seking were closely related. They attended each others' weddings
b. They collect fresh water from the larger island of Pulau Bukom

In a more recent article, Mdm Minah shared about how both she and her husband fought off Indonesian interlopers when they were staying on the island alone. Mdm Minah's son shared his pain of losing the island. He thought that the new government led by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew would continue to allow them to live peacefully on the island. The late Mr Lee had also visited the Pulau Semakau and had promised the islanders modern facilities such as "police post, community clinic and Malay school". Instead by the 1970s, the islanders lost their entire island when they were asked to move. (5)

Interestingly, Former Senior Minister of State Mr Sidek Saniff had previously taught in the Island's school in 1958. (6) There was only one school - the Pulau Semakau Malay School and it was said that the school had been in existence since before World War 2. (26) 

Here're some highlights of Pulau Semakau over the years.

1923
Police were alerted to a fight between Malays and the Chinese. The Chinese coolies were working in the lime kiln there (7) 

1948
The British government issued identity cards to the islanders (8)

1950
The islanders, consisting of Malay fishermen and Chinese traders, built themselves a school for 30 Malay students. But no teachers were available to teach these students (9)

1951
The Pulau Semakau school was finally opened. The Pulau Semakau Malay school started with five Chinese and 25 Malay students, all learning the Malay language. The Chinese residents of Pasir Panjang contributed $700 to buy timber, attap and cement to build the school while the Malays helped in the building. (11) (12) (16)

With the school up and running, other islanders from Pulau Sudong, Pulau Sebarok and Pulau Senang had asked if the school could also take in their children (10)

1952
The population of the island was at about 350 islands. It was also listed that in 1940, The Singapore Rural Board thought that the island was uninhabited (13) As the island was inhabited, the Board had thus agreed to buy a water boat and build water storage tanks for the islanders. (14)

1954
A floating medical dispensary coupled with a nurse would provide medical service for the people every Wednesday (15)

1955
The Mobile Film Unit would show their films on the islands to provide the islanders with some entertainment (16)

1957
The government had decided to build Quarters for teachers, Postman and Postal Agency and Sundry shops.

1958
Costing $10,000, the islanders welcomed their first postal agency. (18) 

1959
The Ministry planned to build a water tank to arrest the acute water shortage issue during the dry season. (19)

1960
The Yang di-Pertuan Negara Inche Yusoff Ishak visited the island, and planted a coconut tree to commemorate this event. The Penghulu of the island, Inche Abdul Jalil bin Kerip pledged the island's loyalty to Singapore's government. (20) (21)

1963
A new Community Centre was built. (22)

1965
The Penghulu receives a Public Service Star medal. (23)

1969
The Singapore Armed Forces started to use the island for its live firing exercises. (24)

1972
Indonesians were still allowed to move freely amongst Singapore islands. (25)

1973
The population of Pulau Semakau was said to be 1,826 residents. (26)

1975
It was reported that the island was to be developed to house a petrol chemical complex. Swamp, foreshore and seabed would be reclaimed. (27)

1976
More talks about developing the island. Now the reports state that it would be used for shipbuilding and other marine-oriented industries. (28)

Old graves were exhumed and moved to Mount Vernon Crematorium. (29)

1977
Villagers were required to move away from their island. (4)

1978
The island was deemed by the newspaper as a 'relatively undisturbed' island with coconut tree and fishing villages. (30)

1980
By now, the villagers of Pulau Semakau have been moved to the mainland and the island has become a dumping ground of waste materials dredged up from the sea. (31)

1982
A decision was made to join both Pulau Semakau and Pulau Seking. At this point, the newspaper report had still mentioned that it was done to house a international petroleum centre. (32)

1988
First mention of Pulau Semakau being a offshore refuse dump. (33) 

At this point, community centres are still bringing their residents to the southern islands (Including Pulau Semakau) for tours. (34)

1989
The newspapers mentioned that the island is now uninhabited "with only one watchman living there". It was also reported by a NUS professor that corals lying around the island have already been damaged since the early 1960s due to reclamation work done on the island. Soil dug up from the building of the Central Expressway, and earth spoils from Pulau Seraya Power Station were also dumped into the sea off Pulau Semakau. (35)

If things did not seemed bad enough with the island being used for waste disposal, the government shared about their plans to build a toxic waste plant on the island itself. (36)

Still on its environment, it was reported that marine life was thriving in and around the water of Pulau Semakau and that the artificial reef that was built using old tyres and cement was a success. (37)

1991
Adventurers claimed that they have found artefacts of more than 200 years old along the beach and also other parts of the island. (3)

1993
Then Environment Minister Mah Bow Tan said that the offshore landfill will see Singapore through to 2045. (38)

1994
Parliament agrees to the reclamation project of the island. (39)

2006
Former Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim announced that Pulau Semakau would be ready for anglers and nature lovers to visit. (40)

2015
Pulau Semakau has been further expanded to meet the demands of Singapore's waste disposal. (41)










References

1. Chan, L. E. July 11, 2015. Singapore's waste disposal needs get a boost. Channel News Asia.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-s-waste/1976976.html (Accessed on July 11, 2015)
2. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. The DNA of Singapore. http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/dna/places/details/19 (Accessed on November 24, 2014)
3. The Straits Times. October 4, 1991. Adventurers find ancient artifacts on Semakau. P26.
4. The Straits Times. October 6, 1991. Deserted Island is Home to Rani and his Wife. P12.
5. Marsh, J. May 24, 2015. Forgotten Singapore: evicted islanders grieve for lost paradise. http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/post-magazine-may-24 Accessed on July 11, 2015.
6. The Straits Times. March 31, 1993. Just when you thought it's safe to step into the water.
7. The Straits Times. March 26, 1923. Affray at Pulau Semakau. P8.
8. The Straits Times. November 14, 1948. Mobile teams help register. P1.
9. The Straits Times. July 24, 1950. They Built a School. P7.
10. The Straits Times. March 6, 1951. They have to go by boat to School. P10.
11. The Straits Times. January 9, 1951. 5 Chinese boys to learn Malay. P15.
12. The Straits Times. January 3, 1951. 5 Islanders get own school and unity. P7.
13. The Straits Times. August 22, 1952. Island that's not in the book. P9.
14. The Straits Times. June 20, 1952. Now they can have water.  P9.
15. The Straits Times. March 1, 1954. A Battle Begins in Singapore Today.  P8.
16. The Straits Times. March 7, 1955. Advertisement. P9.
17. The Straits Times. February 2, 1955. Advertisement. P5.
18. The Straits Times. September 7, 1957. Advertisement. P10.
19. The Straits Times. August, 1959. Better Condition for 3,000 Islanders. P11.
20. The Straits Times. February 1, 1960. Tree to mark visit. P1.
21. The Straits Times. February 1, 1960. Inche Ishak to islanders: We have plans to help you. P4.
22. The Straits Times. September 10, 1963. New Community Centre. P4.
23. The Straits Times. May 1, 1965. List of main Singapore awards. P9.
24. The Straits Times. February 29, 1969. Artillery firing. P8.
25. The Straits Times. August 21, 1972. Indonesian islanders join in joy of sea carnival. P27.
26. Sidhu, K. S. June 3, 1973. The island folks and men who guard them. The Straits Times. P10.
27. The Straits Times. July 30, 1975. Go-ahead for reclaimed land in Changi. P9.
28. The Straits Times. April 27, 1976. Semakau to be turned into big marine base. P5.
29. The Straits Times. April 26, 1976. Advertisement. P24.

30. Byramji, N. October 1, 1978. The unspoilt islands for walks in the wild. The Straits Times. P1.

31. Chee, L. September 9, 1980. Marco Polo removing 'high spots' in Singapore. P13.

32. Lim, J. September 21, 1982. $600m reclamation to join two islands. The Straits Times. P1.
33. The Business Times. March 23, 1988. Plan to use Semakau for offshore refuse dumping. P2.
34. The New Paper. August 1, 1988. Southern islands picnic. P38.
35. Liu, M. February 26, 1989. Govt will prevent dump site from polluting sea. The Straits Times. P14.
36. de Silva, G. October 7, 1989. Singapore looks at setting up of an offshore toxic waste plant. P44.
37. Goh, J. October 17, 1989. Man-made reef lures marine life. The Straits Times. P22.

38. Nathan, D. September 23, 1993. Another $1b landfill if rubbish keeps piling up, says Mah. The Straits Times. P3.

39. The Straits Times. July 27, 1994. 350 ha reclamation off Pulau Semakau gets nod. P.20.

40. Hooi, A. March 9, 2005. Fancy a nature trek at Pulau landfill? The Straits Times. P5.
41. Wee, C. F. July 12, 2015. Biggest rubbish dump grows bigger. The Straits Times. 

[People] Singapore's Orang Seletar

Panoramic view of Sungei Seletar

Friday, 4pm. The sky saw a mixture of blue and white and the breeze helped to dissipate a bit of the heat. This was the waters that a group of Orang Laut (Sea People) called their home. This is Seletar River and the people who lived here were called Orang Seletar.

The Orang Seletar, a sub-group of the Orang Laut, has made Seletar Island and the surrounding areas their home. Their presence predates Sir Stamford Raffles's founding of Singapore in 1819. It is said that there were "500 Orang Kallang, 200 Orang Seletar, 150 Orang Gelam, 100 Orang Laut, about 30 Malay followers of Temenggong Abdul Rahman and about 30 Chinese".(Talk on Pulau Seking)

Temenggong Abdul Rahman was  a "prominent sea-lord of that time. They fished for him and served as boatmen". (Chou: P52)

In the past, the Orang Laut were closely aligned to their rulers, "and were highly appreciate in the royal Malay court". It was reciprocal as the Orang Laut were very loyal to their rulers of the region. (C. Chou: P41)

They were also the front runners of the rulers as they were mobile. They were the people of the seas who knew how to navigate the treacherous seas and islands around that region.

"The Orang Laut, who had pledged unquestioning allegiance to the Palembang prince, found a new centre. It was only with their help that Parameswara, also known as Sri Tri Buana, founded a new settlement in Temasek, which he renamed Singpaura." (Chou: P.44)

As for the Orang Laut, they were largely linked socially and their relations stretched further southwards towards the islands of Riau Archipelago, currently a part of Indonesia. (Ali: P.276)

The mangrove provided the Orang Seletar with important sustenance

The Orang Seletar, as of all of the other Orang Laut, spent most of time on their boats and lived on their catch offered by the seas. They were also able subsist through what the mangroves proffer. (Ali: P.280)

South Coast of Johor looking towards Singapore

The group of Orang Seletar moved across the Johor Straits easily depending on the tides and season. In the past, there were no territorial borders that the Orang Seletar were not allowed to cross. They could be in Southern Johor and a short while later, move over to Pulau Seletar or deeper into Sungei Seletar when the weather turned for the worse.

Orang Seletar along Sungei Seletar. Taken from: National Archives of Singapore

Though it was said that the life on boat these boats were nothing but difficult. Staying close to the rivers meant that the dwellers would have to contend with mosquitoes and other irritants.

A View of Sungei Seletar looking out towards Malaysia

To find out more about the Orang Seletar, do check out this brilliantly written paper by Mariam Ali.

February 4, 2015 update:

In John Maksic's book called "Singapore & the silk road of the sea", he summarised in English, the Sejarah Melayu or the Malay Annals. In the Annals, it mentioned how the last Sultan of Singapura - Iskandar Syah, escaped from the island after the Majapahit Empire had defeated him. Sultan Iskandar Syah "fled to Seletar, then Muar" and after two years, settled in Melaka in the early 1400s. (2) 

Why did Sultan Iskandar escapeed through Seletar? My take is that the Orang Seletar were already there and they might have helped him to escape the Javanese. Also, there might have already been an established path that led the Sultan from Bukit Larangan (Current Fort Canning) to Seletar. The Orang Laut had previously helped Sultan Iskandar to escape from Palembang to Singapura too. (2)
 

References:

1. C, Chou (2010). The Orang Suku Laut of Riau, Indonesia. Routledge: United Kingdom.
M, Ali. (2002). Singapore's Orang Seletar, Orang Kallang and Orang Selat. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies: Singapore.

2. Miksic, J. (2014). Singapore & the silk road of the sea. NUS Press: Singapore. PP153, 156.