New Year, New Ubin: My New Year 2019 Message
Hi All!
In this post, I will be sharing with all of you my message for the new year where I would touch on my hopes, dreams and mission for my late grandparents' island home in 2019.
2018 is now behind us and we are now entering into 2019 with new hopes, dreams and resolutions. However, one might often hear that even as we progress into the new year, there is one place in Singapore that still appears to be stuck in time.
Pulau Ubin to many, is seen as a time capsule where we get to experience the time when Singapore was transitioning from self-governance and into independence. With the existing kampong houses, plantations and farms, one might simply believe a statement that claims that this was how Pulau Ubin had been since the 1960s, but I'm afraid it is not an accurate a statement as we hoped it to be.
My mom who had spent nearly more than thirty years on Ubin, having been born there in 1959 before moving to mainland Singapore in 1989, had witnessed the hustle and bustle of the kampongs in Pulau Ubin; well her and the other 2,000 residents who used to live there. As she will be celebrating her 60th birthday this coming year, her memories on the life that she lived on Ubin remained vivid and forever etched in her mind.
While it is true that the way of life was pretty much the same ever since for the residents that still call Ubin their home, one could not deny the impact left behind on current residents from an 80% decline in the kampong houses standing - from more than 100 scattered across Pulau Ubin to just roughly 20 today - and a 98% decline in the Ubin residents population - from around 2,000 in the 1960s to just roughly more than 30 today.
There was once a time Cik Sutinah Suraton, a former resident of Kampong Noordin, could recall that walking down Jalan Ubin cutting across Kampong Sungei Durian would be hilarious as residents in that village would often stick their heads out of their homes and asked where she was heading off to, house by house. I find that this story that she had shared with me displayed the genuine sense of neighbourliness that a kampong spirit encompasses, and something that I am afraid could not be replicated in modern Singapore today.
Cik Sutinah, along with the other thousand over Ubin residents including my mom, no longer have a home on the island, following their evictions almost island-wide following plans and rumours of future developments on the island some time in the late 1980s to early 1990s. The mass eviction of these residents had resulted to a gradually quieter kampong on the island today, one that was not as jovial and lively as it was in the past.
Also going on today, a majority of the kampong houses that still remain are in a state of disrepair as some houses could only be tended to once a month following the former resident's commitments back in mainland Singapore, and even for our active residents, they are unable to maintain their homes in mint condition due to their age and deteriorating health. Extreme weather conditions, termite infestations and untouched wildlife interference over the course of months or even a few years further threatens the structural integrity of the homes of these residents, built by their forefathers and passed down to them as their family's heritage.
Just in 2018, the home of the late Cik Sawall, 810T Kampong Surau which was located behind Kelichap Hut and next to Pak Ahmad's former house faced its inevitable fate as the house collapsed inwards towards its left side, believed to have been blown over by a gust of wind along with weakened floorboards and pillars gnawed away by the termites of the overgrown forests surrounding it. It was an extremely heavy sight to behold and even more heavy news to break to the family of the late Mr Sawall that their home and part of their family's heritage had been lost forever.
Honestly speaking, a handful of the houses today on Pulau Ubin are facing the same nightmarish state of disrepair and might even suffer the same fate as to what has happened to that of 810T Kampong Surau; if we do not act fast.
In the past few years, NParks had chosen a few kampong houses to be restored for community use in an effort to revitalise Ubin, however even till today, more needs to be done to really ensure that the other kampong houses that were not chosen around Pulau Ubin can be restored back to its former glory. In September 2018, we also managed to witness the reopening of a brand new restored Ah Ma Drink Stall in what I have described as a potential to the beginning of a new era in Pulau Ubin where our kampong heritage may continue to survive for generations to come.
However, not everyone is on board with the idea of reviving our kampongs, having drawn some flak from people online and offline and I for one, was not spared from the mockery. I have been told that whatever efforts and intiative that I had done was a complete waste of time and money, that there was no need to do anything on Pulau Ubin because it was boring and had nothing good and useful for them; that no matter what the island will be redeveloped inevitably and that I was foolish to believe that we can keep things the way they are in the name of heritage. In short, I have been told that I was championing for a lost cause.
But I know deep down in my heart that it is not the case.
A cause shall not be lost for as long as the belief in it remains; even it is just the size of an atom. I refused to believe that out of the 5.6 million Singaporeans we have today, that no one else is passionate about our kampongs as much as I am, and I refused to believe that in all the milennials in Singapore, that I am the only one who has taken his initiative in tracing down his family's heritage and having the urge to give back to the community that they were from. I knew they were out there somewhere, and out there they were.
Today, I am blessed with much more supporters than I do of nay-sayers and I am also very happy to know that my Ubin journey had inspired many youths and activists, including politicians and other officials in the public office. I am happy to know that what I do matters not only to myself and my mom but even to others, especially to the Ubin residents, both former and current. I am happy to know that there is still a glimpse of hope for Pulau Ubin; its people and its kampongs.
I continuously call for your support in preserving, protecting and celebrating our Ubin kampongs and heritage. We always like to take things for granted, only regretting them once they are gone; but please for Pulau Ubin let us not make this grave mistake for it is our last and final kampong here in Singapore.
Moving forward with WUJ's plan for more involvement with the Ubin community, I will be organising monthly kampong clean-ups where we will always be looking for volunteers like you who would want to play their part for the community by assisting our residents in maintaining their homes and gardens to make them beautiful again.
The first kampong clean-up in 2019 will take place on Saturday, 26 January from 9am to 1pm. Wanna be part of this inaugural community outreach event with me? You may find out more about it here on WUJ's Facebook event page. I hope you would join me in this noble cause!
One more event that I would be planning out would be a heritage tour around Kampong Surau, undoubtedly the heart of the Malay community on Ubin, where the former Pulau Ubin Malay School and mosque once stood for years. Having you to join me in these tours, to learn about the history and stories of the people who lived there, would be a wonderful experience as it is always nice to share our unique Ubin history with everyone else! More details would be released in a much later time.
In 2019, as I transit myself out of National Service and back into the civilian life, I will also be furthering my studies into university and begin on the next phase of my life. Nonetheless, I will also continue to work hard on Ubin; to dig deeper into my family's roots, to understand the history behind the places and people of Ubin and to celebrating the larger Ubin community.
Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can set things right. Together, we can make Pulau Ubin thrive again, so that we can bring the real Ubin of the 1960s right here into 2019 and beyond.
I'd like to wish everyone a very wonderful 2019 and may Pulau Ubin thrive again, with its people in its heart.
--
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Have any enquiries or feedback? Feel free to contact me at wansubinjournal@gmail.com
In this post, I will be sharing with all of you my message for the new year where I would touch on my hopes, dreams and mission for my late grandparents' island home in 2019.
2018 is now behind us and we are now entering into 2019 with new hopes, dreams and resolutions. However, one might often hear that even as we progress into the new year, there is one place in Singapore that still appears to be stuck in time.
Pulau Ubin to many, is seen as a time capsule where we get to experience the time when Singapore was transitioning from self-governance and into independence. With the existing kampong houses, plantations and farms, one might simply believe a statement that claims that this was how Pulau Ubin had been since the 1960s, but I'm afraid it is not an accurate a statement as we hoped it to be.
My mom who had spent nearly more than thirty years on Ubin, having been born there in 1959 before moving to mainland Singapore in 1989, had witnessed the hustle and bustle of the kampongs in Pulau Ubin; well her and the other 2,000 residents who used to live there. As she will be celebrating her 60th birthday this coming year, her memories on the life that she lived on Ubin remained vivid and forever etched in her mind.
While it is true that the way of life was pretty much the same ever since for the residents that still call Ubin their home, one could not deny the impact left behind on current residents from an 80% decline in the kampong houses standing - from more than 100 scattered across Pulau Ubin to just roughly 20 today - and a 98% decline in the Ubin residents population - from around 2,000 in the 1960s to just roughly more than 30 today.
There was once a time Cik Sutinah Suraton, a former resident of Kampong Noordin, could recall that walking down Jalan Ubin cutting across Kampong Sungei Durian would be hilarious as residents in that village would often stick their heads out of their homes and asked where she was heading off to, house by house. I find that this story that she had shared with me displayed the genuine sense of neighbourliness that a kampong spirit encompasses, and something that I am afraid could not be replicated in modern Singapore today.
Cik Sutinah, along with the other thousand over Ubin residents including my mom, no longer have a home on the island, following their evictions almost island-wide following plans and rumours of future developments on the island some time in the late 1980s to early 1990s. The mass eviction of these residents had resulted to a gradually quieter kampong on the island today, one that was not as jovial and lively as it was in the past.
Also going on today, a majority of the kampong houses that still remain are in a state of disrepair as some houses could only be tended to once a month following the former resident's commitments back in mainland Singapore, and even for our active residents, they are unable to maintain their homes in mint condition due to their age and deteriorating health. Extreme weather conditions, termite infestations and untouched wildlife interference over the course of months or even a few years further threatens the structural integrity of the homes of these residents, built by their forefathers and passed down to them as their family's heritage.
Just in 2018, the home of the late Cik Sawall, 810T Kampong Surau which was located behind Kelichap Hut and next to Pak Ahmad's former house faced its inevitable fate as the house collapsed inwards towards its left side, believed to have been blown over by a gust of wind along with weakened floorboards and pillars gnawed away by the termites of the overgrown forests surrounding it. It was an extremely heavy sight to behold and even more heavy news to break to the family of the late Mr Sawall that their home and part of their family's heritage had been lost forever.
The remnants of 810T as seen along Jalan Durian
Cik Radiah's home is one of a handful of those that are in a state of extreme disrepair and potential collapse.
Photo taken outside of Ah Ma Drink Stall during its reopening. Photo courtesy of Kak Diana
However, not everyone is on board with the idea of reviving our kampongs, having drawn some flak from people online and offline and I for one, was not spared from the mockery. I have been told that whatever efforts and intiative that I had done was a complete waste of time and money, that there was no need to do anything on Pulau Ubin because it was boring and had nothing good and useful for them; that no matter what the island will be redeveloped inevitably and that I was foolish to believe that we can keep things the way they are in the name of heritage. In short, I have been told that I was championing for a lost cause.
But I know deep down in my heart that it is not the case.
A cause shall not be lost for as long as the belief in it remains; even it is just the size of an atom. I refused to believe that out of the 5.6 million Singaporeans we have today, that no one else is passionate about our kampongs as much as I am, and I refused to believe that in all the milennials in Singapore, that I am the only one who has taken his initiative in tracing down his family's heritage and having the urge to give back to the community that they were from. I knew they were out there somewhere, and out there they were.
Today, I am blessed with much more supporters than I do of nay-sayers and I am also very happy to know that my Ubin journey had inspired many youths and activists, including politicians and other officials in the public office. I am happy to know that what I do matters not only to myself and my mom but even to others, especially to the Ubin residents, both former and current. I am happy to know that there is still a glimpse of hope for Pulau Ubin; its people and its kampongs.
I continuously call for your support in preserving, protecting and celebrating our Ubin kampongs and heritage. We always like to take things for granted, only regretting them once they are gone; but please for Pulau Ubin let us not make this grave mistake for it is our last and final kampong here in Singapore.
Moving forward with WUJ's plan for more involvement with the Ubin community, I will be organising monthly kampong clean-ups where we will always be looking for volunteers like you who would want to play their part for the community by assisting our residents in maintaining their homes and gardens to make them beautiful again.
The first kampong clean-up in 2019 will take place on Saturday, 26 January from 9am to 1pm. Wanna be part of this inaugural community outreach event with me? You may find out more about it here on WUJ's Facebook event page. I hope you would join me in this noble cause!
One more event that I would be planning out would be a heritage tour around Kampong Surau, undoubtedly the heart of the Malay community on Ubin, where the former Pulau Ubin Malay School and mosque once stood for years. Having you to join me in these tours, to learn about the history and stories of the people who lived there, would be a wonderful experience as it is always nice to share our unique Ubin history with everyone else! More details would be released in a much later time.
In 2019, as I transit myself out of National Service and back into the civilian life, I will also be furthering my studies into university and begin on the next phase of my life. Nonetheless, I will also continue to work hard on Ubin; to dig deeper into my family's roots, to understand the history behind the places and people of Ubin and to celebrating the larger Ubin community.
Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can set things right. Together, we can make Pulau Ubin thrive again, so that we can bring the real Ubin of the 1960s right here into 2019 and beyond.
I'd like to wish everyone a very wonderful 2019 and may Pulau Ubin thrive again, with its people in its heart.
--
Like WUJ on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/wansubinjournal
Follow WUJ on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/wansubinjournal
Follow WUJ on Twitter!
https://www.twitter.com/wansubinjournal
Have any enquiries or feedback? Feel free to contact me at wansubinjournal@gmail.com
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