Pulau Ubin far from sleepy: Researchers

Researchers hired by the National Heritage Board to document Pulau Ubin's social history found that it is "not at all a declining society and even has a thriving economy.
Kimberly Spykerman, News 5 Channel NewsAsia 2 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE: Pulau Ubin is just a short boat ride from mainland Singapore, but it could not be more different, with its rustic charm and laidback vibes. The island officially has 38 residents and efforts to document its living heritage have uncovered quite a few gems.

Recent research centred around the island has shown that there is still a demand for an alternative way of life. And that in itself has brought changes to the island's economy.

"One of the things that surprised us is how thriving Ubin is," said anthropologist Vivienne Wee. "It's not at all a declining society. People even come here to work. There are people running grocery stores, caretakers with the Tua Pek Kong Temple, bus drivers. They're all living in (mainland) Singapore, but coming here.

"So there is a thriving economy. And some of them did work in Singapore before, but they've chosen to come back here and work. So it's not that there are no economic opportunities."

Among the stories Dr Wee's team have uncovered is that of drinks seller Wang Ya San, who was born on Pulau Ubin. Her daughter, who shuttles between her home in Tampines and Pulau Ubin, also runs a mobile drinks stall on weekends.

"Life here is more tranquil," said Ms Wang's daughter, Ms Ivy Choo. "My mother has grown up here and is used to the environment. She loves it, that's why she stays here."

There is also 63-year-old Quek Kim Kiang, who has lived on the island for over 20 years. He makes a living catching crabs from the island's mangrove swamps using a traditional hooking technique and sells these crabs for about S$25 a kilogramme. Mr Quek even has a nine-year-old disciple, who comes regularly from the mainland to learn the art of crab-catching.

Said Mr Alvin Tan, assistant chief executive of Policy and Development at NHB: "The project is important because it allows NHB to document and to distil the island's living heritage - in terms of the people's memories, their way of life, the various trades being practised here - so that we can in a sense, document them and preserve them, and hopefully pass them on to future generations."

NHB added that a 20-minute documentary showcasing the island's residents is in the pipeline. Dr Wee's team expects to complete all research work by December or January. The team began work in April. To date, the project has documented different aspects of Pulau Ubin's rich heritage including Kampong life, island economy, and important events - like the annual Tua Pek Kong Festival.

NHB said the findings will be shared with Government agencies and the "Friends of Ubin" network to come up with more "sensitive strategies and initiatives" to sustain the island's rustic charm.

Study shows Pulau Ubin is thriving despite its dwindling population
STACEY LIM Today Online 2 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE — While its population has dwindled over the decades to a mere 38 residents, Pulau Ubin remains socially connected to society at large and has its own small-scale local economy and culture, according to an ongoing study on the island’s social history.

Commissioned by the National Heritage Board (NHB), the cultural mapping project of Ubin finds that residents contentedly make a living off fishing and farming, selling their goods to each other and to visitors, and occasionally on the mainland. Special interest groups — from mountain bikers to nature enthusiasts — have also made efforts over the years to preserve the island’s charm.

The study, which is led by Dr Vivienne Wee, project director of strategic research consultancy Ethnographica, and involved four other researchers, started in April.

The researchers, who have talked to more than 40 former and current residents, expect to complete their field work by December or January.

A research report will be shared with government agencies and the Friends of Ubin Network for ideas and suggestions on how the heritage and rustic charm of Pulau Ubin can be enhanced for future generations.

Mr Alvin Tan, assistant chief executive of policy and development at the NHB, said: “Before we did this project, we do have some preconceptions that the economy and the people (on Ubin) might not be thriving ... (But) it is actually the opposite.

“There are a lot of community-initiated initiatives, a lot of people participating and making this whole island a thriving hub ...”

He added: “There are people who live on the mainland, but they come back because they have memories of growing up in Ubin ... So, the Ubin population based on the study is much bigger and more extensive than just the people who are staying (on the island) ...”

The research has also documented the rich and diverse social networks of the island, such as those who attend religious festivals, namely the annual Tua Pek Kong Festival, that are hosted on Ubin.

New interest groups, from mountain bikers to gardening enthusiasts, have also been making their way to the island.

Dr Wee said: “We need to value the knowledge that the people have as custodians of not just the Ubin culture, but the kampung way of life that no longer exists in Singapore.”

Ubin residents, who make an average of S$50 a day, cherish the simplicity of their lifestyle and the low cost of living there, the researchers found.

They run small businesses on the island, and engage in other activities such as fishing, farming vegetables, and growing fruit trees.

Ms Ivy Zhu, 52, who has been running a drinks stall with her mother, Madam Wong Ya San, 76, for the last 20 years, expressed her hope that the island remains protected from urban development.

“My mother is used to the quiet and simple lifestyle here,” she said in Mandarin.

In conjunction with the study, the NHB has launched a three-minute documentary featuring Mdm Wong on its YouTube HeritageTV platform. A 20-minute video documentary showcasing Ubin residents will be uploaded at a later date.





Pulau Ubin 'far from a dying town'

Madam Lai Huat So, 76, and her daughter Ivy Choo, 52, at their Ah Ma Drink Stall along Jalan Jelutong, on Pulau Ubin's main strip. Madam Lai, a farmer turned drink-seller, is among more than 20 Ubin residents who have been interviewed so far in the cultural mapping project commissioned by the National Heritage Board.

Photo: Lim Yaohui for The Straits Times

A forested route in Pulau Ubin that is the dwelling of poisonous snakes and wild boars leads to a mangrove swamp that Mr Quek Kim Kiang frequents daily to catch crabs.

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Using a hook attached to a pole, the 63-year-old fishes out the edible crustaceans from the mud. He then sells them to families on the island or the mainland for about $25 a kilogram.

Mr Quek's daily routine was uncovered by anthropologist Vivienne Wee, who has discovered "hubs of economic activity and vast social networks within and beyond the island".

She said this puts to rest the assumption that the island, home to 38 residents - down from 2,000 in the 1950s to 1970s - is a dying town.

Through her research, she found that the islanders have established links with people beyond the island, such as former residents, as well as the 300,000 day trippers it gets annually. She said that heritage, nature and sports interest groups also have ties to the place.

Dr Wee, managing director of anthropology company Ethnographica, was commissioned by the National Heritage Board (NHB) to map the island's multi-faceted layers of social history. This is the first such comprehensive effort for Pulau Ubin.

She is leading a five-member research team, which started work in April and has conducted interviews with more than 20 residents.

The project is expected to be completed by December or January.

NHB assistant chief executive of policy and development Alvin Tan agreed with Dr Wee's assessment.

"Everyone thinks the trades here are in decline, but that is not true. There is a actually a sense of rejuvenation and renewal," he said.

Pulau Ubin far from a dying town
Melody Zaccheus, The Straits Times AsiaOne 3 Oct 15;

For instance, Mr Quek, hoping to pass on his crab-catching skills, has taken a disciple under his wing.

"I am passing on my technique to a nine-year-old boy from Singapore who comes here on weekends to fish with his father," he said.

The information gathered by Dr Wee and her team so far can be clustered into categories such as economic activities, trades and skills; social lives and relationships; religious festivals; and kampung architecture.

The cultural mapping project, first suggested by the Singapore Heritage Society, was undertaken by NHB. It is one of the board's contributions to an ongoing Ubin Project led by the Ministry of National Development.

The ministry is working with the community and other government agencies through its Friends of Ubin Network to gather ideas on how to maintain the island's rustic charm. Its plans include preserving Ubin's nature, biodiversity and heritage.

NHB's Mr Tan said research findings will be shared with the network "to help the authorities develop sensitive strategies to retain and enhance the island's rustic charms".

The project also builds on NHB's earlier work on the island, which includes a 2013 documentation of its historical sites, a documentary on its boatmen and a virtual tour.

Among Dr Wee's other interviewees is farmer turned drink-seller Wang Xiao San, known by islanders as Madam Lai Huat So, 76. She represents the varied skillsets of an average islander.

Madam Lai, who zips around the 10.2 sq km, boomerang-shaped island on a motorbike, used to farm vegetables, grow fruit trees, rear poultry and cultivate prawns.

While she continues to maintain 90 durian trees and 10 rambutan and jackfruit trees, her main source of income today is from her Ah Ma Drink Stall along Jalan Jelutong, on the island's main strip.

The stall - a blue wooden structure built by her late husband - still gets about 100 customers a day on weekends, thanks to day trippers.

Madam Lai also exhibits the island's culture of self-reliance, as she is able to build structures such as chicken coops on her own. She picked up these skills from her late father, an influential islander credited with building most of Pulau Ubin's kampung homes.

In addition, the island's Wei To Temple complex, on which a Hindu shrine was recently established alongside a Tibetan Buddhist temple and Taoist temple, is evidence that the landscape is continually evolving, said Dr Wee.

The shrine is just a few months old and is where deities from demolished Hindu temples on mainland Singapore were relocated by devotees.