SINGAPORE: A stage-type Malay village house, which is about 130 years old, is one of seven village houses in Pulau Ubin that received assistance to be repaired and restored by the National Parks Authority (NParks).
The aid means that the iconic Ubin village house - which can be considered the last native village house in Singapore - may have a longer life to climb.
Heritage expert and lecturer in architecture from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Dr Imran Tajudeen described the NParks move as "very meaningful" in order to conserve the heritage of village houses in Singapore.
"The move of NParks to conserve the wooden buildings of the stage houses and villages in Pulau Ubin is very significant.
"Because this is the first time the value of rural areas has been officially recognised and this recognition is also extended with the conservation of wooden buildings," the NUS Assistant Professor told BERITAmediacorp.
The architecture of Malay houses such as the village houses is included in the category of wooden buildings.
WOOD ROTS, LEAKING ROOFS BETWEEN DAMAGE
Just imagine, a Malay village house with decayed wood rain decks and termite attacks, a leaking zinc roof and a loud door-knocking sound when it was closed.
This is among the alarming damage suffered by a nearly 130-year-old village house owned by Ms Kamariah Abdullah, 60. The stage house is located at 760D Kampung Sungai Durian in Pulau Ubin.
"It looks like this, these decayed boards? It's even worse, look at this big hole, if there's a little boy, his legs can already come in," Ms Kamariah told us when BERITAmediacorp visited the house.
RECEIVE HELP FOR A 'VERY MEANINGFUL' HOME
Ms Kamariah is the fifth generation owner of the village house. He said almost 70 per cent of the house needed to be repaired, including parts of the walls that had already been replaced on their own.
Therefore, the NParks initiative to help refurbish the house over the past two weeks is very welcome to Ms Kamariah's family to continue the heritage of the house.
As for the stage house surrounded by these large trees, NParks is in the process of repairing the ceiling, floor, water tank structure and replacing the frame of its roof horses.
"I was born here and grew up here, also schooled here until Primary 2 at the Pulau Ubin Malay School. So this house means a lot to me as well for my family members and I think it's worth defending for future generations.
"After NParks repaired this house, I was relieved that the cost was too high," the mother-of-four shared.
Naturally, if it wants to be massively overhauled on its own, it will cost thousands of dollars or tens of thousands of dollars. BERITAmediacorp was once told by Ms Kamariah's own father that in addition to the price of timber and its transportation by sea road, the price of skilled carpentry is also difficult to obtain and needs to be taken from abroad. None of that is cheap.
MAINTAIN A SENSE OF 'COUNTRYHOOD', THE ORIGINALITY OF THE DESIGN OF THE VILLAGE HOUSE
NParks did not disclose how much the overhaul assistance it was providing. But importantly, it is now in the process of giving new life to seven village houses and a coffee shop on Ubin Island.
The government agency carried out the project after responding to the recommendations of the Friends of Ubin Network (FUN) group, which is also made up of Dr Imran, to improve the village houses here for the sake of cultural and heritage conservation in Pulau Ubin.
Project planning has started since late last year and house improvement has been carried out gradually since the last quarter of the year.
In an interview on the island yesterday (Dec 6) Deputy Director of Conservation of NParks (Ubin Island), Mr Thomas Lee said: "From there the conservation of these houses becomes something we are in as well because to pass down from the older generation to the younger ones, it is actually part of the legacy and to ensure that the house is safe to live in.
"This is in line with what the Ubin project wants to achieve which is to maintain a 'rustic' (rustic) feel for Singaporeans while visiting Ubin Island."
Mr Lee added that during the refurbishment process of Ms Kamariah's village house for example, the original design was maintained. No major changes were made.
THE VALUE OF RURAL AREAS IS RECOGNIZED FOR THE FIRST TIME
Dr Imran added that the art and carpentry embodied in the construction of village houses is "an extinct skill in Singapore".
However, he added that the Malay houses in Pulau Ubin represent some types of houses that used to be found on other islands but now they are no longer there. "So it's only left on Ubin Island," he added.
Dr Imran described NParks' move to provide conservation assistance as having an important impact on the development of a concept called "cultural landscape".
That is to refer to the cultural and environmental aspects of the history of Pulau Ubin, its community, its villages and old houses, which should not be separated from its green environment.Malay village house at 760D Kampung Sungai Durian, Pulau Ubin.
"So for Ubin Island, a broader understanding is very important because Ubin Island has an interest not only from the green environment but also as a place with a social or community history from the entire history of Singapore," he said in a remote interview with BERITAmediacorp. He is currently at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in London.
He was there as a Research Fellow and was doing research and writing for Islamic architecture books in the maritime archipelago/South East Asia, from the 15th to the 18th centuries.
THANKS TO NPARKS, DR IMRAN...
For Ms Kamariah, once her village house is completed, it will not only benefit her family, but "everyone".
"For those who don't know the village, they will know how this village house is still there in Singapore, especially on Pulau Ubin," he said.
Indeed, Ms Kamariah's family is diligent in hosting village cooking activities, rural corporate activities and introducing the features of her village house to residents from the 'singapore mainland' as well as to tourists.
Clearly, for Ms Kamariah and her family, her nearly 130-year-old village home is something to share.
"God willing will come when this house is ready, we will cooperate with any interested parties.
"I am grateful to NParks Pulau Ubin, not forgetting Dr Imran Tajudeen, as well as the students who did the research in this house, as well as to all the family members who struggled to defend the house," Ms. Kamariah said in an interview on the grounds of the beautiful stage house surrounded by native greenery.
Ms. Kamariah may not have disclosed it. But given the condition of the house, there is much more that needs to be replaced and restored.
Perhaps it is only the spirit of gotong-royong and the cohesive spirit of the village from all sides - covering Ms Kamariah's family, the government, the private sector, the community bodies - that can save the houses of Singapore's last village to continue to exist for another 200 years.
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