Pulau Ubin

The name Pulau Ubin literally means "Granite Island" in Malay, which explains the many abandoned granite quarries there. Pulau means "island", and Ubin is said to be a Javanese term for "squared stone". To the Malays, the island is also known as Pulau Batu Ubin, or "Granite Stone Island". The rocks on the island were used to make floor tiles in the past and were called Jubin, which was then shortened to Ubin.

The island is known as tsioh sua in the Taiwanese Romanization of Hokkien, which means "stone hill". The highest point is Bukit Puaka (Puaka Hill) at a height of 75 m.[4]

An abandoned quarry on Pulau Ubin.

Pulau Ubin first appeared on map in an 1828 sketch of the Island of Singapore as Pulo Obin and in Franklin and Jackson's map as Po. Ubin. Since the British founding of Singapore, the island has been known for its granite. The numerous granite quarries on the island supply the local construction industry. The granite outcrops are particularly spectacular from the sea because their grooves and fluted sides create furrows and ridges on each granite rock slab. These features are captured in John Turnbull Thomson's 1850 painting — Grooved stones on Pulo Ubin near Singapore.

The granite from Pulau Ubin was used in the construction of Horsburgh Lighthouse. Tongkangs ferried the huge rock blocks (30 by 20 feet) from the island to Pedra Branca, the site of the lighthouse, in 1850 and 1851.

Later, the granite was also used to build the Singapore-Johor Causeway. Most of the quarries are not in operation today and are being slowly recolonised by vegetation or filled with water. Apart from quarrying, farming and fishing were the principal occupations of the inhabitants of the island in the past. It is also called Selat Tebrau (tebrau is a kind of large fish).

In the 1970s as the granite quarries closed down and jobs dwindled, residents began leaving.[6]

Human settlement

In the 1880s, a number of Malays led by Endut Senin from the Kallang River were said to have moved to the island that began the thriving Malay community on the island.

Many of the former kampongs on Pulau Ubin were either named after the first person who settled in the kampong or by some feature in the area. Kampong Leman was named by Leman; Kampong Cik Jawa by a Singaporean named Jawa; and Kampong Jelutong from people from Changi and from its jelutong trees. During the 1910s the island was home to a number of German-run coffee plantations. One of the German residents who died in 1914 is commemorated at the German Girl Shrine.[7]

During the 1950s and 1970s, there were 2,000 people living on the island[8] and the Bin Kiang School was established in 1952 for the increasing number of children, from money donated by the Chinese residents. Lessons prior to this were conducted on the village wayang stage. With a student population that once numbered 400, enrolment fell as the Singapore mainland developed. The school closed in 1985, and was demolished on 2 April 2000. There was also a private Malay school around 1956 at Kampung Melayu, which closed in the late 1970s.[9]

Pulau Ubin was found to be suitable for the construction of several campsites. Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) was established in 1967 at Pulau Ubin, by Dr Goh Keng Swee, while the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) opened its 25-hectare site camp located between Kampung Bahru and Kampung Noordin.[10] The camp is called Camp Resilience where Secondary 2 and 3 NPCC cadets have a 3-day 2 night stay for training. Secondary 2 NPCC cadets go to Adventure Training Camp (ATC) while Secondary 3 NPCC cadets go to Survival Training Camp (STC). lt was opened officially on 10 August 2004.[11]

On 3 June 2005, the Singapore Government ordered that all the farmers rearing poultry on the island were to ship them to mainland Singapore and rear them in government-approved farms by 17 June 2005, in the wake of the avian influenza. In exchange, the local inhabitants were offered HDB government housing packages, although they could choose to live on the island.

As of 2012, there are only 38 people living on the island.[8]

Panorama of Pulau Ubin

Pulau Ubin is one of the few areas in Singapore that is largely free from urban development.

Pulau Ubin is one of the last areas in Singapore that has been preserved from urban development, concrete buildings and tarmac roads. In the 1990s, the government approved land reclamation plans for Chek Jawa and when the plans were made public in 2001, it drew public criticism, with Singaporeans making appeals to the government to preserve the biodiversity of Chek Jawa instead. After a biodiversity survey conducted by conservationist volunteers in December, 2001, it resulted in the plans being postponed by the government, with the Ministry of National Development stating that the island would not be developed if there is no need for it to be.[12]

Outlined in Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)'s 1993 master plan, there were plans to build an MRT line connecting the island and Pulau Tekong to mainland Singapore as well as HDB apartments on the island by 2030. In 2013, these plans were removed from URA's updated master plans[13] and authorities announced that there are currently no plans to develop the island.[14]

Pulau Ubin's wooden house villages and wooden jetties, relaxed inhabitants, rich and preserved wildlife, abandoned quarries and plantations, and untouched nature make it the last witness of the old kampong Singapore that existed before modern industrial times and large-scale urban development.

Ubin Town

Most of the village consists of cycle shops and cafes, with the Wayang Stage visible in the left background.

Ubin Town is the largest and currently the only settlement on the island. Located near Ubin Jetty, many businesses in the village cater mainly to visitors to the island, with various bicycle shops, restaurants and provision shops dotting the village centre.[15] A Wayang stage, managed by the village temple (Fo Shan Teng Tua Pek Kong Temple) is also located in the village centre; it is one of the last three Chinese opera stages that has survived in Singapore. The platform is a characteristic of Southern Chinese temples, where Chinese opera and Getai performances can be held during important festivals presented to the deities of the temple.[16]

Although the island attracted attention for development and planning only in recent years, Pulau Ubin has been popular with Singaporean visitors for recreational activities such as summer camps and outdoor activities. With growing attention and interest in nature, visitors to Pulau Ubin has increased over the years. Pulau Ubin Recreation Area, which included Chek Jawa, was created to cater to local tourism. The site is about 700 hectares within the 1020-hectare Pulau Ubin.

Amongst the various popular attractions on the island is Chek Jawa, a previous coral reef 5000 years ago, Chek Jawa can be said to be virtually unspoilt. The wetlands are unique as several ecosystems can be observed in one area and supports a variety of marine wildlife comparable to other islands, such as sea hares, sea squirts, octopuses, starfishes, sand dollars, fishes, sponges, cuttlefishes and nudibranches.

A boardwalk runs through the mangrove, allowing visitors to observe the plant and marine life at close range. During low tide, a limited number of people are allowed to walk on the tidal flats. The prominent Chinese temple, Fo Shan Teng Tua Pek Kong Temple, is also another frequently visited site.

Coastal boardwalk at Chek Jawa

Bumboats waiting at Pulau Ubin jetty for passengers.

Visitors may travel to Pulau Ubin from the main island of Singapore via a 10-minute bumboat ride from the Changi Point Ferry Terminal (previously known as the Changi Village jetty). In 2008 the one-way ticket price was increased from S$2.00 to S$2.50 per passenger. It was further increased to S$3.00 from 7 September 2015 onwards. Every bumboat can carry 12 passengers and the captain will wait until his boat has reached the maximum capacity. People who do not want to wait can pay S$36.00 for the whole bumboat and leave without waiting.

The rental price for bicycles range anywhere from S$5.00 to S$20.00 (for the entire day) depending on the condition of the bike, number of gears etc.[19]

Between 22 to 23 April 1972 at Pulau Ubin, 25-year-old Harun bin Ripin (also named Harun bin Ariffin in some newspaper reports) and his 19-year-old friend Mohamed Yasin bin Hussein (also named Mohamed Yasin bin Hussin in some sources) broke into the home of 58-year-old Poon Sai Imm and robbed her. During the robbery, when Harun went around the house to look for valuables to steal, Yasin, alias Rosli, was restraining the victim and tried to rape her. While he was trying to rape her, Yasin sat on Poon's chest, which led to fractures on her ribs, and these fractures led to Poon's death. The two men proceeded to dispose the body into the sea before returning to the mainland, but the body was unexpectedly fished out from the sea by a fisherman the following morning. 9 months later, on 9 February 1973, when he was arrested for another crime, Harun surprised his interrogators by confessing to them about his involvement in the then-unsolved Pulau Ubin robbery. This confession led to Yasin's arrest the next day, and the two men were charged with the murder of Poon Sai Imm. They were tried in the High Court of mainland Singapore for this particular case.

At the end of their trial on 15 March 1974, Harun was found guilty of robbery by night and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane, while Yasin was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. Although Yasin's appeal against his sentence was rejected by the Court of Appeal in November 1974, his appeal to the Privy Council in London was accepted and his death sentence was thus set aside. Yasin was consequently re-sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment for committing a rash and negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide. However, Yasin was brought back to court again and promptly charged with rape. At the trial on 11 May 1977, Yasin denied raping the elderly woman despite the forensic evidence presented by forensic pathologist Chao Tzee Cheng (who performed the autopsy on the victim Poon) and Harun's testimony against him. At the end of the trial on 12 May 1977, Yasin was found guilty of attempted rape and he was sentenced to serve an additional sentence of 8 years' imprisonment.

Both Yasin and Harun were released in 1983 and 1985 respectively after they served their full sentences.[22]

• In 1989, TCS (now renamed Mediacorp), filmed a television drama named Good Morning, Sir. The drama was set in the 1950s where a woman from the main island of Singapore went to Pulau Ubin to work as a teacher.

A traditional kampong house on Pulau Ubin.

• In 1999, Mediacorp filmed a Channel 8 television drama called My Teacher, My Friend about the lives of students in the primary school that used to exist on Pulau Ubin.[23]
• In 2006, Mediacorp broadcast a Kids Central (now Okto on 5) television drama series titled Ubin Boy.[24] The plot revolved around two main characters, Steven (a mainland citizen) and his cousin Ah Boy living in Pulau Ubin.
• In the Danny Wallace book Yes Man, Wallace visits Pulau Ubin after it is suggested to him (and to which he must agree) after he visits Singapore. He is told the island is a paradise and must visit it by a local taxi driver.
• The Amazing Race 25 visited this island when the teams arrived in Singapore.
• Mediacorp filmed a Channel 8 television drama called Hand In Hand in 2015 about four siblings in search of a suspicious figure on Pulau Ubin who looks like their father.

• Chua Ee Kiam (2000), Pulau Ubin – Ours to Treasure, Simply Green, Singapore. ISBN 981-04-3088-4
• Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics – A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1

• A Guide to Pulau Ubin, Singapore Environmental Heritage Series, Mobil Oil Singapore Pte Ltd & The Nature Society (Singapore)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pulau Ubin.

• National Parks Board – Pulau Ubin
• Pulau Ubin on wildsingapore latest happenings, how to get there, what to see and do, tips for visitors, galleries.
• Habitatnews blog about the island – Pulau Ubin Stories.