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But the mangrove mud and swampy jungle of
Kampong Glam was not to be left undisturbed for long. After signing the
treaty allowing the East India Company to set up a trading post at Singapore,
Sultan Hussein Mohomed Shah returned to the nearby Riau Islands to collect his
wife and household and before leaving instructed Tememggong Abdu’r-Rahman to
"build me a palace" at Kampung Glam. Raffles’ translator, Munshi
Abdullah tells us he returned shortly, with his household and entourage in
"hundreds of boats". A large attap-roofed istana was built in 1823.
In 1839, Sultan Ali Iskandar Shah, one of the five sons of Sultan Hussein, built the present Istana, standing at the cul-de-sac of Sultan’s Gate. All that is noticeable from the bottom of the road, however, is a picture of a two-story colonial building with tall windows. Getting inside the walled compound and be greeted by crowing roosters strutting in the sandy yard and mangy cats sunning themselves on the concrete patches. Hugging the main building on three sides is a clump of huts of brick and wood, planks plastered together higgledy-piggledy, all conspiring to topple, but not just yet. Narrow alleys connect the houses. A familiar stale smell shrouds the labyrinth.
In 1896, there was a succession dispute in Sultan Hussain’s family and the courts ruled that no one could claim to be the successor. The estate then reverted to the British Crown and became state land when Singapore gained independence.
But
as with all things, money led to various disputes among his descendants, leading
up finally to the Sultan Hussein Ordinance of 1904. It was enacted to make
financial provisions for his family who had fallen on hard times. Over the
years, the growing number of beneficiaries has led to the pie being cut into
smaller pieces. It has also shrunk because of falling income from the properties
which are covered mostly by the Rent Control Act. The Government has pointed
out that the payments were to the "family of the late Sultan Hussein"
because they were, as the British governor then said in 1904, "very
improvident people". The payments were not meant for perpetuity.
Article on Straits Times 7 of July 1999:
About 80% of the late Sultan Hussain’s
beneficiaries have accepted the Government’s offer of a lump sum payment in
lieu of yearly payments under the Sultan Hussein Ordinance. Under the revised
scheme, the beneficiaries can opt for a share of $350,000 a year for 30 years or
a lump sum payment of equivalent. This is more than 10 times the allowances
that they receive now as a result of a 1904 decision by the colonial government.
The Istana Kampong Glam and a building next to it will be converted into a Malay Heritage Centre – a respository of all historical things Malay.
Kampong Glam MP Loh Meng See said that generally, Kampong
Glam residents were happy with the plans. The rest of the Malay community also
supports the projects, said Parliamentary Secretary (Communication and
Information Technology) Yaacob Ibrahim.
Residents of Kampung Glam
