NHB launches commemorative effort of Pulau Ubin

Pulau Ubin's past 'worth preserving for future'
Melody Zaccheus, Straits Times, 3 Oct 13;


Long-time Ubin boat operators (above, from left) Mr Fang Ya Ba and Kit Kau Chye aboard a boat at the Changi Ferry Terminal. Photographers taking snapshots of the island's Pekan Quarry. -- ST PHOTOS: NEO XIAOBIN

SLEEPY Pulau Ubin was once a hotbed of rowdy gang activity in pre-war Singapore.

Initiation ceremonies by secret societies such as Sin Ghee Hin would take place on its shores.

This is one of several little-known facts uncovered by the National Heritage Board as part of its efforts to document the history of the 10.2 sq km, boomerang-shaped island in the northeastern corner of Singapore.

A team from the board, headed by group director of policy Alvin Tan, spent the last five months scouring academic texts, newspaper articles and conducting interviews with some of the island's 38 remaining residents to add to existing literature.

Mr Tan said publications about the island tend to focus on the island's flora and fauna and marine life. "Not a lot of research has been done on the lives of the people here, the occupations they held and how the land was used," he said.

He added that Pulau Ubin is worth documenting and preserving because it is the "last real kampung in Singapore".

There are plans to compile the information from the fact-finding exercise into an e-book and make it available to schools and heritage groups.

The island hit the headlines in April this year after a notice by the Housing Board led to confusion among islanders that 22 households would be evicted for the development of an "adventure park".

But the Government has since clarified that there are no plans for the time being to further develop the island, which is to be kept in a "rustic state for as long as possible".

Beyond the research effort, the board also launched a virtual tour of the island's main hub as part of its Walking Through Heritage series yesterday, while cooking classes organised by the Malay Heritage Centreat a Malay kampung house on the island will take place over the coming weeks.

By December, a documentary on Ubin's boat operators will also be uploaded on to the board's YouTube channel.

The video will be the final episode of the board's second season of Heritage In Episodes - a series of short documentaries aimed at connecting with the younger generation through social media.

The team's research further delved into detailing heritage sites such as the island's jetty, which was built by the Japanese during World War II, Singapore's oldest community centre and the Bin Kiang School, which was set up in 1952 and demolished in 2000.

Other interesting facts uncovered include how granite from the island was used in the construction of Fort Canning, Pearl's Hill Reservoir and the Horsburgh Lighthouse on Pedra Branca.

Islanders such as Mr Kit Kau Chye, 65, a boat operator and chairman of the Changi Point Ferry Association, said the island is worth documenting and conserving.

"Through these materials, I hope Singaporeans and other visitors will get to learn more about the island's rich history and make a visit here," he said.

melodyz@sph.com.sg

More unearthed about Pulau Ubin’s heritage
NHB launches documentary, virtual tour, cooking workshops
Tiara Hamarian, Today Online, 3 Oct 13;


Photo: Ernest Chua

SINGAPORE — Back in the late 1950s, Pulau Ubin had enough residents to build its own maternity and child health clinic.

But demand for the clinic’s services has since dwindled along with its population — from 2,000 in 1957 to 38 last year — and the clinic closed after 30 years. It was then turned into restaurant, which operated from the 1990s till 2008.

Pulau Ubin was also where ex-political detainees, such as the former treasurer of the defunct Singapore Bus Workers’ Union, Lee Tee Tong, and former editor of the Malay-language newspaper Utusan Melayu, Said Zahari, were exiled.

These are among the many little-known facts of Ubin’s past that were unearthed by the National Heritage Board (NHB) during a five-month research and documentation of the 10.2-square-kilometre boomerang-shaped island.

To commemorate Pulau Ubin’s heritage, the board has added a documentary on the island to its Heritage in Episodes series on its website. The episode features the lives of two of the remaining 36 boat operators and their memories growing up in Ubin.

The board yesterday also launched a virtual tour of the island’s main hub on its website (http://tdy.sg/ubin3oct), under the Walking Through Heritage series. And several cooking workshops, to be held in a Malay kampung house on this island, will be organised by the NHB’s Malay Heritage Centre this month and next month.

The NHB has also identified some places of interest which visitors might want to check out while hiking or cycling on the island, such as Wayang Stage at the jetty, Ho Man Choo quarry, Tua Peh Kong temple, as well as the Chinese and Malay burial sites.

The board said it might expand its efforts to make the information on Ubin more comprehensive online, and possibly set up guided tours in the future. “Pulau Ubin is worth documenting and preserving because it is the last real kampung in Singapore. For the present moment, we are focused on sharing our research findings and introducing commemorative efforts related to the island’s rich heritage,” said Mr Alvin Tan, the NHB’s Group Director (Policy).

Several Pulau Ubin residents TODAY spoke to said they were content with their village life and had no plans to move out of the island anytime soon. “The mainland is stressful and noisy. I prefer staying here, where the environment and the air is good,” said Mr Kit Kau Chye, a 65-year-old boat operator and head of the Changi Point Ferry Association.

Madam Samsiah Abdullah, 57, who lives on the mainland but whose more-than-a-century-old family home has been used for house visits and cooking workshops, missed the days when she was growing up in Ubin. “It was different in the past. There was a lot of togetherness … We can leave our house open and not worry about anything. I come back often because it’s peaceful here,” she said.