they came …..

they settled …..

they contributed …..

What you will learn The coming of the immigrants The coming of the immigrants Reasons for the coming of immigrants Where the immigrants lived Contributions of the Immigrants Contributions of the Immigrants Building the settlement Promoting trade Working for the government Serving the community

The coming of the immigrants

Why this rapid increase in population? Why this rapid increase in population? Mainly because of immigration Mainly because of immigration

The coming of the immigrants Reasons for the coming of immigrants Reasons for the coming of immigrants Free immigration policies Seek protection and safety Success of Singapore as a port Famines and droughts Job and Business Opportunities Natural disasters, starvation No war

The coming of the immigrants Reasons for the coming of immigrants Reasons for the coming of immigrants Concept of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors Which are the push and pull factors that we have seen?

Free immigration policies Seek protection and safety Success of Singapore as a port Job and Business Opportunities Famines and droughts Natural disasters, starvation No war Pull Push Pull Push Pull

Where the immigrants lived Where did they lived? Raffles Town Plan 1822 Drawn up by him during his visit to Singapore in 1822 Found that the settlement had grown in a most disorderly manner Raffles divided the town into different areas for Government Business Residential Different races were settled in different areas of town

Malays Malays : Kampong Glam (area around Bugis Junction) Malays Chinese Chinese : Chinatown (Shenton Way/Chinatown as we know it today) Chinese Indians Indians : Chulia Kampong (Chulia Street area) Indians Europeans : Commercial Square (Collyer Quay/Raffles Place today) Government Area : North Bank (area around City Hall) Take note that the situation is quite different today Take note also that I have attempted to link the places of old to what we know today but this may not be entirely correct. Any error on the interpretation of location is mine. Where the immigrants lived

Merchant Court Hotel Ministry of Labour Clark Quay

Golden Mile Complex Concourse Plaza Hotel Still existing today. Sim Lim Tower Sim Lim Square Burlington Square OG

Padang Peninsular Plaza Funan Centre Capitol Building Raffles Hotel Note that the area of Suntec City and beyond are reclaimed areas and were not there in the early 1800s.

Collyer Quay & Raffles Place area Shenton Way area Lau Pa Sat Chinatown as we know it today People’s Park Centre People’s Park Complex Chinatown Point

Padang Peninsular Plaza Funan Centre Capitol Building Raffles Hotel Golden Mile Complex Concourse Plaza Hotel Still existing today. Collyer Quay/ Raffles Place Shenton Way area Lau Pa Sat Chinatown as we know it today People’s Park Centre People’s Park Complex Chinatown Point Merchant Court Hotel Ministry of Labour Clark Quay

Contributions of the Immigrants Building the settlement Building the settlement Chinese coolies and Indian labourers helped build the settlement Cleared jungle areas Worked long hours; very low pay Indian convicts - construct roads, bridges and buildings eg Istana

St Andrew’s Cathedral was built with the help of Indian labourers It was built on land donated by a Muslim, Syed Sharif Omar Aljunied

Contributions of the Immigrants Building the settlement Building the settlement European officials - planned and developed the town George Coleman - overall- in-charge of public works Designed many houses, churches and public buildings Eg Armenian Church (1835) This church was built by G.D. Coleman in , making it the oldest church in Singapore. It is also known as the Apostolic Church of St Gregory the Illuminator, named for the 4th century monk who converted the Armenians to Christianity. The Armenian Church was consecrated on 26 March Originally, it had a domed roof and a bell- turret in the ancient Armenian Church tradition. In 1853, both features were removed for structural reasons and a pitched roof and spire were installed. This monument was gazetted by the Preservation of Monuments Board on 6 July Source : heritagehub.com

Contributions of the Immigrants Promoting trade Promoting trade 19th century : Most goods in Singapore had to be imported from other countries They were then re-exported to other countries for a profit Many goods were brought from China to be re- exported to neighbouring countries ENTREPOT ENTREPOT Trade Singapore depended mainly on entrepot trade for survival in the 19th century

Contributions of the Immigrants Promoting trade Promoting trade Traders came from Malaya, Siam, India and Britain Traded with Malay traders from the Malay Archipelago (MA) - Straits produce Straits produce very popular with traders of all races Eg Hajjah Fatimah, successful businesswoman from Melaka was involved in this trade Straits produce Straits produce are things that are found or grown in the Malay Archipelago such as rice, coffee, spices and birds’ nests

Hajjah Fatimah Mosque Built in by Hajjah Fatimah, a Malacca-born Malay lady. It is one of the only mosques in Singapore named after a female benefactor. Featuring a single, Malaccan-style minaret, the mosque's "tower and spire" is tilting by about six degrees. This is Singapore's own "leaning tower". Hajjah Fatimah, her daughter, Rajjah Sitti and son-in-law, Syed Ahamed are all buried in the private burial ground behind the mosque. This monument was gazetted by the Preservation of Monuments Board on 6 July Source : heritagehub.com

Malay Archipelago A map of the Malay Archipelago, from the first Malay-English dictionary, edited by Thomas Bowrey (London, 1701). In the 17th century, English scholars referred to the Malay language as 'Malaian' or 'Malayan'. In his 1701 dictionary Bowrey called it "Malayo" (nearer to the Malay form 'Melayu'). This has been superseded in English by 'Malay' and 'Malaysian'.

Contributions of the Immigrants Promoting trade Promoting trade European businessmen - eg Alexander Guthrie Brought goods made in European factories to Singapore Added to the variety of goods in S’pore Made S’pore a more attractive trading centre Helped increased S’pore’s trade Guthrie GTS Ltd is a public listed company on the Stock Exchange of Singapore. It is one of the oldest companies in Singapore and can trace its root back to 1821 when a Scotsman, Alexander Guthrie was granted a licence by the British East India Company to trade in the region. Based in the small settlement of Singapore, Guthrie was among the first to extend a two-way trade between Europe and South East Asia. Imports included cloth, hardware, brandy and sherry. Exports included spices, minerals and essential oils and raw rubber, thus laying the foundation for Guthrie as one of the largest import/export and rubber producing business. Guthrie was already a household name with 150 years of extensive experiences in regional trading and plantation when it become a listed company (Guthrie Berhad) in 1974.

Contributions of the Immigrants Promoting trade Promoting trade Chinese traders : acted as middlemen in the local trade Brought Straits produce from non-English speaking traders of the MA and sold them to European traders and vice-versa They were mainly Straits Chinese who could speak English, Malay and local dialects

Contributions of the Immigrants The Straits Chinese were also known as ‘Peranakans’ meaning ‘those born here’ (Malaya or Singapore). When the Chinese traders came to Melaka from the 15 th century onwards, many of them married local Malays. Children of such mixed marriages became known as ‘Peranakans’ Men were known as “Baba” and women as ‘Nyona’

Contributions of the Immigrants

Promoting trade Promoting trade Some European traders starting running businesses Besides trading, also involved in banking, shipping and insurance Eg Guthrie & Company set up by Alexander Guthrie chettiars Eg Indian money lenders or chettiars - played an important role in providing businessmen with loans to set up businesses See Annamalai Chettiar on pg 26

Contributions of the Immigrants Promoting trade Promoting trade Coolies - worked as labourers in loading and unloading goods at the harbour Contributed much to the development of trade Many other immigrants worked as fishermen, farmers, shopkeepers and hawkers Sold provisions, cloth, food and medicine Helped provide people with their basic needs

Contributions of the Immigrants Promoting trade Promoting trade In the early years, the port was located at the mouth of the Singapore River Most of the trading activities carried out here As more and bigger ships came, Singapore River became overcrowded A new harbour was built in another part of the island Provided more and better shipping and trading facilities We will learn more about the New Harbour in Chapter Four

Working for the Government Both Europeans and Asians helped in the administration of the govt Eg Syed Mohammed bin Ahmed Alsagoff A leader among the Malays was appointed as Justice of Peace His role : To serve as an unpaid magistrate or judge Given power to try less important cases Also to settle disputes and arguments among his countrymen

Working for the Government P Govindasamy Pillai, a successful South Indian businessman Also served as Justice of Peace You will read of others like Lim Boon Keng and Enos Abdullah There were others - many Eurasians and Asians who could speak and write English worked as clerks and attendants Many Sikhs worked as policemen to help the govt keep law and order

Serving the community British govt was more interested in trade than in providing social services People were left on their own to provide for what they needed Some people from various races helped to provide social services like hospitals and schools for their community and the society TAN TOCK SENG

Serving the community Tan Tock Seng - rich Chinese Straits merchant Contributed a large sum of money to build a hospital to care for the sick of all races It was built on land donated by Syed Sharif Omar Aljunied, the same man who donated the land for the building of St Andrew’s Cathedral Others like Seah Eu Chin helped run the hospital

Serving the community Thong Chai Medical Institution in Eu Tong Sen Street Set up by Chinese community in 1867 to provide free medical services for the poor of all races

Serving the community Alsagoff Arabic School - set up with the help of Syed Mohammed bin Ahmed Alsagoff Narayana Pillay, an Indan trader, started a small schol for Indian children Tan Kim Seng, son of Tan Tock Seng, opened the Chinese Free School All these provided basic education for some in S’pore

Serving the community Others helped provide facilities and services for the people Syed Ali bin Mohammed Aljunied contributed money to construct four community wells to provide water supply for the poor people

Conclusion We have studied some examples of the kind and generous acts by pioneers They believed they had a role to play in helping the needy and serving the community and society Their contributions went a long way in helping the people and improving their lives While immigrants contributed much, they also created some problems for the settlement Eg many Chinese immigrants joined secret societies which often took the law into their own hands We will learn more about how the British govt dealt wit these problems in the next chapter

Geylang Serai The Malays had been living in Singapore long before the Chinese or the Indians, and Geylang became their enclave in the 1840s after the British disperse the Malay floating village at the mouth of the Singapore River. Together with the large influx of Malaysians and Indonesians, many wealthy Arabs then congregated in the Geylang area. Highlights of the area today are the Malay Village and the Geylang Serai Market. Kampong Glam The name Kampong Glam comes from the Glam tree which grew in the area Medicinal oil was extracted from the Glam tree and used by the Buginese and Malays to caulk their ships. The area was the historic seat of Malay royalty in Singapore Highlights of Kampong Glam today are the old Malay Cemetery, Sultan Mosque and Rumah Panjang. Source : Singapore Official Guide

Source : _to_kampong_glam.htm More on Kampong Glam The area was named ' Glam ' after the gelam or glam tree. The resin of the Gelam tree was used for caulking boats and its leaves for medicinal purposes: the cajeput oil. Because of the abundance of the glam trees, the area initially attracted many boat builders who hauled their craft from the beach of Kampong Glam and worked on a boat's maintenance. The hard timber could replace rotten planks and, furthermore, the tree's bark served as weaving material. Kampong Glam became more populated and grew into prominence after Sultan Hussein Mohammed Shah and the Temenggong signed a treaty with the East India Company in Kampong Glam was then set aside by Raffles as a residential area for the Sultan and the Temenggong. However, not only did the Malays settle in this area, but also the Bugis, Arabs, Javanese, Boyanese and Chinese also did.

Chinatown Singapore Chinatown's history dates back to 1819 when the first Chinese junk arrived from Xiamen, Fujian province in China. (Another source states 1821! Logically, it should be 1819) The Chinese who Raffles anticipated would compose the largest single group were given the entire area southwest of the Singapore River HokkiensThe Hokkiens concentrated their trading efforts along Telok Ayer Street, China Street and Chulia Street TeochewsThe Teochews continued their farmer-fishermen tradition, occupying Circular Road and South Bridge Road (near present-day Boat Quay). CantoneseThe Cantonese, traditionally goldsmiths, tailors and restaurateurs, constructed their shophouses along Temple Street, Pagoda Street and Mosque Street.

Chinatown The only source of fresh water was from the many wells in Ann Siang Hill and at Spring Street. Niu Che ShuiEach household had to collect fresh water in bullock- drawn carts, hence Chinatown's local name, Niu Che Shui (Bullock Cart Water). Today, Chinatown can be divided into four main districts: Kreta Ayer, Telok Ayer, Tanjong Pagar, and Bukit Pasoh. Each has its own distinctive flavor. The heart of activity is in the Trengganu or Smith Streets area. Sources : Singapore Official Guide

Little India The first Indian settlers in Singapore arrived with Sir Stamford Raffles as assistants and soldiers back in In the late 19th century, many more Indian immigrants arrived to find work, be it as labourers to build roads or to take up key positions in the civil service. Early Indians resided in Chulia Street near Chinatown In 1843, cattle rearing on the fertile land of Rochor River and a racecourse were introduced near Little India, thus resulting in the heavy influx of Indians. Immigrants from Madras, Calcutta and Malaya joined them soon after. This area, once covered in gambier, banana, and vegetable plantations, had become a flourishing commercial centre for the Indian community. Today, Little India is the emotional and commercial centre of the Indian community, including the many foreign workers from India. Little India stretches from Rochor Canal to Lavender Street. Sources : Singapore Official Guide