POLITICS OF HERITAGE IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

The representation of Malay-Muslim heritage in Singapore has changed repeatedly in relatively short periods of time. Until the 1990s, an exclusively rural legacy was showcased as the ethnic heritage of Singapore's Malay community. The alleged Malay ‘failure’ to function in urban society is rooted in administrative shortcomings of the colonial era when other Muslim migrants interacted with the British leaders on behalf of the Malay community. When attempts to redress the situation did not show immediate success in the 1950s, the Malay ineptness for participation in urban economic and cultural life was believed to be proven. In terms of socio-demographic indicators, this negative attitude quickly became a self-fulfilling prophecy contributing to the marginalisation of Malays. Urban Malay heritage would be rare and, where existing, in squalid conditions and better complemented by the built legacy of Arab trading history. This orientalisation of Malays continues to hinder a representation of their heritage as part of Singapore's cosmopolitan legacy. The current representation of Kampong Glam as ‘less Malay than Arab’ is a consequence of a particular conceptualisation of Malayness. New initiatives to boost the Malay character of Kampong Glam are best understood in the context of the longstanding neglect of existing Malay contributions to cosmopolitan connections.

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