Three enclaves, one city

Sir Stamford Raffles was furious. In the three years since he had left Singapore for the outpost of Bencoolen, the nascent colony had grown in disarray. Instead of following his orders, appointed leader Major William Farquhar had taken a laissez-faire approach – attracting many traders but also vices that Raffles despised.

Farquhar tolerated the sale of opium and slaves, and sold gambling licenses to raise money for the cash-strapped administration. Still, his pragmatism helped to guarantee the survival of Singapore through its early years, and the colony’s rise posed a serious challenge to rival Dutch ports in Java and Sumatra.

The year was 1822 and Singapore was already booming. But in spite of the exponential growth in trade and population, the reality fell short of Raffles’ original vision. After removing Farquhar from his post, he set about bringing a sense of order to the colony. Laws and regulations were quickly put in place, and by the following year a police force and magistracy had been installed.

Raffles also paid careful attention to the island’s physical development. With the help of a committee led by engineer Lieutenant Philip Jackson, a gridded master plan was drawn up, dividing the town into several ethnic neighbourhoods or kampong, the Malay word for ‘village’.

To the east of the ‘European Town’, Kampong Glam was set aside for the native Malay population and Muslim immigrants from across the region. Centred on the palace (istana) of Sultan Hussain Shah of Johor – who had been exiled to the Riau Islands when his half-brother seized the throne – the district housed his entourage, communities of Arab merchants, Bugis traders from South Sulawesi and settlers from Sumatra.

Even in 1822, Raffles rightly predicted that the ethnic Chinese would make up the largest sector of the population. He marked the area southwest of the Singapore River as a ‘Chinese Kampong’, beginning with the precinct of Telok Ayer (literally ‘Water Bay’). But as the immigrant population swelled, the centre of Chinatown moved to an area where fresh water was delivered by animal-driven carts. For this reason the precinct gained the Chinese name Niu Che Shui (‘Ox-cart Water’) and the Malay name Kreta Ayer (‘Water Cart’).

To the north of Chinatown, Kampong Chulia was laid out for Tamil settlers from southern India, but over time the community would migrate across the river to the district around Serangoon Road. Known as Tekka to its Tamil residents, Little India would soon be dominated by cattle and textile traders. Curiously, Tekka became the chosen location for the villas of several successful Chinese businessmen, along with a temple dedicated to Guanyin, the Chinese Boddhisattva of Mercy. The reverse had already happened in Chinatown, where the oldest Hindu place of worship in Singapore, Sri Mariamman Temple, first took shape in 1827.

Nearly 200 years after the Jackson Plan was drawn up, its impact can still be keenly felt. But what Raffles could not envisage was the cross-cultural pollination that evolved – and continues today – in Singapore’s ethnic kampongs. ◊

Sultan Mosque and Bussorah Street, Kampong Glam

Restored shophouses, Kampong Glam

Sultan Mosque from the grounds of Istana Kampong Glam (the Sultan’s old palace)

Istana Kampong Glam, now Singapore’s Malay Heritage Centre

Domes of Abdul Gafoor Mosque, Little India

The main courtyard and the prayer hall

Decorative stars and crescent moons

Residence of Tan Teng Niah, Little India

More psychedelic colours

Tan Teng Niah’s residence is the only Chinese villa left in Little India

At Sri Mariamman Temple, Chinatown

Rich sculptural details on the ‘gopura’, the temple’s pyramidal gateway

Monuments to the gods and to commerce

Chinatown shophouses