Sunday, April 26, 2009

Reflection

Through this assignment, I got a better understanding of Syed Sharif Omar bin Ali Aljunied. I only knew he was a spice trader and after this, I knew he was a philanthropist and many other things. I also I like that this assignment is web-based and not confined to only the textbook. Having a web-based assignment is much more interesting and it is much more enjoyable like this. I hope to have more of this kind of history assignments to make it more interesting.

Bibliography
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_847_2004-12-29.html
History Textbook: Singapore, From Settlement to Nation, Pre-1819 to 1971

Sketch of monument


This is the monument I would erect for Syed Sharif Omar bin Ali Aljunied. He was a trader of spices, thus, I chose this to be the monument. It should be erected along Aljunied Road as it was named after him and it would be a good place to locate this.

Biography Syed Sharif Omar bin Ali Aljunied

Syed Sharif Omar bin Ali Aljunied was born in 1792, at Hadramaut, Yemen and passed away on 6 November 1852, Singapore, at the age of 60. He was a noted Arab spice trader and businessman, philanthropist and important leader of the early Arab community. He had a successful trading business and was also noted as one of the first religious leaders and one who was a generous contributer to charitable causes. He made social and socio-economic impact. He donated land for religious buildings such as St Andrew's Cathedral and the Masjid Kampong Melaka in Chinatown. He had commissioned the building of the mosque in 1820 for the Malay fishermen, Bugis merchants and Malaccan businessmen who traded with the Chinese in Chinatown. Another mosque in Bencoolen street is also attributed to him. After that, he contributed land for the Pauper's Hospital in 1844 which later would become Tan Tock Seng Hospital for which his nephew Syed Ali would also donate land between Victoria Street and Arab Street. The large plot of land between Victoria Street and Rochore Canal was originally an Arab-Muslim burial ground named after Syed Omar himself after he was buried there.When he died in 1852, he left behind five sons and several grandchildren. He was buried with his uncle Syed Mohammed at the Syed Omar Cemetery.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Did Raffles have any plans of chinatown??

Raffles drew up a plan for chinatown, his blueprint was developed from years of first-hand experience in Penang.His instructions to the Singapore Town Planning Committee in 1822 thus stated that houses should have a uniform type of front each having a porch of a certain depth, open to all sides as a continuous and open passage on each side of the street. This probably led to the five-foot way which the shophouses in Chinatown are famous for. Some researchers have reflected that the shophouse was a fusion of the narrow-fronted houses that are a familiar sight in Amsterdam with the ones of Southern China, especially in Guangzhou and Fujian.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Exploring Chinatown

At Telok Ayer Street, it was hard to believe that this magnificent place was once a historical site. This street was once occupied by the hokkiens.

Raffles separated the early Chinese immigrants according to provinces of origin and also by what the British perceived to be different classes. Thus Hokkiens occupied Telok Ayer Street, China Street and Chulia Street; Teochew-speaking Chinese occupied Circular Road, Boat Quay and South Bridge Road; and the Cantonese occupied mainly Kreta Ayer, Upper Cross Street, New Bridge Road, Bukit Pasoh and parts of South Bridge Road. This arrangement contributes to the reason why today, one may encounter a different speaking dialect group in each different part of Chinatown.

How did chinatown come about?

It all started during the 19th century when Sir Stamford Raffles concieved Chinatown. He was not satisfied with the way that the settlement around the Singapore River and Boat Quay had developed. The Singapore River and Boat Quay was very different if you were to compare the past and the present. Most of the immigrants that were living in Chinatown were from China at that time.

Our Singapore's history-filled Chinatown

As you wander through the streets of Chinatown on a sunny day, one will be amazed at how innocently blended in greater contrast is an old pre-war shophouse that is standing side by side to a renovated one. These sights of the old and renewed houses appearing in random as one goes down the streets, only serves to remind us of the past and our present efforts to preserve it.