Malay Heritage

In this post, we will be introducing you to the heritage of the Malay culture in Singapore; you may choose to visit the Kampong Glam, a conserved heritage site, and the Malay Heritage Museum to capture the life of the Malays in Singapore.

Kampong Glam
Kampong Glam is a historic place that is rich in Singaporean Malays heritage and culture and it was once a seat of the former Malay royalty in Singapore. The streets in Kampong Glam are surrounded by many conserved architecture, such as the Masjid Sultan (Sultan Mosque) and the shop houses.
Masjid Sultan is a one of Singapore’s most remarkable religious building that can hold up to 5,00 worshippers supported by its base that is formed by glass bottles and sheltered by its massive golden dome. Situated at Muscat Street, Sultan Mosque is a must-see landmark in Kampong Glam.
A lane of preserved shop houses can be found along the Bussorah Street, Arab Street and Baghdad Street. Many of these shop houses caters to the need of the Muslim community; selling Malay artefacts such as scarves and perfumes, traditional business such as textile and carpet shops, and unique eateries. You will be able to find the Kabaya and Baju Melayu (as mentioned in the previous post) at one of these shop houses.
The best time to make a trip to Kampong Glam is during the fasting month of Ramadhan when many Muslims would celebrate this joyous festival with cultural performances and bazaars of Malay cuisines.




Malay Heritage Centre
The Malay Heritage Centre is established at Istana Kampong Gelam, which was a former Malay palace in Singapore before the restoration in 2001 takes place. It is located near the Masjid Sultan.
It has 9 galleries showcasing the roots, history and material culture of the Singapore Malays. It also displays the works of Malay artists who had gained international recognition and the life of the present Malays as part of Singapore’s multi-cultural society.



This place is surrounded by Gelam trees, which are raw material to construct boat in the past.

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Indian Heriage

Singapore's Little India is a place like no other. You are assured to experience a unique blend of Singapore culture and indian culture brought along by our indian forefathers.

The aromatic fragrance of the spices and blooms carried throughout the entire place is Little India's trademark. Many stores from the olden-days can still be found by it's roadsides, alleys and back lanes that add in to the beauty of Little India. For example, you are still able to find vendors selling garlands of jasmine or kachang puteh (roasted peanuts) on pushcarts, street side newspaper seller and fortune-tellers with their parrots.

You can find stalls selling Ayurvedic massage oils, gold, incense and fabrics in a variety of textures at the inner lanes. For example at Campbell Lane, Dunlop Street and Hindon Road. If you are interested in the religion of the India's you can visit the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, which means 'Kali the Courageous', that is filled with colourful and realistic statues and paintings. It is a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Kali.

We all know Singapore is a food paradise so you can definitely find some of the Indian's delicacy at Little India. There are restaurants where you can find spicy classic South Indian food. Some of the restaurants that you can visit are Komala Villas and Muthu’s Curry. If you are looking for more local Indian food you can go to Tekka Market and Food Centre for roti prata (dough flat bread) and thosai (Indian-styled pancakes).

You can end your trip with a shopping spree at the Mustafa Centre. It is an all-night 24hr emporium that sells decorative items, foodstuff, Indian spices, apparel and textiles, and more at low prices.

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Chinese Heritage

In this post we will be introducing to you the heritage of Chinese culture in Singapore. The most ideal place to experience this rich culture will be Chinatown.

Chinatown, also known as牛车水 in Chinese and Kreta Ayer in Malay, is a famous attraction in Singapore and the shop houses are also show the distinct features of Chinese culture art and heritage. The shop houses are mainly two or three storey high; families usually conduct business at first storey and make use of the second and third storey for accommodation.

Chinatown is divided according to different dialect groups. Such as the hokkiens are mainly at Havelock Road, Telok Ayer Street and China Street, while the Teowchew will associated with Circular Road, River Valley Road and Boat Quay. Cantonese are in South Bridge Road, Upper Cross Street and Bukit Pasoh Road. However, nowadays the Cantonese are the dominant group in Chinatown as the Hokkiens and Teowchews are mostly scattered to other parts of Singapore.

In Chinatown you can find Chinese handicrafts, antiques, traditional clothing, home accessories and even Chinese medicine. The products are usually cheap and wide- range. You also can enjoy the Chinese cuisine at the restaurants or hawker centers such as Chinatown Complex; it is one of the largest hawker centers in Singapore with more than 200 stalls or maxwell Centre at 2 Murray St which is open 24 hour.

To go Chinatown, you can take North-East MRT to Chinatown MRT station or take public buses. However, Chinatown will be crowded during Chinese festivals such as Chinese New Year as Chinese will go there celebrate and enjoy the performance.

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Arts- Television

This week, we’ll be delving more into the arts scene in Singapore; mainly the television aspect. The television scene in Singapore is mainly controlled by Media Corporation of Singapore, also known as Mediacorp. Mediacorp was formerly known by a few other names, such as Television Singapura, Radio Television Singapore, Television Corporation of Singapore, etc. It first started in 1963 and has 48 years of history on its back up till the year 2011.

There are 7 main free-to-air terrestrial television channels as of 2011. Some of these include Channel 5, Channel 8, Channel U, Channel News Asia and OKTO. Even with the little number of channels offered by Mediacorp, they are still able to cater to all walks of life and all the different races in Singapore. The 7 different channels encompasses variety shows, sitcoms and news channels in 4 different languages.

In 2001, SPH Mediaworks Ptd Ltd set up 2 extra free-to-air terrestrial television channels (Channel U and Channel I) in order to pose as healthy competition in the television industry to Mediacorp. However, the 2 channels were ephemeral and merely lasted 3 years before SPH and Mediacorp announced that the 2 companies were going to merge, thus leading the Mediacorp being to sole television provider in Singapore up to date.

Some of the notable television series that Mediacorp has successfully produced over the years includes Return of the Condor Heroes, starring Fann Wong and Christopher Lee, as well as Holland V, which is the first long-running drama to be filmed, produced and aired completely in Singapore. A considerable number of television programmes have also been outsourced to neighbouring countries such as China and Malaysia, where foreigners will get to watch our local dramas as well.

Other distinguished variety shows include the annual Star Search Contest, which is hosted to discover new acting talents in Singapore. This has recently been extended to overseas countries such as China and Taiwan where more talents were uncovered. The latest winner was actually a Shanghainese. Many television actors in the local industry also hail from various countries such as Thailand (Pornsak), China (Dai Yang Tian, Zhou Ying) and Malaysia (Christopher Lee) and have all found fame on our sunny shores.

Overall, the television scene is Singapore is pretty vibrant although paling in comparison to neighbouring countries, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, whom have a longer history compared to ours. However, we believe that the local arts scene will continue to prosper and flourish in the years to come.

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Arts- Music

Due to Singapore’s limited advancement in the local music industry, there are Singaporeans that have ventured overseas and done us proud. For example, Stephanie Sun, Tanya Chua and JJ Lin have achieved fantastic results as singers in Taiwan and China. They are able to be accepted widely by foreign fans and claiming first place on various music charts.

The local music scene is also actively promoting Singaporeans to live their dreams and pursue singing as their career. Singing competitions organised by Mediacorp have been a trend in Singapore since 2005, which includes Project Superstar, Campus Superstar and Singapore Idol. Winners and runner-ups are then able to have the opportunity to be signed on with music companies and pursue their career as singers in Singapore or overseas.

There are also local music companies like Hype Nation Records and music schools like Lee Wei Song School of Music. They offer opportunities to locals who are keen in joining the music industry or have the potential to outshine themselves in the sea of singers.

Besides being singers, there are also other job opportunities in the music scene. The many jobs include producers, lyricist, back-up singers and many more.

Furthermore, one of Singapore’s most famous landmarks – Esplanade – is an ideal location to stage plays and musicals. The Esplanade was first opened in 5 July 2005. There are a concert hall, theatre and studios located in the Esplanade that allows a large number of audiences to enjoy the performances put up by singers or actors.

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Arts- Museum

One way which Singapore promotes art is through the various museums we have that includes Singapore Arts Museum, National Museum of Singapore, Peranakan Museum, Singapore Art Gallery and Singapore Philatelic Museum. Museums in Singapore not only focus locally but also internationally.

[A picture of the Peranakan Museum]

In the National Museum of Singapore, there is a Film & Wayang Gallery that explores the history of Malay film production in Singapore in the mid-20^th century, and the development of Chinese Opera and puppetry; The Fashion Gallery that reveals the fabric of Singapore society through popular music and displays of apparel, accessories and beauty products used by women from the 1950s to 1970s; Treaures of the National Museum of Singapore; Exhibition Galleries and Gallery Theatre. In addition, tours, workshops, performances and lecture programmes are also available to visitors. One special feature that the museum also offers is the Cinematheque that focuses on the presentation of film in its historical, cultural and aesthetic contexts, with a strong emphasis on local and regional cinema.

[A picture of the National Museum of Singapore]

Singapore Arts Museum is currently organizing Trans-Cool Tokyo, which introduces contemporary Japanese Art from the Museum of contemporary art Tokyo collection. The exhibitions show various pop arts by Japanese artists, showcase of popular Japanese culture and toys and screening of unique Japanese films. This is for visitors to know foreign arts better instead of just local ones.

[A picture of the Singapore Arts Museum]

Lastly is the Singapore Philatelic Museum that showcases a wide variety of stamp collection around the world. As stamps are essential during slow mail period, it had since became forgotten by Singaporeans. Hence visitors are able to visit the museum to appreciate the different design of stamps showcased.

[A picture of the Singapore Philatelic Museum]

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