Ulu Sembawang, the country

Up to the 1990s, Ulu Sembawang was a sprawling expanse of rolling hills and low-lying ponds, a rural backwater known as “the country”.

Ulu Sembawang in 1986. Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Where was Ulu Sembawang? It was the upriver portion of the Sungei Sembawang, bounded by the trunk roads of Sembawang Road to the east, and Mandai Road to the south.

Gradually, most of this was lost. Much of the west of historic Ulu Sembawang became part of Woodlands town, while much of the east was locked up inside Sembawang Air Base, the chief defence facility of the north.

There remains a glimpse into the past, though - a short stretch along the Ulu Sembawang Park Connector, where the Mandai Birds Sanctuary used to be. The rough location on the park connector is marked with a pink dot below.

Credit: Singapore Land Authority.

The sanctuary moved out by 2019, leaving the gently sloping land fallow. Grass and shrub have taken over.

The result is a breathtaking vista of open wilderness that stretches to the horizon. I’m told hikers flock here at dawn to catch the sunrise. The scenery is no less beautiful in the evening.

Treasuring this while it lasts.

Kampong Wak Selat Muslim Cemetery

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon an old Muslim cemetery near Old Choa Chu Kang Road End, what was once the western end of the trunk road known as Choa Chu Kang Road.

Now, I have chanced upon another old Muslim cemetery near Kranji Road End, the northern end of the trunk road that was once Bukit Timah Road-Kranji Road.

This cemetery is tucked away in the small patch of forest between Kranji Loop and Kranji Water Reclamation Plant, next to a small lane called Jalan Wak Selat. The lane is the access road to a carpark serving the ageing JTC flatted factory buildings of 2, 4, and 6 Kranji Loop.

“Wak” means “Uncle” or “Grandfather” in Javanese, an honorific for an elder. “Selat” is Malay for “Straits”. Hence, “Wak Selat” could mean “Uncle of the Straits”, possibly a reference to a community leader of the area, which was near the Straits of Johor.

The place name belonged not just to the road, but a kampung which used to exist around the road.

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Kampong Wak Selat was established just after the end of World War II (1945) at the junction of Kranji Road and the Keretapi Tanah Melayu railway track running to the Woodlands Checkpoint. People could have settled there because it was near two pineapple factories, which would have been a source of employment.

Below is a map of the area in 1961. The village is shaded light blue, Jalan Wak Selat is dark blue, and the railway track is pink. The village’s Muslim cemetery is also marked on the map.

Base picture credit: Survey Department, Singapore.

Kampong Wak Selat and Jalan Wak Selat made the news in 1972 when the road was metalled. At the time, it was 660 feet long, while the village had a population of 300.

Below is a map of the area in 1970. Again, the village is light blue, while the road is dark blue.

Base picture credit: Survey Department, Singapore.

Kampong Wak Selat made the news again in 1992 and 1993 as its residents were resettled and the village cleared for redevelopment. There were calls for the village to be preserved, but it did not happen.

Below is a map of the area in 1991, just before clearance. By then, Kranji Loop and Blocks 2, 4, and 6 had been built.

Photos were taken of Kampong Wak Selat before and during demolition.

Below is possibly Jalan Wak Selat, running into the village.

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Kampung houses.

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

The insides of kampung houses.

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

A makeshift outdoor gym.

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

A provision shop.

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

A football pitch.

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

The village surau.

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Below is the site today. The railway track was removed after 2011. Most of Jalan Wak Selat and a good part of the former village site have been swallowed by forest. It is possible that remains of the road still lie inside the forest.

Base picture credit: Google Maps.

This is Jalan Wak Selat today - it has been rerouted to run into a carpark, and it does not even have its own signpost.

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At least part of Kampong Wak Selat’s Muslim cemetery, possibly as old as the kampung itself, has survived.

The junction of Kranji Road and Jalan Lam Huat. The cemetery is hidden beyond the trees.

Walking down Kranji Road, I would have missed the cemetery if not for the large sign erected by the authorities.

Beyond the sign...

Most of the surviving graves are nondescript and in various stages of crumbling to nothing.

I wonder as to the stories of the people who are buried here.

Behind some bushes, I discovered a grave that stands apart from the rest in terms of ornateness.

Aminah Ibrahim, died 1945.

According to the 2019 Master Plan, the site of the former village - where the cemetery is today - is a “reserve site”, which means the area should stay as it is for the time being. Madam Aminah and her neighbours can continue resting for now, as they have done so for the last eight decades.

Old Choa Chu Kang Road End Muslim Cemetery

I was exploring the historic stretch of Old Choa Chu Kang Road west of the Lim Chu Kang Road-Jalan Bahar junction, when I stumbled upon an old Muslim cemetery, seemingly (and hopefully) forgotten (or ignored) by the authorities.

The cemetery lies to the south of a car park built sometime between 2015 and 2018, next to the junction of Cemetery South Street 23 and Street 16. As it is located near the western end of Old Choa Chu Kang Road, I shall call it the Old Choa Chu Kang Road End Muslim Cemetery.

Base picture credit: Google Maps.

The cemetery is largely surrounded by forest and bush, and is filled with overgrown grass - it hasn’t been maintained for a long time.

As is usually the case for old Muslim graveyards, this cemetery has graves of varying ages and conditions. Some go back to the 1960s and 1970s. Some have dapur kubur (the rectangular structure that sits upon the grave mound) that were recently renovated; others have severely deteriorated after decades of exposure to the elements. Yet others merely have batu nisan (grave markers, usually one at the head and one at the foot of the burial site) to indicate someone’s resting spot.

From the 1970s, burial in Singapore was gradually shifted to the Choa Chu Kang Cemetery Complex, where the major faiths were allocated different locations. However, the Old Choa Chu Kang Road End Muslim Cemetery predates this policy. My guess is that the cemetery served the rural community in the area before the villagers were resettled.

Before the 1970s, there were two villages in the area - Choa Chu Kang Village and Kampong Bereh. The cemetery could have served both villages until they were resettled by the 1990s.

Below is a map of the area in 1970. At the time, Choa Chu Kang Village and Kampong Bereh lay at the western end of Choa Chu Kang Road, shaded blue, presently Old Choa Chu Kang Road. A Muslim cemetery near the villages is shaded green. I believe this cemetery is the Old Choa Chu Kang Road End Muslim Cemetery.

Base picture credit: Survey Department, Singapore.

Since the cemetery lies outside the Choa Chu Kang Cemetery Complex in terms of both date and geography, it is not subject to the New Burial Policy of 1998, which mandates that burials in Singapore must be exhumed after 15 years for either cremation or reburial. Hence, in terms of grave architecture and heritage, the Old Choa Chu Kang Road End Muslim Cemetery is a priceless time capsule, similar to another Muslim cemetery I explored earlier this year, Bedok South’s Lucky Gardens Cemetery.

Hopefully, this time capsule will remain untouched. An area of concern is the realignment of Lim Chu Kang Road because of Tengah Air Base’s expansion. According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s 2019 Master Plan, the new road will pass dangerously close to the cemetery.

Credit: Urban Redevelopment Authority.

There are earthworks going on just to the west of the cemetery, most probably for this new road. I hope it will not encroach further into the grounds of the cemetery.