GOOD FRIENDS AND DANGEROUS ENEMIES: BRITISH IMAGES OF … · 2018. 1. 9. · good friends and dangerous enemies: british images of the arab elite in colonial singapore (1819-1942)

GOOD FRIENDS AND DANGEROUS ENEMIES:

BRITISH IMAGES OF THE ARAB ELITE IN COLONIAL SINGAPORE

(1819-1942)

NURFADZILAH YAHAYA

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

2006

GOOD FRIENDS AND DANGEROUS ENEMIES:

BRITISH IMAGES OF THE ARAB ELITE IN COLONIAL SINGAPORE

(1819-1942)

NURFADZILAH YAHAYA

(B.A. (Hons.), NUS)

A THESIS SUBMITTED

FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

2006

i

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Maitrii Aung-Thwin for his guidance,

advice and necessary critiques. I am immensely grateful for his patience and

support.

This thesis has benefited from many constructive comments and

suggestions received at the conference on Yemeni-Hadhramis in Southeast Asia

(Identity Maintenance or Assimilation) held in Kuala Lumpur in August 2005.

Special thanks to Sumit Mandal, Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith.

I would like to thank Syed Muhammad Khairudin Aljunied for helping me

during the early stages of research.

Many thanks to Geoff Wade for constantly directing me towards useful

sources to consider.

I am indebted to my colleague and good friend Didi Kwartanada for

generously sharing his knowledge with me. I shall always cherish your kindness

and friendship.

I wish to thank Claudine Ang for tea and company during my first year,

especially for her support and excellent advice while I was trying to carve out my

own academic career.

My best friends Khalidal Huda and Nurul Asyikin were always there to

lend a listening ear and for that, my gratitude knows no bounds.

Umar Issahaq Iddrisu patiently explained to me the strengths and

weaknesses of my arguments over lots of tea at every stage of my research. Thank

you for challenging me to always achieve more, and for inspiring me to blaze my

own trail down the Ph.D track.

Finally, I wish to thank my family � my parents, Yahaya Abdul Kadir and

Sharifah Azizah Almahdali, as well as my brother Yazid for their love and for

always believing in me.

ii

Table of Contents

Contents Page

Summary 1

List of Tables 2

List of Illustrations 3

List of Abbreviations 4

Chapter One � Introduction and Literature Review 5

Chapter Two � Arab Identity in Colonial Singapore 35

Chapter Three � Interactions between the Arab Elite and the

British in Cosmopolitan Singapore

79

Chapter Four � Conclusion 105

Bibliography 109

Appendices 122

1

Summary

This thesis investigates the British colonial perceptions of the Arab elite in

Singapore. Drawing on British colonial classifications, this thesis traces how the

Arabs maintained a distinct Arab identity, despite being of mixed descent (Arab

and Malay). British colonial discourse reveals that the Arab elite continued to

maintain strong kinship ties with Hadhramaut, their homeland in south Arabia.

The British consistently maintained a cautious stance in their relationship

with members of the Arab elite in Singapore, who were at times suspected of

having anti-British, pro-Ottoman sympathies, or of being advocates of anti-

colonial, pan-Islamism at various junctures during the colonial period.

Nonetheless, a crisis between the Arabs and the British was averted since the

wealthy Arab elite was keen not to offend the British, in order to protect their huge

financial investments in the British settlement of Singapore. Eventually, in the

cosmopolitan world of early twentieth-century Singapore, frequent Arab-British

social interactions shaped British opinion of the Arab elite as useful political allies,

not only assisting the British in their colonial rule over the native Muslim

population but also in matters concerning Hadhramaut.

2

List of Tables

Table Page

Political loyalties of Arabs in the Indo-Malay Archipelago in British

colonial discourse

64

3

List of Illustrations

Illustration Page

Report of the Census of Singapore taken in 1891 44

Arabs in Singapore wearing traditional Arab costume

during the silver jubilee celebrations of King George V in

1935

46

Arch built by the Arab community in Singapore to

commemorate King George V�s silver jubilee in 1935

58

Muslim procession outside the arch built by the Arab

community in Singapore in celebration of King George V�s

silver jubilee in 1935

59

Alkaff Garden with Japanese landscape 61

Hotel de l�Europe in Singapore 62

4

List of Abbreviations

CO Colonial Office Correspondence

FO Foreign Office, London, England

KITLV Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-,

Land- en Volkenkunde

NAS National Archives of Singapore

SS Straits Settlements

5

Chapter One

Introduction and Literature Review

This thesis examines British images of the Arab elite in colonial Singapore. It

discusses how a distinct Arab identity was strengthened by British colonial

classifications. Subsequently, the thesis explores how these images were formed

through British contact with the Arab elite in Singapore. It surveys aspects of

colonial life that are seldom treated in the general histories of Singapore and the

Indo-Malay Archipelago, where greater attention has been given to Arab

dominance in the maritime world of trade and navigation, as well as the

relationship between Arabs and the indigenous Malay community.

Most of the Arabs who settled in the Indo-Malay Archipelago originated

from Hadhramaut,1 an arid coastal region with no natural resources located in

present-day Yemen.2 During the sixth century, trade links between south Arabia

and India were already in place, with enormous trade being conducted with the

1 See Appendix 1 for a map of Hadhramaut. Rita Rose di Meglio, �Arab Trade with Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula From the 8th to the 16th Century�, in D.S. Richards, ed. Islam and the Trade of Asia - A Colloquium (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1970), p. 107; Joseph Kostiner, �The Impact of the Hadhrami Emigrants in the East Indies on Islamic Modernism and Social Change in the Hadhramawt during the 20th century�, in Raphael Israeli and Anthony H. Johns, eds. Islam in Asia, Volume II Southeast and East Asia (Boulder: Westview Press, 1984), p. 209; Engseng Ho, �Before Parochialization � Diasporic Arabs Cast in Creole Waters�, in Huub de Jonge and Nico Kaptein, eds. Transcending Borders- Arabs, Politics, Trade and Islam in Southeast Asia (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002), p. 15. 2 Kostiner, �Impact of the Hadhrami Emigrants in the East Indies�, p. 206.

6

Indian port of Calicut by the thirteenth century.3 The Hadhramis also settled in

East Africa from the thirteenth century onwards.4 By the middle of the ninth

century, Arabs (not Hadhramis exclusively) were actively trading with China.5 As

a result, they frequently plied the sailing route through the Malacca Straits and the

Sunda Straits.6 Arab mercantile settlements soon emerged in the ports of Aceh,

Siak, Palembang, Pasai, Pontianak, Gresik, Malacca Kedah and Riau,7 even as

early as the fifteenth century.8 Significant Hadhrami emigration to the Malay world

3 See Appendix 2 for a map of the Indian Ocean. Di Meglio, �Arab Trade with Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula�, p. 107; Omar Khalidi, �The Hadhrami Role in the Politics and Society of Colonial India, 1750s-1950s�, in Ulrike Freitag and William Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), p.66. 4 Françoise Le Gunnec-Coppens, �Changing Patterns of Hadhrami Migration and Social Integration in East Africa�, in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, Statesmen in the Indian, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), p. 156; B.G. Martin, �Migrations from the Hadhramaut to East Africa and Indonesia c. 1200 to 1900�, Research Bulletin 7 (December 1971), pp. 1-2. 5 Di Meglio, �Arab Trade with Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula�, pp. 107-108; J.A.E. Morley, �The Arabs and The Eastern Trade�, Journal Malayan Branch Royal Asiatic Society, 22, 1 (1949), p. 150; Michael Flecker, �A Ninth Century AD Arab or Indian Shipwreck in Indonesia: First Evidence for Direct Trade with China�, World Archaeology, 32, 3 (February 2001), pp. 335-354. 6 See Appendix 3 for a map of Southeast Asia. For more on the early arrival of the Arabs in Southeast Asia, see M.A.P. Meilink-Roelofsz, �Trade and Islam in the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago Prior to the Arrival of the Europeans,� in D.S. Richards, ed. Islam and the Trade of Asia: A Colloquium (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1970), pp. 137-57. 7 Di Meglio, �Arab Trade With Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula�, pp. 116-126; Morley, �The Arabs and the Eastern Trade�, p. 155; J. Kathirithamby-Wells, �The Age of Transition: The Mid-Eighteenth Century to the Early Nineteenth Centuries�, in Nicholas Tarling, ed. The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Volume One Part Two, From C. 1500 -1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), p. 215. 8 R. J. Gavin, Aden Under British Rule (London: C. Hurst and Company, 1975), p. 157.

7

occurred in the mid-eighteenth century,9 and experienced an upsurge after the

opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.10

Prior to their arrival in Singapore, Arab merchants had successfully

established a well-connected commercial and social network in the Indo-Malay

Archipelago.11 They featured prominently in maritime shipping business in

Sumatra, Java, Borneo and other smaller islands on the eastern side of the

Netherlands East Indies.12 Many royal families in the Archipelago were descended

from the Arabs, most notably the Sayyids. The indigenous ruling elite in the Malay

world often married off their daughters to the Sayyids, who were highly regarded

because of their descent from Prophet Muhammad, their piety, religious

knowledge, and command of the Arabic language.13

Due to the Arab merchants� commercial success and influence in the Indo-

Malay Archipelago, they were duly welcomed by the British who hoped that they

9 L.W.C. van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes dans l�Archipel Indien (Batavia: Imprimérie du Gouvernment, 1886), pp. 105-120; William G. Clarence-Smith, �Hadhramaut and the Hadhrami Diaspora: An Introductory Survey�, in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), pp. 1-2; Morley, �The Arabs and the Eastern Trade�, pp. 155-156; William Roff, �The Malayo-Muslim World of Singapore at the Close of the Nineteenth Century�, Journal of Asian Studies 24,1 (1964), p. 81; Yusof A. Talib, �Les Hadramis et le Monde Malais: Essai de bibliographie critique des ouvrages européens sur l�émigration hadramite aux XIXe et XXe siecles�, Archipel 7 (1974), p. 43. 10 Peter G. Riddell, �Religious Links between Hadhramaut and the Malay-Indonesian World c.1850 to c.1950�, in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), p. 221. 11 Harold F. Pearson, People of Early Singapore (London: University of London Press, 1955), p. 91. 12 Frank Broeze, �The Merchant Fleet of Java, 1820-1850: A Preliminary Survey�, Archipel 18 (1979), pp. 251-269; Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, pp. 147-148; Omar Farouk Shaiek Ahmad Bajunid, �The Arabs in Penang�, Malaysia in History. 11, 2 (1978), p. 5; William G. Clarence Smith, �The Economic Role of the Arab Community in Maluku 1816 to 1940�, Indonesian and the Malay World 26, 74 (1998), pp. 32-49; Wiiliam G. Clarence-Smith, �The Rise and Fall of Hadhrami Arab Shipping in the Indian Ocean 1750s-1940s�, in David Parkin and Ruth Barnes, eds, Ships and the Development of Maritime Technology in the Indian Ocean (London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002), pp. 227-258. 13 Kathirithamby-Wells, �The Age of Transition�, pp. 214-215.

8

would attract trade to the new British settlement of Singapore in 1819.

Nonetheless, the British were careful to heed the advice of Francis Light, the

British superintendent of Penang who warned that the Arabs in the Archipelago

should be treated as �good friends and dangerous enemies,�14 a metaphor for the

cautious policy they eventually adopted.15

Immediately after the founding of Singapore by Thomas Stamford Raffles

in 1819, the British chronicled the arrival of the Arabs in Singapore beginning with

the merchant Syed Omar bin Ali Aljunied, who came with his uncle and business

partner Syed Muhammad bin Haroun Aljunied from Palembang.16 Another early

newcomer to Singapore was Abdulrahman Alsagoff, who had come from Arabia to

Malacca to trade with Java prior to this.17 By 1822, there was already a substantial

Arab population in Singapore such that it became one of the �principal classes�

consulted by the British committee planning the town layout.18 The Alkaffs, the

merchants from Surabaya, arrived later in 1852.19 In 1886, Dutch scholar L.W.C.

14 Francis Light was the first British Superintendent of the Prince of Wales Island. Harold P. Clodd, Malaya�s First British Pioneer: The Life of Francis Light (London: Luzac, 1948), pp. 55-56. 15 Mohammad Redzuan Othman, �Hadhramis in the Politics and Administration of the Malay States in the Late Eighteenth and Nineteeth Centuries�, in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, Statesmen in the Indian, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), pp. 82-93. 16 Charles B. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore (Singapore: Fraser and Neave Limited, 1902), p. 62; Pearson, People of Early Singapore, pp. 91-93. 17 The Alsagoffs came as spice traders. Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, p. 122; Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 564; Morley, �The Arabs and the Eastern Trade�, p. 155; Ameen Ali Talib, �Hadramis in Singapore�, November 1995, The British Yemeni Society, accessed 12th February 2006, <http://www.al-bab.com/bys/articles/talib95.htm>. 18 The other representatives were from the European, Malay, Bugis, Javanese and Chinese communities. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, pp. 75, 81. 19 Rajeswary Brown, �Arab Responses to Capitalism in Southeast Asia, 1830 to the Present,� Conference Proceedings of �Yemeni-Hadhramis in Southeast Asia: Identity Maintenance or Assimilation�, August 26-28 2005 (Kuala Lumpur: International Islamic University of Malaysia, 2005) p. 297.

9

van den Berg, observed that Singapore had the largest Arab colony in the British

Straits Settlements (Penang, Malacca and Singapore).20

Most of the Arabs became small traders and shop-keepers, trading in

rubber, sago, coconuts, coffee, cocoa and pineapples.21 Apart from being horse

traders,22 some of them were also well known as slave owners and dealers,

together with the Dutch and the Chinese in the Archipelago.23 Nonetheless, Arabs

in Singapore were mostly associated with the business of transporting Haj pilgrims

for their annual pilgrimage to Mecca,24 as they maintained their dominance in the

maritime world from their base in the new port of Singapore. By 1848, Singapore

was already established as a port in the Archipelago from where Arab steamers

departed for Jeddah.25 In 1874, the Alsagoff Singapore Steamship Company�

transported 3476 pilgrims to Mecca, including 2250 pilgrims from the Netherlands

20 L.W.C. van den Berg, Hadramaut dan Koloni Arab di Nusantara, trans. Rahayu Hidayat, Karel A. Steenbrink, Nico J.G. Kaptein (Jakarta: Indonesian-Netherlands Cooperation in Islamic Studies, 1989), p. 71. 21 Mona Abaza, �A Mosque of Arab origin in Singapore: History, Functions and Networks�, Archipel 53 (1997), p. 64; William G. Clarence-Smith, �Hadhrami Entrepreneurs in the Malay World, c. 1750 to c. 1940�, in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), p. 306; Ulrike Freitag, �Arab Merchants in Singapore � Attempt of a Collective Biography�, in Huub de Jonge and Nico Kaptein, eds. Transcending Borders � Arabs, Politics, Trade, Islam in Southeast Asia (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002), p, 119; Alfred Wallace, The Malay Archipelago: The Land of the Orang Utan, and the Bird of Paradise (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1986), p. 32. 22 Clarence-Smith, �Hadhrami Entrepreneurs in the Malay World�, pp. 307-308. For more on the Arabs� role in horse trading in the Lesser Sunda Islands, refer to William G. Clarence-Smith, �Horse Trading � The Economic Role of Arabs in the Lesser Sunda Islands, c. 1800 to c. 1940�, in Huub de Jonge and Nico Kaptein, eds. Transcending Borders � Arabs, Politics, Trade in Southeast Asia (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002), pp. 143-162. 23 J.A. Bethune Cook, Thomas Stamford Raffles � Founder of Singapore 1819 (London: Arthur H. Stockwell, 1918), p. 96; John Crawfurd, History of the Indian Archipelago � Volume Three (London: Archibald Constable and Co., 1820), p. 43; George W. Earl, The Eastern Seas or Voyages and Adventures in the Indian Archipelago (London: W.H. Allen and Co., 1837), pp. 57, 66; T.J. Newbold, British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca � Volume One (London: John Murray, 1839), pp. 9, 424; J.T. Thomson, Translations from the Hakayit Abdullah bin Abdulkadar, (Munshi) with Comments by J.T. Thomson (London: Henry S. King and Co., 1874), p. 149. 24 Roff, �Malayo-Muslim World of Singapore�, p, 81; Anthony Reid, An Indonesian Frontier � Acehnese & Other Histories of Sumatra (Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2005), p. 230. 25 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 471.

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East Indies.26 An Arab ship-owner based in Singapore during the nineteenth

century named Syed Mohsen Aljufri even entered British cultural imagination

when he was featured in Joseph Conrad�s novels, The Shadow Line and An Outcast

of the Islands.27

The affluent Arab elite accumulated immense wealth in Singapore. The 80

Arab commercial firms in Singapore formed 29 percent of Arab firms in the

Archipelago with a capital of over 10,000 guilders in 1885.28 The money that these

Arab merchants earned from their various enterprises in the Archipelago was

mainly poured into the acquisition of real estate in Singapore.29 The estimated

value of Arab investment in real estate in Singapore was 4 million guilders in

1885, a quarter of the estimated value of other Arabs� real estate in Malaya, the

Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca, as well as the Netherlands East

Indies.30 By 1931, Arab landowners were the largest group of owners of house

property in Singapore together with the Jews,31 despite constituting only 0.34

26 Saadiah Said, �Kegiatan Keluarga Alsagoff Dalam Ekonomi Negeri Johor 1878-1906�, Jebat 7/8 (1977/78/1979), p. 60. 27 Joseph Conrad, An Outcast of the Islands (London: J.M. Dent and Sons, Ltd., 1923); Joseph Conrad, The Shadow-Line (Garden City: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1924); Norman Sherry, �Rajah Laut� � A Quest for Conrad�s Source�, Modern Philology 62,1 (April 1964), p. 35; Norman Sherry, �Conrad and the S.S. Vidar�, The Review of English Studies 14, 54 (May 1963), pp. 159-160. 28 Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, pp. 146-147. 29 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, pp. 562-567; Clarence-Smith, �Hadhrami Entrepreneurs in the Malay World�, p.303; Kostiner, �Impact of the Hadhrami Emigrants in the East Indies�, p.210; W.H. Ingrams, A Report on the Social, Economic and Political Conditions of the Hadhramaut (London: HMSO, 1937), p. 150; Yasser Mattar, �Arab Ethnic Enterprises in Colonial Singapore: Market Entry and Exit Mechanisms 1819-1965�, in Asia Pacific Viewpoint 45, 2 (August 2004), p. 74; Arnold Wright & H.W. Cartwright, eds. Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources, (London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Pub.1908), pp. 705-707, 710-712. 30 Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, pp. 146-147. 31 Clarence-Smith, �Hadhrami Entrepreneurs in the Malay World�, p.303.

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percent of the population in Singapore.32 In 1936, they were the richest group in

Singapore in terms of ownership of assets per head.33

The Arab settlement in Singapore was the dynamic locus of activity in the

Hadhrami network, such that Engseng Ho calls Singapore the �jewel of the

�mahjar� (diaspora).�34 Singapore became the center for Hadhrami political and

economic life in the Indo-Malay Archipelago. The port of Singapore was the hub

of Hadhrami shipping, especially after the onset of steam navigation.35 Links with

Hadhramaut were maintained through frequent remittances to families back in

Hadhramaut. Arabs in Singapore made extensive contributions to the construction

of roads, schools, dispensaries, the introduction of a local coinage system and a

postal service in Hadhramaut.36 As this thesis will show, Hadhrami politics was

determined to some extent by members of the Arab elite in Singapore. Even the

Second Hadhrami Peace Conference was held in Singapore in 1928, with plans to

settle the dispute amongst reformers in the Hadhrami diaspora, as well as to set up

a reform government in Hadhramaut.37

The Arab as foreign to the Malay world

32 Freitag, �Arab Merchants in Singapore�, p. 119. 33 William G. Clarence-Smith, �Hadhrami Arab Entrepreneurs in Indonesia and Malaysia: Facing the Challenge of the 1930s Recessions�, in Peter Boomgard and Ian Brown, eds. Weathering the Storm: The Economies of Southeast Asia in the 1930s Depression (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2000), p. 229. 34 Engseng Ho, �Hadhramis Abroad in Hadhramaut: The Muwalladin�, in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, Statesmen in the Indian, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), p. 142. 35 Clarence-Smith, �Hadrami Entrepreneurs in the Malay World, c. 1750 � c. 1940�, p. 300. 36 Robert B. Serjeant, �The Hadrami Network�, in Denys Lombard and Jean Aubin, eds. Asian Merchants and Businessmen in the Indian Ocean and the China Sea (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 151. 37 Freitag, �Arab Merchants in Singapore�, p. 130.

12

During the eighteenth century, the newly-arrived British observed that the

Arabs ostensibly retained their identity in the Indo-Malay Archipelago. The more

affluent and sophisticated Arab possessed �pride and vigour,�38 and possessed

finer houses than the native Malays.39 The Arab was the �solemn religious trader,�

in contrast to the natives � �the excited Malay� or the �wild orang laut.�40 A strict

Arab/native binary system of stratification was perceived by the British in the

Indo-Malay Archipelago, and further reified in colonial discourse. It is remarkable

that even after centuries of intermarrying with the local communities, the Arabs

still constituted a separate race from the natives, forming a distinct community

instantly recognizable by the British traders and colonialists. Nonetheless, it was

during the colonial period that Arab identity was finally solidified in opposition to

the Malays.

The Arab community in the Straits Settlements was bureaucratically

defined as �Arab� in British colonial censuses.41 The term �Arab� is based on a

racially pure definition. In the historiography of Arabs in the Indo-Malay

Archipelago, there have been few efforts to create a distinction between Arabs who

were racially pure and Arabs who were of mixed descent. This is highly

incongruous because most of the Arabs who came from the Middle East were men,

and they often married native women in the region, resulting in mixed progeny of

38 Thomson, Translations from the Hakayit Abdullah, p.28. 39 John Bastin and Robin Winks, compilers. Malaysia Selected Historical Readings (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1966), p. 144. 40 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 495. 41 E.M. Merewether, Report on the Census of the Straits Settlements, 1891 (Singapore: Government Printing Office, 1892); J.R. Innes, Report on the Census of the Straits Settlements, 1901 (Singapore: Singapore Government Printing Office, 1902); H. Marriott, Report on the Census of the Straits Settlements, 1911 (Singapore: Singapore Government Printing Office, 1912).

13

Arab and Malay, Javanese or Bugis descent.42 Through scholarship that quote

colonial classifications uncritically, Arab identity was further reified as distinct

from Malay identity in historiography of the Indo-Malay Archipelago.43 As

scholars neglect to interrogate colonial definitions of the Arab community, Arab

identity remained bounded by the administrative structure of the colonial state in

historiography.

Historian of Malaya, Richard Winstedt erroneously assumes that nearly all

the Arabs in Singapore were of pure Arab descent.44 This is highly unlikely as

Arab men tended to marry local Malay women.45 An exception to historians who

gloss over these racial distinctions is Joseph Kennedy who differentiates between

�pure� Arabs and those of mixed race when he states that there was a small but

influential group of Arabs, as well as a people of mixed Arab-Malay descent in the

Indo-Malay Archipelago.46 Historian Edwin Lee gives the Arabs born of Arab and

Malay parentage the curious portmanteau label of �Arab-Malays.�47 Few scholars,

however, differentiate between first-generation Arabs and successive generations

of Arabs who were of mixed descent.

Anthropologist Engseng Ho criticizes colonial historiography for referring

to the community unequivocally as �Arab,� imbuing their identity with a certain

42 Riddell, �Religious Links between Hadhramaut and the Malay-Indonesian World�, p. 221; C. Mary Turnbull, A History of Singapore: 1819-1988 (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 98. 43 Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, p. 157; Donald Moore and Joanna Moore, The First 150 Years of Singapore (Singapore: Donald Moore Press, 1969), p. 119. 44 Richard O. Winstedt, Malaya and Its History (London: Hutchinson University Library, 1962), p. 21. 45 Turnbull, A History of Singapore, p. 98. 46 Joseph Kennedy, A History of Malaya, (London: Macmillan, 1970), p. 124. 47 Edwin Lee, The British as Rulers Governing Multi-Racial Singapore: 1867-1914 (Singapore: Singapore University Press, 1991), p. 262.

14

inflexible foreign quality in the Malay world. He suggests that scholars regard the

Arabs as �locals possessed of degrees of Arabness.�48 A prominent teacher of the

Malay language in Singapore, Munshi Abdullah admitted in his autobiography that

he was �an Arab of Yemen of mixed race, three times removed from a pure Arab�,

as his father�s grandfather was the son of an Arab of Yemen.49 It is interesting to

note that an early distinction between a pure Arab and an Arab of mixed race �

what Engseng Ho termed �degrees of Arabness� � was being categorically made

but this conscious differentiation was rare in the historiography of Singapore.

Taking up Ho�s suggestion proves to be a rather difficult task, primarily

because according to the Arab system of patrilineal descent, the children borne to

Arab fathers and non-Arab mothers remain as Arabs.50 Although Ho�s view of the

Arabs in terms of degrees of Arabness is true in the biological sense, the Arabs in

the Malay world tended to deliberately retain a distinct Arab identity apart from

the Malays in order to consolidate their influence over the local Malay community

by cementing strategic marriage alliances with Malay royalty, and gain economic

48 Ho, �Diasporic Arabs Cast in Creole Waters�, p. 32. 49 Abdullah�s father, Abdul Kadir is from Malacca. His paternal great-grandfather, from the tribe of Othman in Yemen came to south India where his grandfather was then born. J.T. Thomson, Translations from the Hakayit Abdullah, p. 4; Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p.28; Munshi Abdullah, trans. W.G. Shellabear, Autobiography of Munshi Abdullah (Singapore: Methodist Publishing House, 1918), p. 1. 50 Clarence-Smith, �Hadhramaut and the Hadhrami Diaspora�, p. 9.

15

incentives as well as political prestige from the natives of the Archipelago who

regarded them so highly as pious Muslims.51

Hence, it is possible that the British were only being faithful to the Arabs�

conception of their own identity. In this case, it is difficult to lay the blame of

flawed theoretical conceptions of the Arab community at the door of the European

colonial power. Rather, it is up to scholars to recognize that both aspects of the

Arabs� ethnic identity in the Indo-Malay Archipelago � Arab and native (Malay,

Javanese, Bugis) - influenced their status and roles within the Indo-Malay

Archipelago. In Singapore however, the Arab identity was usually overwhelmingly

expressed at the expense of the native Malay identity. Even Ho concedes that

Arabs in Singapore retained an independent prominence as Arabs, compared to

Arabs in Malaya who were inducted into Malay nobility.52

Trade and entrepreneurial diaspora

The Hadhramis� links with their kin in their homeland and elsewhere

remained cohesive despite marrying into their host society in the Malay world.

Ulrike Freitag and Syed Farid Alatas agree that the Hadhramis in the Indo-Malay

51 Mona Abaza, �Islam in South-east Asia: Varying Impact and Images of the Middle East � Case-Studies of Muslims in Thirteen Countries�, in Hussin Mutalib and Taj ul-Islam Hashmi, eds. Islam, Muslims and the Modern State (New York: St. Martin�s Press, 1994), p. 144; Syed Farid Alatas, �Hadhramaut and the Hadhrami Diaspora: Problems in Theoretical History�, in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, Statesmen in the Indian, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), p. 29; Ho, �Diasporic Arabs Cast in Creole Waters�, pp. 14-15; Huub de Jonge, �Dutch Colonial Policy Pertaining to Hadhrami Immigrants,� in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, Statesmen in the Indian, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), p. 94; Doreen Ingrams, A Survey of Social and Economic Conditions in the Aden Protectorate (Asmara: n.p., 1949), p. 37; Kostiner, �Impact of the Hadhrami Emigrants in the East Indies�, p.208; Mohammad Redzuan, �Hadhramis in the Politics and Administration of the Malay State�, pp. 82-93. For more on genealogies of the Hadrami communities, see the forthcoming work by Engseng Ho, The Graves of Tarim � Genealogy and Mobility Across the Indian Ocean (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2006). 52 As a result, in Malaya, Arabs experienced a higher degree of assimilation into the local Malay community than in Singapore. Ho, �Diasporic Arabs Cast in Creole Waters�, pp. 14-15.

16

Archipelago continued to be part of a trade or entrepreneurial diaspora that formed

a complex network of coastal and island commercial centers, or trade routes and

entrepots linking these places with the sea.53 Ulrike Freitag adopts Robin Cohen�s

useful conception of trade diaspora as a close-knit community that consists of a

global network of mutual trust, where capital and credit flow liberally between

family, kin and members other members of the same ethnic community who are

only loosely connected with each other.54 To a great extent, Arabs certainly formed

a distinct society as a diasporic community in Singapore. Bonds with fellow Arabs

of the same clan or family were further strengthened in Singapore as they looked

towards each other for help in a foreign land.

Images of the Arabs in the Netherlands East Indies

The majority perspective in the historiography of the Arabs in Southeast

Asia has been Dutch. The more problematic and tense relationship between the

Arabs and the Dutch in the Netherlands East Indies has been the frequent focus of

53 Alatas, �Hadhramaut and the Hadhrami Diaspora: Problems in Theoretical History�, p. 26; Ulrike Freitag, Indian Ocean Migrants and State Formation in Hadhramaut (Leiden: Brill, 2003), pp. 2-10. 54 Freitag, Indian Ocean Migrants and State Formation in Hadhramaut, pp. 2-10.

17

study.55 In contrast, Arabs under British colonial rule in the Indo-Malay

Archipelago have not been adequately studied. There are fundamental differences

between the position of the Arabs within British and Dutch colonies due to the

different colonial structures. For example, in British colonies, the Arab community

was under the direct authority of the British and not placed under Arab �Kapitans�

or Chiefs as in the Netherlands East Indies.56 Secondly, a huge concentration of

Arabs under Dutch colonial rule resided within the Netherlands East Indies, but the

British had Arabs under their rule scattered across the British Empire. Arab

populations were found in Singapore, Malaya, parts of India, the Aden

Protectorate, Jeddah and Mecca � all of which fell within the British colonial

sphere of influence by the early twentieth century. Certainly this would have

created many interesting complications with regard to their perception of the Arab

community in Singapore. In what way does the British colonial discourses on

55 Hamid Algadri, Dutch Policy Against Islam and Indonesians of Arab descent in Indonesia (Jakarta, LP3ES, 1994); Azyumardi Azra, �A Hadhrami Religious Scholar in Indonesia: Sayyid �Uthman�, in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), pp. 249-263; Charles Coppel, �Arab and Chinese Minority Groups in Java�, Southeast Asia Ethnicity and Development Newsletter 3, 2 (1979), pp. 8-15; Huub de Jonge, �Discord and Solidarity Among the Arabs in the Netherlands East Indies, 1900-1942�, Indonesia 55 (April 1993), pp. 73-90; J.M. Van der Kroef, �The Indonesian Arabs�, Civilisations 5, 3 (1955), pp. 15-24; Sumit K. Mandal, �Finding their place: A History of Arabs in Java under Dutch rule, 1800-1924�, (Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, New York, 1994); Sumit K. Mandal, �Natural Leaders of Native Muslims�, in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s, (Leiden: Brill, 1997), pp. 185-198; De Jonge, �Dutch Colonial Policy�, pp. 94-111; Sumit K. Mandal, �Forging a Modern Arab identity in Java in the early twentieth century�, in Huub de Jonge and Nico Kaptein, eds. Transcending Borders: Arabs, politics, trade and Islam in Southeast Asia (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002), pp. 163-184; Natalie Mobini-Kesheh, �Islamic Modernism in Colonial Java: The Al-Irshad Movement�, in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), pp. 231-248; Natalie Mobini-Kesheh, The Hadrami Awakening: Community and Identity in the Netherlands East Indies, 1900-1942 (Ithaca: Southeast Asian Programme, Cornell University, 1999); Chantal Vuldy, �La communauté arabe de Pekalongan�, Archipel 30 (1985), pp. 95-119. 56 Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, pp. 130-131.

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Arabs in Singapore pertain to the community in particular, and what repercussions

are there for the larger Arab community?

In the eyes of the Dutch, the Arabs in the Netherlands East Indies were

guilty of pro-Ottoman sentiments and pan-Islamic attitudes, often veering on

religious fanaticism.57 The Arabs in the Netherlands East Indies were subjected to

the �quarter and pass system� by the Dutch government. This system severely

restricted their mobility as they were forced to reside in designated Arab quarters,

and were required to obtain passes from Dutch authorities if they wanted to travel

by land and sea.58 The Dutch were intent on curbing Arab influence on the natives.

In contrast, the Arabs in Singapore were not confined to any particular quarter in

Arab Street.59

Clearly, British-Arab relations in the Straits Settlements were manifestly

different from Dutch-Arab relations in the Netherlands East Indies. The limited

historiography of Arabs in colonial Singapore often highlight peaceful Arab-

British relations in Singapore by emphasizing their contributions in providing

political backing to the British colonial power.60 Edwin Lee states that the British

neither possessed the heavy yoke of the Dutch, nor were as �paranoiac,� in matters

pertaining to Islam.61 However, this conclusion is rather hasty and misleading.

After all, scholarship has mostly concentrated on Dutch surveillance on the

57 Clarence-Smith, �Hadhramaut and the Hadhrami Diaspora�, p.11; De Jonge, �Dutch Colonial Policy�, pp. 101-107; Mandal, �Natural Leaders of Native Muslims�, pp. 186-196. 58 De Jonge, �Dutch Colonial Policy�, pp. 97-106. 59 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, pp. 562-565. 60 Clarence-Smith, �Hadhramaut and the Hadhrami Diaspora�, p. 14l; Ingrams, A Report on the Social, Economic and Political Conditions of the Hadhramaut, p. 151; Lee, The British as Rulers Governing Multi-Racial Singapore, p. 167; William R. Roff, The Origins of Malay Nationalism (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1994), pp. 188-189; Y. Talib, �Les Hadramis et le Monde Malais,� p. 74. 61 Lee, The British as Rulers Governing Multi-Racial Singapore, pp. 155, 167, 267.

19

movement of Arabs in the Netherlands East Indies and the surrounding region at

the height of pan-Islamism towards the end of the nineteenth century.62 But lesser

is known about British fears of burgeoning pan-Islamism in the Indo-Malay

Archipelago during the same period.63 As this thesis will show, Arab populations

in the Indo-Malay Archipelago featured prominently as proponents of pan-

Islamism in British colonial documents. Just as the Dutch consul in the Straits

Settlements was keeping detailed statistics on the movement of Arabs into the

Netherlands East Indies in 1885,64 so too did the British by in 1919.

With the rise of pan-Islamism, the British (like their Dutch counterparts)

viewed the specter of Arab movement in the Archipelago and Indian Ocean with

nearly as much anxiety and trepidation during the late nineteenth and early

twentieth centuries. Arabs based in Singapore had much accessibility in the

maritime world, as they owned ships that sailed in the region, as well as to Jeddah

annually to transport �Haj� pilgrims. The Arabs also possessed property all over the

Indo-Malay Archipelago. The British saw the Arabs as the main conduits of pan-

Islamic sentiments in the Malay world due to their mobility in Southeast Asia and

the Middle East where these sentiments were thought to have originated. Not

62 C. Van Dijk, �Colonial fears, 1890-1918 � Pan-Islamism and the Germano-Indian Plot�, in Huub de Jonge and Nico Kaptein, eds. Transcending Borders: Arabs, Politics, Trade and Islam in Southeast Asia (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002), pp. 53-89. 63 Nico Kaptein, �The Conflicts about the Income of an Arab Shrine � The Perkara Luar Batang in Batavia�, in Huub de Jonge and Nico Kaptein, eds. Transcending Borders: Arabs, Politics, Trade and Islam in Southeast Asia (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002), pp. 185-201; Ahmed Ibrahim Abu Shouk, �An Arabic Manuscript on the Life and Career of Ahmad Muhammad Surkati and his Irshadi disciples in Java�, in Huub de Jonge and Nico Kaptein, eds. Transcending Borders: Arabs, Politics, Trade and Islam in Southeast Asia (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002), pp. 203-218. 64 Eric Tagliacozzo, Secret Trades, Porous Borders: Smuggling and States Along a Southeast Asian Frontier, 1865-1915 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005), p. 150.

20

surprisingly, the Haj was seen as the primary site for the spread of insidious, anti-

colonial pan-Islamic ideals amongst Muslims.

�Arab� or �Hadhrami�

Works that focus on Hadhramaut tend to refer to the Arabs in Southeast

Asia as �Hadhramis.� From the perspective of Hadhramaut, scholars such as Joseph

Kostiner, Linda Boxberger and Ulrike Freitag consistently associated the

Hadhrami diaspora with their land of origin no matter which period they are

referring to.65 Meanwhile, historical accounts focusing on the Indo-Malay

Archipelago before the mid-nineteenth century tend to refer to the Arabs under the

broad category of �Arabs,� without highlighting their exact place of origin in the

Middle East. Colonial records, which formed the bulk of the historical sources

consulted by scholars, referred to the Arabs as such. The British occupied Aden in

1839, and in the 1870s, when they sought to expand their control in South Arabia,

Hadhramaut was thrust into the limelight as British colonial officers filled the

archives with ruminations over Hadhrami tribal politics. The British began to

discuss possible ways for them to gain influence over the region. While doing so,

they observed that the Arabs in Singapore continued to play key roles in Hadhrami

politics, a sign that these Arabs were still attached to their homeland. While

engaging their help in matters concerning Hadhramaut, the British began to refer to

the Arabs in Singapore as Hadhramis. Consequently, the Hadhrami diasporic

community in Singapore no longer merely constituted a generic race linked with

65 Linda Boxberger, On the Edge of Empire: Hadramawt, Emigration, and the Indian Ocean, 1880s�1930 (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002); Freitag, Indian Ocean Migrants and State Formation in Hadhramaut; Kostiner, �Impact of the Hadhrami Emigrants in the East Indies�, pp. 206-237.

21

the Middle East. Members of the Alsagoff family originated from the Hijaz

(Jeddah, Mecca and Madinah) but had strong links with Hadhramaut,66 and were

therefore referred to as Hadhramis as well by the British. Historians who

specifically examine the Arabs in the Indo-Malay Archipelago face a choice

between referring to their subject as �Arabs� and �Hadhramis.� The decision is

based on perceived ethnic, cultural and political affiliations of the community. It is

a delicate task, as these aspects of Arab identity changed over time.

Discrete images of Arabs

Engseng Ho astutely points out that it is a challenge to discern a unified

narrative of the Arab community in the Indo-Malay Archipelago:

�The one-sided images of Arabs which come across

in the region, here as luminous bearers of Islam,

there as unforgiving creditors, elsewhere as

enigmatic landlords, and occasionally in the golden

robes of sultans or nobles, come together when their

genealogical connections are traced out

prosopographically on a broad historical and

geographical canvas.�67

In other words, different facets of Arab identity emerge in historiography,

and it is rare that all aspects of their identity merge in one historical narrative. For

example, the three most recent works on the Arabs in Singapore by Mohammed

66 Freitag, �Arab Merchants in Singapore�, p. 116; Freitag, Indian Ocean Migrants and State Formation in Hadhramaut, p. 53. 67 Ho, �Diasporic Arabs Cast in Creole Waters�, p. 31.

22

Redzuan Othman, Ulrike Freitag and William Roff emphasize their political,

mercantile and religious roles respectively. This creates a very disjointed view of

the Arab elite, as if their roles in political, commercial and religious spheres did

not considerably overlap. Redzuan examines the Arabs political loyalties in an

attempt to determine whether they were anti-British or pro-British during the First

World War.68 Ulrike Freitag attempts a collective biography of four prominent

merchant families in Singapore � the Alkaff, Alsagoff, Aljunied and Bin Talib

families in her article on the wealthy mercantile elite in the British settlement.69

William Roff on the other hand reveals the details of a religious conflict between

the Hadhrami Sayyids and the Alawi Sufis in Singapore through the exposition of

a murder trial in 1908 in his article, �Murder as an Aid to Social History.�70 During

the early twentieth century, Arab societies in the Archipelago were very much

entrenched in the polemical debates engendered by rise of the Islamic reformist

movement during the early twentieth century. Roff believes that this crisis was

behind the murder of a prominent Arab merchant in Singapore.

In actual fact, the Arab elite�s political, religious and economic roles were

often intertwined in Singapore. A study of British-Arab relations in Singapore

reveals that Arabs� financial motivations often drove them towards certain political

decisions, bringing down the myth of �one-sided images� of Arab identity. It was

68 Mohammad Redzuan Othman, �Conflicting Political Loyalties of the Arabs in Malaya before World War II�, in Huub de Jonge and Nico Kaptein, eds. Transcending Borders � Arabs, Politics, Trade, Islam in Southeast Asia (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002), pp. 37-52. 69 Freitag, �Arab Merchants in Singapore�, pp. 109-142. 70 William R. Roff, �Murder as an Aid to Social History � The Arabs in Singapore in the Early Twentieth Century�, in Huub de Jonge and Nico Kaptein, eds. Transcending Borders � Arabs, Politics, Trade and Islam in Southeast Asia (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002), pp. 91-108.

23

also common for some Arabs to reconsider their European lifestyle in Singapore

due to religious restrictions.

Arabs in Singapore

In Southeast Asia, the Arabs have often been examined by scholars with

regards to their role in the spread of Islam and Islamic reformist ideas.71 Certainly,

the common religion of Islam in the Indo-Malay Archipelago provided the impetus

and means to extend their influence in the Archipelago and forge a strong degree

of cultural cohesion with the natives in the Archipelago. Huub de Jonge and Nico

Kaptein state that political power was pursued by Arabs in Southeast Asia insofar

as it supplemented their primary aims of commercialization and proselytization in

the Archipelago,72 thus suggesting that Arabs were mostly defined by their

mercantile and religious roles in the region. However, historiography of the

71 Abaza, �Islam in South-east Asia��, pp. 139-151; Bisri Affandi, �Shaykh Ahmad Sukarti: Pemikiran Pembaharuan dan pemurnian Islam dalam Masyarakat Arab Hadhrami di Indonesia�, (Ph.D. dissertation, Institut Agama Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta, 1991); Azyumardi Azra, �A Hadhrami Religious Scholar in Indonesia: Sayyid �Uthman�, pp. 249-263; Azyumardi Azra, �The Transmission of Islamic reformism to Indonesia: Networks of Middle Eastern and Malay-Indonesian �Ulama� in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries�, (Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, New York, 2002); Bastin & Winks, compilers. Malaysia Selected Historical Readings, p. 21; G.W.J Drewes, �New Light on the Coming of Islam to Indonesia?� in Ahmad Ibrahim, Sharon Siddique and Yasmin Hussain, eds. Readings on Islam in Southeast Asia, (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1985) pp. 7-19; Michael Feener, �Hybridity and the �Hadhrami diaspora� in the Indian Ocean Muslim Networks�, Asian Journal of Social Sciences 32,3 (2004), pp. 353-372; John Gullick, Malaysia: Economic Expansion and Economic Unity (London: Ernest Benn, 1981), pp. 40, 75; A.H Johns, �Islam in Southeast Asia�, in Joseph M. Kitagawa, ed. The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History and Culture (Richmond: Routledge Curzon, 2002), pp. 165-94; Kennedy, A History of Malaya, pp. 17, 124, 191, 225; Mohammed Taib Osman, �Islamization of the Malays: A Transformation of Culture� in Readings on Islam in Southeast Asia, compiled by Ahmad Ibrahim, Sharon Siddique and Yasmin Hussain (Singapore: ISEAS, 1985), pp. 44-47; N.J. Ryan, A History of Malaysia and Singapore (Kuala Lumpur, Oxford University Press, 1976) p. 137; Riddell, �Religious Links between Hadhramaut and the Malay-Indonesian World�, pp. 217-230. 72 Huub de Jonge and Nico Kaptein, �The Arab presence in Southeast Asia � Some introductory remarks�, in Huub de Jonge and Nico Kaptein, eds. Transcending Borders: Arabs, Politics, Trade and Islam in Southeast Asia (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002), pp. 1-2.

24

enterprising colonial settlement of Singapore privileges the Arabs� mercantile role,

rather than their religious functions.

As the European colonial powers participated very actively in trade, they

came into frequent contact with the Arab merchants who had already attained a

high degree of success during the pre-colonial period before the coming of the

Europeans due to excellent trading skills and a vast business network.73 The

Europeans who resented the Arabs� commercial superiority in the Malay world

conceived them as trade rivals,74 and closely traced their commercial activities and

financial fortunes. This strategy of colonial observation produced a colonial

discourse that is mainly concerned with the wealthy and prominent Arab

mercantile elite, while the less affluent Arabs, not regarded as competition by the

European traders, were neglected as subjects of scrutiny. Since scholars refer to

colonial sources extensively, they replicate colonial obsessions in scholarship on

the Arab community in the Indo-Malay Archipelago.

Indeed, in the historiography of Singapore, there is a tendency to treat the

Arab community as monolithic, usually adopting the point of view of the wealthy

Arab merchant to represent the whole Arab community. Harold Pearson highlights

the life of an Arab merchant, Syed Omar bin Ali Aljunied to be representative of

the Arab community in his book on the different ethnic communities in

Singapore.75 In the Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya, the

73 Bastin & Winks, compilers. Malaysia Selected Historical Readings, pp. 21, 144; De Jonge & Kaptein, �The Arab Presence in Southeast Asia�, p. 2; Barbara W. Andaya, To Live as Brothers: Southeast Sumatra in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993), pp. 219-221; Kennedy, A History of Malaya, pp. 126-127. 74 Syed Muhammad Khairudin Aljunied, Raffles and Religion � A Study of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles� Discourse on Religions amongst Malays (Kuala Lumpur: The Other Press, 2004), p. 25. 75 Pearson, People of Early Singapore, pp. 91-93.

25

description of the Arab community in Singapore was reduced to a description of

the commercial contributions of two Arab families � the Alsagoffs and the

Alkaffs,76 as if the Arabs were solely defined by their mercantile activities within

Singapore.

While observing the wealthy Arabs closely, the British began to recognize

that they were eager to protect their financial investments in the Indo-Malay

Archipelago, especially in Singapore where they owned a considerable amount of

property. J.A.E. Morley insists that Arabs �made their empires�blindly, without

set purpose, and with no near and immediate purpose other than plunder,�77

implying that they were intent on attaining commercial success above all else.

L.W.C. van den Berg supports this view when he points out that tension between

the Arabs and the British or Dutch colonial powers were often defused precisely

because Arabs would like to protect their financial investments in Singapore and

the Netherlands East Indies.78 Ulrike Freitag underscores the importance of

financial interests to the Hadhramis which loomed over their decisions to support

the Ottomans against the British. Even while making such a risky choice, the

Arabs constantly feared British reprisals in the form of complicated transactions, or

worse, a complete ban from British ports.79

It was often observed that the wealthy Arab elite based their decisions on

economic interests, even at the expense of ideological or political considerations.

Linda Boxberger reveals that the Hadhramis� decisions often reflect a desire to

76 Wright & Cartwright, eds. Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya, pp. 705-712. 77 Morley, �The Arabs and the Eastern Trade�, p. 151. 78 Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, p. 172. 79 Freitag, Indian Ocean Migrants and State Formation in Hadhramaut, pp. 178-180.

26

protect their property in Southeast Asia than for the genuine betterment of political

climate in their homeland.80 William Roff investigates a murder case of 1908 as a

tragedy that arose from a difference of opinion on Islamic reformist ideas.

However, when Roff later enquired further into the matter, two Arabs told him that

the victim was murdered out of jealousy due to his leading position in the Arab

company based in Singapore, hinting that financial profit was the main driving

force behind Arabs� actions in the colony,81 a suggestion taken up by economic

historian Rajeswary Brown.82

On �mixing� in cosmopolitan Singapore

In postcolonial Singapore, the historical presence of the Arabs is most

obviously evoked through a relic of colonial street naming,83 as well as existing

Islamic institutions such as mosques and Islamic schools built by the Arabs. In

other words, Arabs in Singapore were often mentioned with reference to their

contributions to the material environment.84 Historical accounts of the Arabs in

Singapore begin by fixing their location in Singapore in Arab Street and its

80 Linda Boxberger, �Hadhrami Politics 1888-1967: Conflicts of Identity and Interest�, in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), p. 56. 81 Roff, �Murder as an aid to social history�, pp. 106-107. 82 Brown, �Arab Responses to Capitalism in Southeast Asia, 1830 to the Present,� p. 297. 83 Street names such as Arab Street, Bussorah Street, Haji Lane are associated with the Arabs who lived, owned land and set up businesses around the area near Kampong Glam. Victor Savage and Brenda Yeoh, Toponymics A Study of Singapore Street Names (Singapore: Eastern Universities Press, 2003), pp. 14-15. 84 Abaza, �A Mosque of Arab origin in Singapore�, pp. 61-84; Charles Goldblum, �Singapour (1819-1986): Emergence de la Ville Moderne et Mythe Rural�, Archipel 36 (1988), pp. 230, 233; Riddell, �Religious Links between Hadhramaut and the Malay-Indonesian World�, p. 226.

27

environs in Kampung Glam, implying that their base was in that area alone.85 In

order to prove this, scholars quote the report of the Town Planning Committee set

up by Raffles:

�The Arab population will require every

consideration, and their numbers should not be

estimated at less than from 1 to 2000. No situation

will be more appropriate for them than the vicinity of

the Sultan�s residence, and it will only be necessary

in providing the accommodation they require to keep

in view the convenience of separating them as far as

practicable from the European dwellings, with which

they will such case come nearly in contact.�86

In actual fact, the Arabs did not restrict themselves to this area around

Kampong Glam. Their land holdings, businesses and residences were found in

many places outside of Kampong Glam, even close to the European dwellings.

Strangely, scholars are inclined to carry on the legacy of colonial urban planning

by restricting the location of the Arab community in Kampong Glam and Arab

Street as demarcated by the British during the early years of the colonial period.

For example, Lily Kong and Brenda Yeoh who study the geography of Singapore

stress that each immigrant group was accorded a specific place in Singapore�s

85 Arab Street is situated within the area known as Kampong Glam. Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, p. 122; Clarence-Smith, �Hadhrami Entrepreneurs in the Malay World�, p. 298; Moore and Moore, The First 150 Years of Singapore, p. 87; Morley, �The Arabs and the Eastern Trade�, p. 155; Savage & Yeoh, Toponymics � A Study of Singapore Street Names, pp. 40-41. 86 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 85; Morley, �The Arabs and the Eastern Trade�, p. 167.

28

social and economic landscape. They claim that migration gave colonial Singapore

a distinctively plural character in the Furnivallian sense of a society with

�(d)ifferent sections of the community living side by

side but separately within, the same political

unit�Each group holds its own religion, its own

culture and language, its own ideas and ways. As

individuals they meet, but only in the market place,

in buying and selling��87

This claim is highly suspect since urban cosmopolitan Singapore was

occupied by the wealthy Chinese, Arabs, Europeans, Armenians and Jews.88

Unfortunately, the extent of Arab land ownership in Singapore is only raised in

recent directed studies that concentrate on the geography of Singapore usually

focusing on particular locations.89

This view of separate communities in Singapore counters Van den Berg�s

argument that �the Arabs in Singapore are not excluded from the company of

Europeans, as in the Dutch possessions.�90 Without a doubt, the Arab elite

socialized with the Chinese and Europeans in Singapore.91 Consequently, even

cultures and languages did not remain entirely separate during the colonial period,

87 James S. Furnivall, Colonial Policy and Practice: A Comparative Study of Burma and the Netherlands East Indies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1948), pp. 304-305, cited in Lily Kong & Brenda Yeoh, �Nation Ethnicity and Identity: Singapore and the Dynamics and Discourses of Chinese Migration�, in Laurence J.C. Ma & Carolyn Cartier, eds. The Chinese Diaspora: Space, Place, Mobility and Identity (Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003), p. 195. 88 Sharon Siddique, Nutmeg, And A Touch of Spice: The Story of Cairnhill Road (Singapore: Sembawang Properties, 2000), pp. 27-29. 89 Geylang Serai, Down Memory Lane, Kenangan Abadi (Singapore: Heinemann Publishers Asia, 1986), p.19; Savage & Yeoh, Toponymics � A Study of Singapore Street Names, pp. 34, 40-41, 45, 52, 72, 120, 138, 143, 157-158, 202, 210, 220-221, 233, 239, 284, 290, 293-294, 340, 366, 374. 90 Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, pp. 130-131. 91 Freitag, �Arab Merchants in Singapore�, p. 133.

29

as certain members of the Arab elite dined in European style, and Arab sons were

sent to English schools such as Raffles Institution or even to schools in England.

Diaspora network

Postcolonial works on the newly-formed nation of Singapore tend to

portray a sense of national coherence which downplays foreign linkages outside of

the nation.92 To counter this prevalent framework of Singapore history, Timothy

Harper reminds historians that Singapore is �a child of diaspora.� He emphasizes

that the history of Singapore embodies many of the tensions of blood ties and

belonging evoked by the concept of diaspora.93 The term diaspora imbues the

different ethnic communities in Singapore with an unfixed status within the place

of domicile. From this point of view, the immigrants� bonds with Singapore

become attenuated, as Singapore becomes a temporary stopping point and a place

of sojourn for diasporic journeys that were often circuitous and not

unidirectional.94

Unlike other historians of Singapore such as Turnbull, Lee and Chew,

Harper does not regard diasporic communities in Singapore as being rooted in

Singapore. Rather, he attaches a kind of looseness to their identity in relation to

their place of domicile at a particular point in time. For example, members of the

Hadhrami diaspora in the Indo-Malay Archipelago including Singapore continued

92 Turnbull, A History of Singapore: 1819-1988; Ernest Chew & Edwin Lee, A History of Singapore (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1991). 93 Timothy N. Harper, �Globalism and the Pursuit of Authenticity in Singapore� Sojourn 12,2 (1997), p. 261. 94 Brenda Yeoh, �Changing Conceptions of Space in History Writing � A Selective Mapping of Writings on Singapore�, in Abu Talib Ahmad and Tan Liok Ee, eds. New Terrains in Southeast Asian History (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2003), pp. 48-49.

30

to return to their land of origin.95 They regarded Hadhramaut as the scholarly

center of religion and thus sent their sons there to study.96 The Hadhramis in the

Archipelago were still frequently involved in Hadhrami political affairs,97 and

were very willing to send remittances to their homeland and contribute funds

towards the building of infrastructure.98

According to the spatial framework of diaspora, the history of the Arab

community in Singapore is a history that encompasses much more than just one

British colony. It is intrinsically linked to Arab diasporas elsewhere, in the Indian

subcontinent, the Middle East as well as the Netherlands East Indies. A large

proportion of the Hadhrami population resided outside of Hadhramaut.99 Indeed,

Arab clans are essentially defined by genealogical ties that transcend geographical

frontiers.100 This leads Michael Feener to propose that the Hadhramis formed a

�network criss-crossing the Indian Ocean, with aspects of �home� (that) might be

found along �routes� as well as in �roots� with different kinds of �attachments� to

95 Riddell, �Religious Links between Hadhramaut and the Malay-Indonesian World�, p. 224. 96 Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, pp. 59-60; Freitag, �Arabs Merchants in Singapore�, pp. 132, 134; Ho, �Hadhramis Abroad in Hadhramaut�, p. 142; Morley, �The Arabs and the Eastern Trade�, p. 157; Riddell, �Religious Links between Hadhramaut and the Malay-Indonesian World�, p. 218. 97 Boxberger, �Hadhrami Politics 1888-1967�, pp. 56, 58, 60. Ulrike Freitag, �Hadhramis in International Politics c. 1750-1967�, in Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), pp. 124-126. 98 Abdalla S. Bujra, The Politics of Stratification: A Study of Political Change in a South Arabian Town, (Oxford: Clarendon, 1971), pp. 62-71; Boxberger, Hadhramawt, Emigration and the Indian Ocean; Christian Lekon, �The Impact of Remittances on the Economy of Hadhramaut, 1914-1967�, Ulrike Freitag and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), pp. 264-296; Kostiner, �Impact of the Hadhrami Emigrants�, pp. 220-237; Morley, �The Arabs and the Eastern Trade�, p. 161. 99 William Roff states that only a quarter of Hadhramis resided within Hadhramaut itself at the end of the nineteenth century. Christian Lekon on the other hand, states that 70 to 80 percent of the Hadhramis remained within its borders in the 1930s. Lekon, �Impact of Remittances�, p. 265; Roff, �Malayo-Muslim World of Singapore�, p. 81. 100 Omar Farouk Bajunid, �The Arab Clan Network in ASEAN: Some Preliminary Observations�, Paper presented at the Shared Histories Conference, Penang, July 31 2003 � August 3 2003 (Penang: n.p., 2003), p. 5.

31

the ancestral towns of the Wadi, the scholarly centers where one studied, and the

distant communities where one settled and married.�101 This framework depicts the

Arabs� social and geographical configuration in the Indo-Malay Archipelago more

accurately than works focusing on particular colonies, as the network metaphor

cuts across colonial boundaries. Such networks in which the Arabs in the Indo-

Malay Archipelago were entrenched are mainly explored by scholars within the

framework of pan-Islamism towards the end of the nineteenth century and early

twentieth century.102

Anecdotal histories

On the whole, historians of Singapore have paid relatively little attention to

the Arab community.103 Much more attention has been paid to the Chinese

diaspora,104 the Indians,105 and the indigenous Malay population.106 Perhaps it was

101 Feener, �Hybridity and the �Hadhrami diaspora��, p. 358. 102 Reid, An Indonesian Frontier, pp. 226-248; Michael F. Laffan, Islamic Nationhood and Colonial Indonesia: The Umma below the Winds (London & New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003). 103 De Jonge & Kaptein, �The Arab Presence in Southeast Asia�, p. 1. 104 For works on the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia, see Michael W. Charney, Brenda S.A. Yeoh, Tong Chee Kiong, eds. Chinese Migrants Abroad: Cultural, Educational, and Social Dimensions of the Chinese Diaspora (Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2003); David Kenley, New Culture in a New World: The May Fourth Movement and the Chinese Diaspora in Singapore, 1919-1932 (New York: Routledge, 2003); Lee Lai To, Early Chinese Immigrant Societies: Case Studies from North America and British Southeast Asia (Sngapore, Heinemann Asia, 1988); Anthony Reid, ed. Sojouners and Settlers: A History of Southeast Asia and the Chinese (New South Wales: Asian Studies Association of Australia in association with Allen and Unwin, 1996); Jurgen Rudolph, Reconstructing Identities: A Social History of the Babas in Singapore (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998); Song Ong Siang. One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1984); Wang Ling-Chi and Wang Gungwu, eds. The Chinese Diaspora: Selected Essays (Singapore: Times Academic Press, 1998). 105 Sinnappah Arasaratnam, Indians in Malaysia and Singapore (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1979); K.S. Sandhu and A. Mani, eds. Indian Communities in Southeast Asia (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Times Academic Press, 1993); Sharon Siddique and N. Purushotam, Singapore�s Little India, Past, Present and Future (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1990); I.J. Bahadur Singh, Indians in Southeast Asia (New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Limited, 1982).

32

due to their relatively small population size in Singapore, despite their affluence

and political prominence. In 1891, there were only 806 Arabs living in Singapore

compared to 16,035 Indians, 35,992 Malays and 121,908 Chinese.107 Their

numbers did not increase much over the next few decades.

In what Brenda Yeoh calls the �standard histories� of Singapore,108

historians of Singapore such as C. Mary Turnbull and Edwin Lee offer only cross-

sectional anecdotes of the Arab community in the British colony.109 Histories of

Singapore depict the Arabs as successful traders based in Arab Street and to a

lesser extent, as the leaders of the Muslim community. The Arab identity

throughout the colonial period is presented as static and synchronic, rather than

dynamic and evolving through time.

A form of anecdotal history is also provided by historian Mohammad

Redzuan Othman, in his attempt to explore the political relationship between the

Arabs and the British in Penang and Singapore.110 He is concerned with

determining whether the Arabs were pro-British or anti-British during the First

World War as well as during the interim war period between then and the Second

World War. By launching straight into the Arab-British relations in Singapore

106 Syed Hussein Alatas, Khoo Kay Kim and Kwa Chong Guan, Malay-Muslims and the History of Singapore (Centre for Research and Islamic Affairs, 1998); Laurent Metzger, La Minorité Musulmane de Singapour (Paris: L�Harmattan, 2003); Tham Seong Chee, Religion and Modernization: A Study of Changing Rituals among Singapore�s Chinese, Malays and Indians (Singapore: Singapore University Press, 1984); Sharon Siddique, �Administration of Islam in Singapore�, in T. Abdullah and S. Siddique, eds. Islam in Society in Southeast Asia (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1986), pp. 315-331. 107 For a population census of the Arab community from 1824 to 1931, see Appendix 4. Merewether, Report on the Census of the Straits Settlements, 1891, p. 43. 108 Yeoh, �Changing Conceptions of Space in History Writing�, pp. 32-33. Yeoh was referring to Turnbull, A History of Singapore: 1819-1988, and Chew & Lee, A History of Singapore. 109 Yeoh states that Turnbull�s book A History of Singapore, 1819-1975 (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1975) is the first general hsitory of Singapore as a separate entity, separate from Malaya. Yeoh, �Changing Conceptions of Space in History Writing�, p. 32. 110 Mohammad Redzuan, �Conflicting Political Loyalties of the Arabs in Malaya�, pp. 37-52.

33

during a particular period � First World War and the period soon after � he

neglects to trace the evolving identity of the Arabs in the eyes of the British. As a

result the complexity of British relations with the Arabs is overlooked. The

historical narrative delineated is only sustained by political events connected with

First World War. These occasional flashpoints of crisis proportions do not reflect

the complicated nature of their relationship during the colonial period at all. For a

more comprehensive and in-depth account of Arab-British relations in Singapore,

British colonial discourse throughout the colonial period has to be examined.

In this thesis, I explore the British construction of Arab identity in colonial

Singapore. Chapter Two examines British colonial constructions of Arab identity

in bureaucratic classifications in Singapore. Subsequently, the thesis investigates

how the Arabs established themselves and asserted their own identity in Singapore.

Did the Arabs reinforce British conceptions of Arab identity, or challenge these

reified British images of their community? In a frenzied period of colonial

surveillance during the early twentieth century, the British resorted to a binary

classification of the Arab community within the Indo-Malay Archipelago, with the

ultimate aim of determining whether the Arabs were anti-British or pro-British.

Historical accounts based purely on this dichotomous framework do not accurately

portray the Arab-British relations within Singapore, for they only reveal details of

a forced attempt by the British to categorize the Arabs. Thus Chapter Three

provides a close study of cosmopolitan Singapore as a contact zone between the

British and the Arab elite. This framework facilitates an in-depth look at Arab-

British relations outside of a dichotomous system of classification. From this

34

perspective, the rapport between the British and the Arab community resembled a

symbiotic relationship rather than an antagonistic one.

35

Chapter Two

Arab Identity in Colonial Singapore

Image of the Arab as corrupt and exploitative

In an oft-quoted harsh indictment of the Arab community in the Indo-

Malay Archipelago, Stamford Raffles wrote:

The Arabs are mere drones, useless and idle

customers of the produce of the ground, affecting to

be descendants of the Prophet, and the most eminent

of his followers, when in reality they are nothing

more than manumitted slaves; they worm themselves

into the favour of the Malay chiefs, and often

procure the highest offices in the Malay states. They

hold like robbers, the offices they obtain as

sycophants, and cover all with the sanctimonious veil

of religious hypocrisy.�111

Islam, which Raffles termed the �robber-religion�, was seen as a cloak that

the Arabs adorned to impress upon the natives their devout piety and religious

knowledge so as to command respect from them. Raffles was convinced that under

the �specious mask of religion�, the Arabs in the Indo-Malay Archipelago �preyed

on unsuspecting natives,�112 in order to gain political power and economic

privileges. For example, on account of their superior religious sanctity, the British

observed with envy that Arab merchants in the Indo-Malay Archipelago enjoyed a

111 Aljunied, Raffles and Religion, p. 25; Mohammad Redzuan, �Hadhramis in the Politics and Administration of the Malay States�, p. 85; Morley, �The Arabs and the Eastern Trade�, p. 162. 112 Cook, Thomas Stamford Raffles, p. 31.

36

remission of duties at many native ports, while other merchants were expected to

pay.113 Raffles truly believed that the Arabs trading in the Indo-Malay Archipelago

shrewdly �styled themselves Sheikhs and Syeds,� with the specific intention of

obtaining such commercial incentives in the Malay states.114

In addition to his hostile attitude towards the Arabs� commercial

advantages in the region, Raffles highly resented the Arabs� strong religious

influence on the Malays and regarded this phenomenon as dangerous to the British

in the region. In 1817, Raffles wrote that Islamic Ulamas (religious teachers) who

were mostly of mixed Arabic origin possessed the ability to spur native rulers, �to

attack or kill Europeans as Kafirs and strangers whom they hate��115 In this way,

British control in the Straits Settlements ran the constant risk of being fractured by

the Arabs� hold over the native Malay population.

Raffles was particularly concerned about Arab influence in the sphere of

education. Continuing in a hostile vein, he wrote -

�Under the pretext of instructing the Malays in the

principles of the Mohameddan religion, they

inculcate the most intolerant bigotry and render them

incapable of receiving any species of useful

knowledge.� 116

113 Earl, The Eastern Seas, pp. 67-68. 114 Stamford Raffles to Gilbert, Earl of Minto, cited in Sophia Raffles, Memoir of the Life and Public Services of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (London: John Murray, 1830). 115 Thomas Stamford Raffles, (London: John Murray, 1817), p. 3, cited in Algadri, Dutch Policy Against Islam and Indonesians of Arab Descent, p. 9. 116 Aljunied, Raffles and Religion, p. 25; Mohammad Redzuan, �Hadhramis in the Politics and Administration of the Malay States�, p. 85; Morley, �The Arabs and the Eastern Trade�, p. 162.

37

Raffles� sentiments was echoed by J. T. Thomson who concludes that the

Arabs were reluctant to provide the Malays with �an education in its real sense� in

order to avoid a situation where the Malays� intelligence would frustrate the Arabs�

moral power� over them.117

�Had the Arab priest had his own way, he would

have confined Abdullah�s acquisitions to crying out

texts from the Koran without his knowing the

remotest meaning thereof.�118

In other words, the British believed that Arab religious teachers projected

themselves as the sole possessors of Islamic knowledge that they repeatedly

emphasize as being extremely important, thus ensuring that they were granted an

elevated status in the Malay world. At the same time, the British were certain that

Arab teachers deliberately revealed a limited amount of knowledge to the native

Malays to guarantee the latter�s dependency on them for any kind of information.

To a large degree, the native Malays were convinced that learning Arabic

was very useful. Munshi Abdullah reveals, �The Malays say � What is the good of

learning Malay, for it our own language. Moreover it is useful only in this world.

Let us rather learn Arabic which will be useful in the world to come.�119 By

convincing the native Malays of the illustrious merits of the Arabic language, the

teacher of Arabic language perpetuated a mysterious influence over the people

which gave him absolute power, as he was the most learned source of knowledge

117 Thomson, Translations from the Hakayit Abdullah, p. 12. 118 Ibid. 119 Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir, The Hikayat Abdullah � An Annotated Translation by A.H. Hill (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1970), p. 56.

38

on the workings of the exalted language of Islam.120 Raffles on the other hand

vigorously expressed the idea that the Malays should study their own language and

proceeded to introduce it into the curriculum. By doing so, he had the potential to

effectively displace the Arabs as the main educators of the native Malay

community, because now the Malays too could claim ascendancy in the realm of

education, as they were able to teach their own language. The Arabs were thus

deprived of their monopoly in the realm of education in Singapore.

There could be another reason for Raffles� resentment of the Arabs, apart

from their extensive influence over the Malays. In 1815, a rich Arab merchant

from Penang named Syed Hussein Aidid tried to install his son, Saif al-'Alam Shah

as the Sultan of Aceh across the Straits of Malacca.121 Raffles believed that the

Arab usurper had maliciously exploited the unsettled nature of the state of Aceh

and grossly deceived the British government in Penang into supporting his

advances into Aceh which subsequently caused a civil war to erupt in that

country.122

But it was when an Arab ran �amok� in Singapore on 11th March 1823 that

Raffles� opinion of the Syeds was reaffirmed. Syed Omar bin Ali Aljunied, one of

the first Arabs to arrive in Singapore, had sued Syed Yassin (an Arab trader from

Pahang) over the value of some goods.123 William Farquhar, the first Resident of

Singapore ruled that Syed Yassin had to pay Syed Omar Aljunied (Pengeran Sharif

120 Thomson, Translations from the Hakayit Abdullah, p. 12. 121 George Bennett, Wanderings in New South Wales, Pedir Coast, Singapore and China � Volume II (London: Richard Bentley, 1834), pp. 2-3. 122 Ibid., p. 4. 123 According to the second Resident of Singapore, John Crawfurd, the Malay word �amok� means a desperate or furious charge or onset, either of an individual or a body of men. This was said to be the first amok case in Singapore. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 101.

39

Omar) 1400 dollars, but Syed Yassin claimed he did not have that amount.

Farquhar told him he would be imprisoned if he did not pay his debts. Syed Yassin

refused to accept this punishment, and regarded it as a great shame because �the

imprisonment of a Syed was an insult to a descendant of the Prophet which could

not be wiped out.�124

Syed Yassin was so intent on escaping imprisonment that he stabbed an

Indian peon and William Farquhar, before he himself was killed by Andrew

Farquhar, the son of the latter victim.125 Syed Yassin�s corpse was eventually cut

into fragments by the Europeans who chanced upon the altercation.126 Raffles then

ordered that Syed Yassin�s mutilated corpse be hung in a cage at Tanjung

Malang,127 to be displayed as a warning against future crimes of �amok.�128 This

was offensive to the Muslim community who strongly believed that the body of the

deceased should be buried respectfully according to religious rites as soon as

possible no matter what the circumstances of death.129 It was only after ten days

that the body of Syed Yassin was buried at Tanjong Pagar by Sultan Hussein. Syed

124 �Syed� was defined as �Holy Man� in Buckley�s account. For a complete account by an eyewitness, Munshi Abdullah, see Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir, Translations from the Hakayit Abdullah, pp. 126-132, and Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, pp. 97-99. 125 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 99. 126 In order to deter cases of �amok� in Penang, judge Sir William Norris had ordered that the bodies of men who committed the crime of �amok� be cut into fragments as such. John Cameron, Our Tropical Possessions in Malayan India (London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1865), p. 262. 127 Savage & Yeoh, Toponymics � A Study of Singapore Street Names, pp. 374-375. 128 Munshi Abdullah witnessed the violent crime and reported that the Sultan was less compassionate and suggested to Raffles that Syed Yassin�s wife and children be executed and his house destroyed. Abdullah bin Abdulkadir, Translations from the Hakayit Abdullah, p. 132. 129 Syed Hussein Alatas, Thomas Stamford Raffles 1781-1926 � Schemer or Reformer (Singapore: Angus and Robertson, 1971), p. 32.

40

Yassin�s grave became a place of pilgrimage for the natives, as �the Holy Syed had

only killed a Fakir (the Hindoo) and wounded a Nazarene (William Farquhar).�130

For the British in Singapore, the case of Syed Yassin illustrated that the

Arab considered himself as superior, and was not averse to asserting his illustrious

ancestry to protest that he was unfit for normal punishments. The British duly

recorded their observations that an Arab had perceived his own Arab law to be

binding even though he was actually subjected to British colonial law, which

sanctioned the use of imprisonment for inability to clear one�s debts.131 The

religious superiority of the �Holy Syed� in Singapore was indeed highly regarded

by native Muslims who thought of him as saintly, because he was descended from

the Prophet, imbuing his act of slaying infidels with a fitting poeticism in their

eyes.

Syed Hussein Alatas emphasizes that Raffles� perceptions of the various

ethnic communities and subject populations in the Indo-Malay Archipelago were

largely determined by the extent of threat they posed to British colonial interests,

be they commercial or political.132 Despite his severe opinion of the Arabs,

Raffles still continued to encourage Arab traders to come to the new port of

Singapore because he believed that they would bring wealth to the new British

settlement of Singapore. For that reason, he welcomed the Arab merchant, Syed

130 Most probably �Fakir� (destitute) was confused with �Kafir� which means �infidel� in Arabic. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 100. 131 Ibid., p. 97. 132 Alatas, Thomas Stamford Raffles, p. 30.

41

Mohammed Aljunied to Singapore because he was sure that other Arab traders in

the region would follow suit.133

Raffles was deeply perturbed by the tenacious hold of the Arabs on the

native Muslim community, only because he saw it as a political danger to British

power in the �defiant attitude of Islam.�134 As long as populations residing in the

Archipelago served the British interests in a colony, Raffles was content with

them, but once they threatened British colonial power or commercial interests, he

would launch into a no-holds barred criticism which commensurated with the

seriousness of their threat against the British.135 This explains why he criticized the

Dutch, the Chinese and the Americans in the Indo-Malay Archipelago for their

dubious commercial practices (at least from a British perspective).136 For example,

when he perceived that the Chinese were causing disruptions to British trade in the

region, he immediately labelled them �a very dangerous people and a pest to the

country, an evil which needed to be exterminated.�137

The British identified the �Haj� as a site for the Arabs to assert their control

and power over the native Muslims. During the nineteenth century, the �evil

Arab/Hajj link� was perpetuated in both British and Dutch colonial discourse.138 In

1820, British colonial officer John Crawfurd wrote of the Arabs �

133 Pearson, People of Early Singapore, p. 92. 134 Alatas, Thomas Stamford Raffles, p. 30. 135 Ibid., pp. 28-31. 136 Ibid., p. 29. 137 Ibid. 138 Syed Muhd. Khairudin Aljunied, �Edward Said and Southeast Asian Islam: Western Representations of Meccan Pilgrims (Hajjis) in the Netherlands East Indies�, Journal of Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies 11, 1-2 (2004), pp. 159-175.

42

�Could the clever and prudent founder of

Mohamedanism have ever contemplated the spread

of his religion beyond the confines of Arabia, he

would have been so indiscreet as to have made a visit

to Mecca an imperative precept of it. He had

certainly never heard the name of a single island out

of the hundreds which compose the country of the

distant nations who now put themselves to such peril

and inconvenience in obedience to his wanton

mandate.�139

Once again, Arabs are portrayed as shrewd and cunning in their use of

Islamic principles to persuade the Malays to embark on the long, risky and

expensive journey from Singapore to Mecca, most probably in order to benefit the

Arab shipping enterprise, and to reaffirm the Arabs� leadership role over the native

Malays. The portrayal of the Arab sheikh who led the Haj contingent worsened as

the natives who had made their pilgrimage to Mecca gave British officials �a

wretched picture of the sufferings of natives on board ships not commanded by

Europeans.�140 The natives claimed maltreatment by Arab shipmasters on board

ships to Mecca, which were usually overcrowded and �as bad as slave ships.�141

Most importantly, the British were concerned that Mecca was a site for the spread

of anti-colonial, pan-Islamic ideas during the �haj� season.

139 Crawfurd, History of the Indian Archipelago � Volume Three, p. 210. 140 Ibid. 141 Orfeur Cavenagh, Reminiscences of an Indian Official (London: W.H. Allen, 1884), p. 298.

43

British colonial classification of the Arabs

Colonial administrative concepts played a huge part in creating an image of

the Arab in colonial Singapore. L.W.C. van den Berg states that unlike the Dutch

censuses, the English statistics did not make a distinction between the Arabs born

in Arabia and those born in the Indo-Malay Archipelago.142 The undifferentiated

category of �Arabs� in British censuses referred to all inhabitants in British

colonies who were Arabs by patrilineal descent. By imposing this identity on them,

British severely downplayed the differences between the Arabs in Hadhramaut and

Arabs in Singapore despite the latter having settled in Southeast Asia for decades

(even centuries), and that most of them were in fact of mixed descent raised by

native mothers. From the perspective of the British Empire, the Arabs or

Hadhramis in Singapore and Malaya would be no different from their kin in the

Middle East, which fell under British control by the end of the nineteenth century.

As a result, the British were more likely to think that the issues affecting the Arabs

in Hadhramaut, or Arab diasporic communities in Java or elsewhere would most

probably affect the Arabs in Singapore in the same capacity, because they were

regarded as one undifferentiated community. A problem perceived among Arabs in

Java or Hadhramaut would cause the British much worry (perhaps even more than

necessary) as they would think that the Arabs in British colonies and territories

outside of the Middle East would sympathize with causes pursued by their kin in

Hadhramaut.

142 The Dutch did however separate the two categories. Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, p. 110.

44

The colonial census conducted in the Straits Settlements underscored the

Arabs� �foreignness� in the Malay world by articulating Arab identity as a coherent

concept. The British consistently directed the Arabs away from a �hybrid life� in

Southeast Asia � a mix of Malay and Arab culture. In contrast to the British

classification of the Arab under �Other nationalities�, the Indian Muslims of Indian

and Malay descent were classified under �Malays and Other Natives of the

Archipelago.� The Malay term for Indians who have both Indian and Malay

ancestry was the Indian Peranakan, or Jawi Peranakan (shortened to � Jawi

Pekans�).143 The 1891 census grouped the �Jawi Pekan� under �Other Natives of

the Archipelago� although their ancestors originated from the Indian subcontinent.

Report of the Census of Singapore taken in 1891144

The British differentiated the Indian Muslims or Indian Pekans from other

natives of India including Tamils, as we can see from another part of the census

table below.

143 Savage & Yeoh, Toponymics � A Study of Singapore Street Names, pp. 88-89. 144 E.M. Merewether. Report of the Census of the Straits Settlements, Taken on the 5th April 1891, (Singapore: Singapore Printing Office, 1892), p. 46.

45

This is highly intriguing, since the �Indian Pekans� themselves were

descended from Tamils or Bengalis. But since they were descended from the

native Malays as well, they were classified under Jawi Pekans, which fell under the

general heading of �Malays and Other Natives.�145

The other nationalities above did not have a well-recorded history of

intermarrying with the local Malay population in British colonial estimations.146

Hence they did not possess a high degree of Malay ancestry. The Arabs on the

other hand had intermarried with the local indigenous populations just like the

Indian Muslims or �Jawi Pekans� had. By placing the �Arabs� under �Other

Nationalities�, the British colonial bureaucracy effectively granted them an

autonomous position within the British Straits Settlements outside colonial rule of

the British in Singapore, at least till the end of the nineteenth century when the

British gained power over parts of the Middle East. The Arab community was

embedded in the cultural background that bound them to other Arabs elsewhere in

the Archipelago, probably even India and of course, the Middle East. In the same

145 It is not clear whether these Tamils, Bengalis and other races include both Sikhs, Hindus as well as Muslims. The Burmese was also listed as Natives and were not categorized under �Other Nationalities,� most probably because they were administered under British India at the time. 146 Annamese and Siamese might have intermarried with the Malays to some extent, but the British seemed to be mainly concerned with the frequent marriages between Arabs and Malay rulers in the Malay world.

46

way, they were effectively removed from the native cultural background of the

Indo-Malay Archipelago.

Pure or mixed

Did the Arabs reinforce British classifications of their community, or dispel

such colonial categorizations? In terms of dress at least, the Arabs in their robes

and turbans continued to appear different from the Malays. Syed Mohammed bin

Harun Aljunied, the first Arab trader to arrive Singapore wore flowing white robes

and a green turban.147 Syed Mohsen Aljufri a ship-owner who was featured in

Joseph Conrad wore �a snowy white robe.�148 In 1935, Arabs in Singapore were

still donning the traditional Arab costume, at least during special occasions such as

the silver jubilee of the King George V.

147 Pearson, People of Early Singapore, p. 93. 148 Sherry, �Conrad and the S.S. Vidar�, p. 159.

47

Arabs in Singapore wearing traditional Arab costume during the silver jubilee celebrations in 1935149

Despite the complexities of the classification category of �Arab�, the term

�peranakan� was interestingly rejected by the Arabs themselves. In 1932, there was

a club formed named �Arab Peranakan,� which was dissolved at the start of the

Japanese Occupation in Singapore in 1942.150 According to a committee member

of the club, Awad bin Diab, the term �Arab Peranakan� in this case refers to Arabs

who were born in Singapore.151 The older generation did not like this term �Arab

Peranakan�, as the alternative would be �Arab singkek� or �Arab totok�, which

denoted pure Arabs born in Arabia,152 some of whom were already residents in

Singapore but most probably did not understand or speak the Malay language.153

The older generation of Arabs did not take offence to being considered pure Arabs,

but rather to the term �singkek� and �totok,� which were derogatory terms usually

referring to the recent Chinese newcomers to the Indo-Malay Archipelago who

were not of mixed descent, (i.e. not �peranakan�). This could explain why the Arab

community in Singapore has been resistant to the label �Arab Peranakan.� The

choice of the Arab community to define themselves unambiguously as �Arabs�

meant that as late as 1942, the older generation of Arabs in Singapore did not wish

to explicitly acknowledge an interstitial group of �mixed-bloods.� They rejected the

�totok�/�peranakan� dichotomy, opting instead for the singular category of Arab,

149 Souvenir � Singapore Silver Jubilee Celebrations, 1935 (Singapore: n.p., c.1935), n. pag. 150 Membership however was not restricted to the Arabs, for they included notable men from the Malay states. Their activities were social and not political. Awad bin Diab, NAS, Oral History Centre, A000377, 12 December 1983, transcript of interview with Awad bin Diab, pp. 12-13, 159-161. 151 Ibid., pp. 12-13. 152 Awad bin Diab on the other hand had no qualms about calling a man from Hadhramaut a �singkek� during the interview conducted by the NAS. Ibid., pp. 12, 192. 153 Ibid., p. 191.

48

which effectively places them within the larger community of ethnic Arabs across

the world. In this way, an Arab identity was wholly preserved, and fully expressed

while the Malay identity continued to be suppressed.

However, when an Arab was of royal Malay descent on his mother�s side,

the noble indigenous ancestry is fully expressed, along with the Arab lineage. In

this case, the native aspect of the Arab�s mixed ethnicity often enriched his whole

character and augments his status, both political and economically in the Malay

world. This explains why some prominent Arabs in Singapore had local Malay

titles appended to their names. These titles hinted at their royal lineage, most

probably because one of their Arab ancestors married a native princess. One of the

first two Arabs who came to Singapore, Syed Omar bin Ali Aljunied was also

known as Pengeran Sherif Omar. The title �Pengeran� granted him a princely status

as he was the descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, according to Harold

Pearson.154 It could also mean that Syed Omar Aljunied has royal blood. Raffles

referred to Syed Omar solely as Pengeran Sherif Omar in a letter to Farquhar,

ordering the latter to provide support and find Syed Omar a proper residence since

the Arab had requested British protection in Singapore.155 Charles Burton Buckley

consistently referred to Syed Omar Aljunied as �Pengeran Syarif� and never by his

full name during his account of Syed Yassin�s crime against Syed Omar.156 It is

therefore very likely that he was widely known by this title in Singapore.

Another prominent Arab in Singapore descended from royalty was Syed

Abdulrahman bin Taha Alsagoff (1880-1955), popularly known as �Engku Aman.�

154 Pearson, People of Early Singapore, p. 92. 155 Ibid. 156 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 97.

49

Engku,� a Malay title bestowed on descendants of royals, was given to him as his

ancestor was Hajjah Fatimah,157 the Bugis Sultana of Gowa in Sulawesi who

owned many vessels and prows,158 and had connections with many of the Rajas in

the Malay Peninsular.159 Thus, matrilineal bloodline, through indigenous mothers,

was only alluded to in detail when it augmented the economic and political status

of the Arab.

The Arabs as philanthropists

Tied in with their roles as leaders of the Muslim community, members of

the Arab elite were generous donors who made great contributions to the

community. The wealthy Arab families built key facilities around which Muslims

could rally and congregate. They were in an excellent position to conduct

philanthropy in Singapore, due to the amount of real estate that they owned. In

1820, a year after the founding of Singapore, Syed Omar bin Ali Aljunied built the

oldest existing mosque in Singapore known as Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka

along Omar Road, where Muslims of all races used to live.160 In fact, a cluster of

services for the Muslim community was found on Omar Road. There was a

cemetery, called �Kubur Aljunied� or Aljunied cemetery. Next to the cemetery, the

Aljunied family erected a religious school, the Madrasah Aljunied Islamiah at

157 A mosque was named after Hajjah Fatima and reconstructed by Syed Abdulrahman. Two roads in Singapore were named after him - Engku Aman Road and Lorong Tengku Aman (expunged). Savage & Yeoh, Toponymics � A Study of Singapore Street Names, pp. 120-121, 239-240. 158 Awad bin Diab, interview transcript, p. 15; Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 564; Wright and H.A. Cartwright (eds.) Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya, p. 707. 159 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 564. 160 Ibid., p. 9; Savage & Yeoh, Toponymics � A Study of Singapore Street Names, p. 284.

50

Victoria Street in 1927.161 Nearby, in High Street, there was another place where

Muslims could pray known as �Langgar Aljunied.� The Arab Dispensary was built

by Syed Hassan Aljunied at Rochore Road.162

Likewise, the Alsagoff family built the Almadrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah in

Jalan Sultan near Arab street, yet another area with a large Muslim settlement. By

1852, the British already noted that the Alsagoff family held two big feasts

annually at their house for all Muslims in Singapore.163 The Alsagoffs set up the

Muslim Trust Fund which provided welfare services that included running the

Outdoor Dispensary as well as preparing for the funerals of Muslims with no

families in Singapore, such as sailors who died on board ships. The Muslim Trust

Fund would then pay for all funeral arrangements. An orphanage was set up by the

Muslim Trust Fund in Mattar Road.164 The Alsagoff family paid for the

employment of an Imam at the Hajjah Fatimah mosque which they built, along

with the maintenance of the houses for the poor in Kampong Glam and Java

Road.165 The family also built the Alsagoff Outdoor Dispensary, which not only

provides medical care for Muslims but for any individual of any race.166

The Alkaff family on the other hand opened their mansion to all Muslims

who wanted to go through the tradition of �mandi safar� in the large lake near

161 Savage & Yeoh, Toponymics � A Study of Singapore Street Names p. 34. Awad bin Diab, transcript interview, pp. 9-10. 162 Ibid., p. 9, 16. 163 One feast was held on the death anniversary of Hajjah Fatimah, and the other on the anniversary of Prophet Muhammad�s birth and death (same day of the year). Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, pp. 564 � 565. 164 Incidentally, the road is named after another Arab family, the Mattar family. Awad bin Diab, interview transcript, pp. 16-17. 165 The area owned by the Alsagoff family in Kampong Glam is known as Kota Raja and the Alsagoff-owned land in Java road was called Kota Alsagoff. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 564; Awad bin Diab, interview transcript, p. 15. 166 Awad bin Diab, interview transcript, pp.16-17.

51

Bukit Tunggal in Thomson Road within the mansion grounds.167 The Alkaff family

built two mosques in Serangoon and in Kampung Melayu at Jalan Eunos in the

eastern part of the island.

Lesser known Arab families also provided much aid to the Muslim

community in Singapore. An Arab merchant named Omar Bamadhaj made many

contributions to Singapore during the 1920s and 1930s by donating to mosques and

�madrasahs� from the money he collected from Arab migrants who rented rooms at

his hostel.168 The Alatas family on the other hand built a mosque in Punggol near

Serangoon besides building a hostel for newly arrived migrants to Singapore.169

Arab women played key roles at the locus of the community as well.

Rugayah Alkaff, whose house was bordered by Wilkie Road and Sophia Road

helped many poor people and was well known for her kindness.170 Sharifah

Aluwiyah Aljunied known as Puan Kecut also showed deep care about all

Muslims.171 There was also Mak Engku Kallang whose real name was Sharifah

Zaharah married to Mohsin Al-Attas.172 Other Muslims used to approach her with

requests, as it was said that her prayers tended to come through.173 There was also

mention of one other prominent Arab lady from the Al-Attas family who was

167 The mansion was popularly known as the Alkaff Mansion. Ibid., p. 15. 168 Ibid., p. 24. 169 Ibid., p. 22. 170 There were two entrances to the houses. Men would enter through the door on Sophia road, and women through Wilkie Road. Ibid., p. 21. 171 Ibid., p. 10. 172 Ibid., pp. 22, 23. 173 Ibid., p. 23.

52

known for her generous spirit, but the specific nature of her contributions to the

society is unknown.174

Nevertheless, the Arabs� charity did not just benefit the Muslim

community. Their generosity extended to the rest of Singapore society. In a land

auction in January 1840, Syed Omar bin Ali Aljunied was granted land of about

3,600 square yards at the southwest corner of High Street and North Bridge Road

for a yearly quit-rent of $135, for the residue of the term 999 years.175 On 19th June

1851, Syed Omar Ali Aljunied wrote a letter to the Municipal Committee

expressing his concern at the lack of water for the �poorer classes� in Singapore.

He thus offered to build four wells, which the Municipal Committee was glad to

assent while being impressed by his benevolence.176

In fact, the Aljunied family, the oldest Arab family in Singapore

contributed much to the infrastructure during the early years of the British port.

Syed Omar�s cousin (Syed Mohamed�s son) Syed Ali Aljunied who owned a large

business was just as charitable and his work for the colony did not go

unappreciated by the British. He owned land at Arab Street and Victoria Street

which he later gave to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital. A large part of his property in

Victoria Street was donated for the purpose of building a Muslim cemetery and a

mosque in Bencoolen Street.177 He also gave away burial ground at Grange Road,

known as Bukit Wakoff.178 As part of his efforts to develop Singapore, he built

174 Ibid., p. 23. 175 A block of land, was divided into nine lots and Syed Omar gained Lot 1 at the land auction. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, pp. 100, 563. 176 Ibid., pp. 547-548. 177 Savage & Yeoh, Toponymics � A Study of Singapore Street Names, p. 34. 178 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, pp. 563 � 564.

53

�very good wells� behind Fort Canning, at Selegie Road, Pangulu Kisang and

Telok Ayer, but unfortunately the Municipality later filled them up and collected

the granite by the end of the nineteenth century.179 Upon Syed Ali Aljunied�s

death in 1858, his son Syed Allowie (Alwi) inherited his estate. Syed Allowie

filled the land up in the bustling commercial center of Singapore to form Weld

Road and Jalan Besar.180 The building of three bridges at Arab Street, Jalan Sultan

and Bencoolen Street by the Municipality was also at his expense. Members of the

Aljunied family went on to contribute largely to the building of the Town Hall.181

The generosity and leadership qualities of the wealthy Arab families in

Singapore marked them out as a separate community from the native Malays who

benefited from the facilities developed extensively by the Arabs. These Arabs

clearly preserved their clan names (Aljunied, Alsagoff, Alkaff, Alatas, Bamadhaj)

and further asserted their presence in Singapore by lending their names to the

mosques, schools and facilities they erected. By doing so, they strengthen British

perception of Arab identity in Singapore as being highly coherent.

Arab unity in Singapore was no more evident than in the setting up of the

�rubath� or hostels for newly arrived Arabs. If an Arab from a certain clan or

family were to arrive in Singapore, his relatives would definitely provide him with

necessary assistance, such as accommodation. An Arab from the Ashibli clan

would stay at a fellow Ashibli�s house upon arrival in Singapore. A Ben Diab

family member would most likely stay in the home of an Alkaff, since they came

179 Ibid., p. 564. 180 Ibid. 181 Ibid.

54

from the same town of Tarim in Hadhramaut.182 Arab migrants from Arabia with

no kin in Singapore were invited to stay in hostels, known as �rubath� in Arabic or

�rumah tumpangan� in Malay. There were at least three such hostels in various

locations in Singapore. There was the Rubath Aljunied, a hostel owned by the

Aljunied family, situated at Omar Road,183 another hostel near Kandahar street

owned by the Bamadhaj family,184 and a third hostel set up by the Alatas family at

Mayo Road.185 Apart from providing temporary accommodation, the Arab settlers

even found wives for the new migrants, as well as occupations to start them off in

Singapore. Thus, the Arab community remained cohesive in Singapore to a great

extent. It is highly unlikely that their obvious unity in Singapore escaped British

colonial observation.

The Arabs in the service of the British Empire

During the first few decades of Singapore�s beginnings as a rising port,

prominent non-European members of the community, played key roles alongside

British colonial officials in local affairs. There was a mention of an Arab Syed

Omar (perhaps Aljunied), who was involved in a public meeting held on 3rd

February 1844 to discuss the proposed building of a Chinese Pauper Hospital as

well as another meeting in 1850 on to list of articles to be submitted to the Great

Exhibition the following year.186

182 Awad bin Diab, interview transcript, p. 36. 183 Any newly-arrived Muslim migrant was allowed to live in the hostels, not just Arabs. Ibid., p. 9. 184 Ibid., p. 24. 185 Ibid., p. 30. 186 Prominent Chinese businessman Tan Tock Seng chaired the meeting. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, pp. 409, 535.

55

Being huge property owners in Singapore made the Arabs particularly

predisposed to grant British favours in cases of emergency. The wealthy Arabs in

Singapore were major players in real estate, not only in Singapore, where they

often purchased land at high prices in already built-up areas,187 but also in Java,

Sumatra, Hadhramaut and other areas in the Middle East. The Arab landowners

owned 75 percent of the land not owned by the British in Singapore, which meant

that they owned about 50 percent of total land area in Singapore.188 Those who

wished to acquire land in Singapore had no choice but to obtain tenure from the

Arabs as they were the legal owners of the land.189 The British requisitioned the

Arab-owned Sennett Estate during the Second World War for British soldiers.

They placed a big camp of Indian Army on Alkaff property.190 Elsewhere, a

member of the Alsagoff family volunteered to put up two of his houses in Jeddah

at the disposal of the British Army operating in Arabia, in order to show his

support for the British government.191

The British Government directly links public service to the community to

the appointments of Justice of Peace and Municipal Commissioner. Many Arabs in

Singapore were granted the honour of being the Justice of Peace. Members of the

Aljunied family who have been conferred the title of Justice of Peace include Syed

Alwee Aljunied after whom a road was named (Syed Alwee Road), and his son

187 Boxberger, Hadhramawt, Emigration and the Indian Ocean, p. 51. 188 Mattar, �Arab ethnic enterprises in colonial Singapore�, p. 174. 189 Arab land acquisition was affected by policies such as the Control of Rent Ordinance (1947) and the Land Acquisition Act (1966). Ibid., pp. 174-175. 190 Syed Alwee Alkaff, NAS, Oral History Centre, A000124, 20 January 1982, transcript of interview with Syed Alwee Alkaff, p. 5. 191 Lee, The British as Rulers Governing Multi-Racial Singapore, p. 270.

56

Syed Hassan Aljunied who owned the Arab Dispensary in Rochore Road.192 In

recognition of their public services, many members of the Alsagoff family were

granted the titles of Justice of the Peace by the British Government.193 Syed

Ahmad bin Muhammad Alsagoff also known as Syed Ahmad Pendek, was a

Justice of Peace and the chief of St. John�s Ambulance.194 Syed Ibrahim Alsagoff

and his son Syed Omar Alsagoff (1850-1927) both became Justices of Peace. The

latter was also the consul for Saudi Arabia.195 He played key roles in volunteer

organizations of the day Jamiyah, and the Persatuan Seruan Islam Se Malaya. Syed

Muhammad bin Omar Alsagoff (1889-1931) became the Chief Municipal

Commissioner as well from 1928-1933.196 Syed Abdul Rahman bin Syeikh Alkaff,

the owner of Al-Kaff Wa-Shuaraka (Alkaff and Co.) was a Justice of Peace.197

Justices of the Peace in Singapore were regarded so highly by the British that they

were specially singled out by the First Resident of Aden, W.H. Ingrams in his

report on Arabs in Singapore.198 An Arab who was born in Singapore in 1886 but

lived in Tarim, Syed Abu Bakr Alkaff was even knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, in

recognition for his services to the British government in Hadhramaut and for

contributing to the infrastructure of the region.199

192 Awad bin Diab, NAS, interview transcript, pp. 9, 16. 193 They were Syed Omar bin Mohamed Alsagoff, his son Syed Mohamed bin Omar Alsagoff, Syed Mohsen Alsagoff, The Alsagoff Family in Malaysia: A.H. 1240 (A.D. 1824)-A.H. 1382 (A.D. 1962): With Biographical and Contemporary Sketches of Some Members of the Alsagoff Family, (Singapore: The Author, 1963), pp. 15, 19. 194 Awad bin Diab, interview transcript, p. 14. 195 Ibid., p. 15. 196 Ibid.,, p. 14; Savage & Yeoh, Toponymics � A Study of Singapore Street Names, p. 158. 197 Ibid., p. 19. 198 They were Sheik Salim bin Muhammad bin Talib al Kathiri, Seiyid Abdur Rahman bin Sheikh Al Kaf and Seiyid Abdur Rahman bin Juneid Al Juneid. Ingrams, A Report on the Social Economic and Political Condition of the Hadhramaut, p. 151. 199 Al Mahjar 6,1 (April 2001), p. 13.

57

The granting of such coveted titles further elevated the status of the Arab

elite in the British colonial apparatus in Singapore, and distinguished them from

the rest of society. David Cannadine notes that the late nineteenth and early

twentieth centuries were periods of unprecedented honorific inventiveness, far

surpassing that which had taken place one hundred years before.200 More

importantly though, the common desire for titles brought together the British

proconsular elite and the ruling elites amongst the subject populations, into �a

unified, ranked, honorific body�, which resulted in �an integrated, ordered, titular,

transracial hierarchy that no other empire could rival.�201 The practical function of

this carefully graded system of titles and orders, ribbons and stars, helped to

promote a sense of common belonging and collective participation, and it created

an ordered, unified, hierarchical picture of empire.202 It puts the recipient of the

honour under the direct subordination of the British monarch, as if he was in the

service of the British Empire himself.

Members of the Arab elite were very comfortable with receiving

recognition from the British, and made overt attempts to display their support for

the British. In commemoration of the Prince of Wales� visit to Singapore in 1923,

the prominent Arab merchant Syed Omar bin Mohamed Alsagoff presented a

replica of the H.M.S. Malaya to him.203 This ostentatious gift, which cost $10,000

became part of a big procession in Singapore. More than a decade later, in order to

commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V in 1935, the Arabs of Singapore

200 David Cannadine, Ornamentalism: How the British Saw Their Empire (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 81. 201 Ibid., pp. 88, 90. 202 Ibid, p. 98. 203 Alsagoff, The Alsagoff Family in Malaysia, p. 14.

58

built an impressive arch as part of the celebrations in Singapore to show their

support for the British colonial power.

Arch built by the Arab community in Singapore to commemorate King George V�s silver jubilee in 1935204

204 Apart from the Arabs, another non-European community represented in the commemorative volume is the Indian Chettiars who put up a fireworks display. Souvenir � Singapore Silver Jubilee Celebrations, 1935, n.pag.

59

Muslim procession outside the arch built by the Arab community in Singapore in celebration of King George V�s silver jubilee in 1935205

From the British perspective, the Arabs in Singapore had important roles

within the colony. Edwin Lee claims that the British definitely felt more secure in

Singapore with the Arabs� help in ruling over the Muslim population. Lee lists the

way the Arabs in Singapore had helped the British during the First World War. In

1915, the Indian sepoys in the Singapore Mutiny started to revolt as they had been

suffering from indiscipline, poor morale and leadership. In addition, the sepoys

(nearly all of whom were Muslims) were swayed by pan-Islamic feeling against

the British who were fighting Turkey in the First World War.206 Just after the

mutiny was put down by the British, a mammoth rally was held in Singapore. Syed

Mohammed bin Mohammed Alsagoff (Alsaqaff), a prominent Arab from an

205 Ibid. 206 Lee, The British as Rulers Governing Multi-Racial Singapore, p. 270.

60

important Arab family in Singapore, stood beside the Colonial Secretary R.J.

Wilkinson in Victoria Memorial Hall, a gesture by the Arab community leader to

affirm Muslim loyalty to the British, thus dousing colonial fears of widespread

Pan-Islamism in Singapore amongst the Muslim population.207 As we shall see

later, in addition to such open political displays, the social interaction between the

Arabs and the British ruling elite also helped to ensure good stable relations

between the British and the Arabs.

Beyond Arab Street

Contrary to common representations of the Arabs in the historiography of

colonial Singapore, their social and business lives did not revolve around Arab

Street and Kampong Glam. In fact, according to a census conducted in December

1840, 26 Arabs were found in Chinatown, but only 2 in the Kampong Glam

district.208 Their land holdings were found throughout the urban area in the south

of Singapore. In 1870, a 10-room bungalow known as the Beach House built by

Robert Scott in the 1830s was acquired by Arab merchant Syed Ahmad Alsagoff,

who bought the house from the deceased estate of Elizabeth Clarke for the sum of

$5,450 Spanish Dollars. In 1887, the Armenian hotel-owners, Tigran Sarkies and

Arshak Sarkies, took the lease for the sum of 126 Spanish Dollars per month.209

However, in 1875, Syed Mohamed Alsagoff had shrewdly inserted a proviso in his

will that stipulated the land could not be sold until 20 years after the death of all

his children. Thus even though the Sarkies brothers managed to buy two adjacent

207 Ibid. 208 C.P. Holloway, Tabular Statements of the Commerce of Singapore During the Years 1823-24 to 1839-1840 Inclusive (Singapore: Singapore Free Press, Office, 1842), p. 52. 209 Gretchen Liu, Raffles Hotel (Singapore: Landmark books, 1992).

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land parcels, the original bungalow still stood on land owned by the Alsagoff

family till as late as 1961.210

The Alkaffs, Alsagoffs and Aljunieds lived in mansions of considerable

opulence,211 in prime locations in Singapore such as in Cairnhill Road.212 At least

by the 1920s, the Alkaffs had a Japanese garden in Serangoon. The Japanese were

brought to Singapore to create an authentic-looking Japanese garden during the

early twentieth century.213 The garden was open to the public, at least from the

1920s onwards.

Alkaff Garden with Japanese landscape

The Alkaffs were labelled the largest property owners in Singapore, and

had �the distinction of being assessed at a higher figure than any other taxpayers,

210 The Sarkies brothers added two wings to the original bungalow on the these adjacent land parcels Sheriffa Bahia binte Mohammed bin Ahmed Alsagoff, the last surviving child of Syed Mohammed, died on 28 May 1941. 211 A. Talib, �Hadramis in Singapore.� 212 Siddique, The Story of Cairnhill Road, pp. 27-29. 213 It is not known when the gardens were built but it was already developed by the 1920s. Awad bin Diab, interview transcript, p. 20.

62

expect the Tanjong Pagar Dock Board.�214 Far from being confined to Kampong

Glam and Arab Street, the Alkaff family made their mark on the urban landscape

of Singapore throughout the island. They had an office in the Arcade at Change

Alley a famous shopping district in Singapore at Raffles Place beside Raffles

Quay. The Alkaffs owned an office in the Arcade at Change Alley, a famous

shopping district in Singapore at Raffles Place beside Raffles Quay.215 The family

owned the �ultra-modern� Hotel de l�Europe, (along with the Europe Motor

Garage),216 situated close to High Street and known as �Punch-House Besar� to the

local Malays.217

Hotel de l�Europe

214 A block of his property occupied by a large shipping company and some of the principal merchants of the colony is shown in the accompanying illustration. Wright & Cartwright (eds.) Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya, pp. 710-712. 215 Awad bin Diab, interview transcript, pp. 20, 86. 216 Clarence-Smith, �Hadrami Entrepreneurs in the Malay World�, p.303. 217 The hotel was demolished at the beginning of the twentieth century, and the Supreme Court was built on the site. G.M. Reith, Handbook to Singapore, With Map and A Plan of Botanical Gardens (Singapore: The Singapore and Straits Printing Office, 1892), pp. 32, 36.

63

Therefore, Arabs� residential property and commercial activities placed

them at various places throughout urban Singapore. They were definitely not

rooted to one particular location on the island.

Binary classification of the Arabs

During the First World War and soon after, the British became obsessed

with determining Arab political loyalties. They were concerned about the pro-

Ottoman sympathies harboured by certain prominent Hadhramis in the Indo-Malay

Archipelago. In order to discern a pattern amongst the Arab population in the

region, the British resorted to the anti-British/pro-British binary system of

classification. By analysing the Hadhramis in Hadhramaut as well as the members

of the Hadhrami diaspora, the British tried to determine who supported the anti-

British Kathiri and pro-British Qu�aiti Sultanates through frequent exchange of

information between the British colonial governments of the Aden Protectorate,

the Straits Settlements and the British Consulate-General in Batavia. Next, within

these two groups of supporters, they tried to determine who the �Syed� and

�Sheikh� (or �Sjech� within the Netherlands East Indies) clans sided with? Finally,

the British sought to find out who the Arab populations of Singapore and the

Netherlands East Indies tended to support � the British, or the Turks and the

Germans. Did they support the anti-British Turks or the pro-British Hedjaz? These

binary oppositions of Kathiri/Qu�aiti, Syed/Sheikh and Singapore/Netherlands East

Indies in the classification of the Arab community were largely subsumed under

the two principal groupings of anti-British/pro-British. The dominant British view

of the Arabs just after the end of the First World War in 1918 and 1919 is summed

up in the following table.

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Political loyalties of Arabs in the Indo-Malay Archipelago in British colonial discourse Pro-British Arabs Anti-British Arabs

Most of the Arabs in Singapore Most of the Arabs in the Netherlands

East Indies

The �Syed� faction of the Arab

community

The �Sheikh� faction of the Arab

community

Supporters of the Qu�aiti Sultanate in

Hadhramaut

Supporters of the Kathiri Sultanate in

Hadhramaut

Arabs of the Hedjaz Arabs who are Turks (pledge allegiance

to the Ottomans)

Arabs� political loyalties

The system of classification was borne out of extensive British colonial

surveillance during the First World War in the Indo-Malay Archipelago. British

colonial intelligence was dedicated to tracing the locations and movements of anti-

British proponents of pan-Islamism amongst the Arab community thought to be

harbouring Ottoman and German sympathies.218 This process was facilitated by the

stationing of British surveillance officers as well as Arab spies within suspected

communities in various locations. Through this unrelenting process of mapping,

the British found that most anti-British Arabs within archipelagic Southeast Asia

were situated in the Netherlands East Indies as they supported the anti-British

Kathiri Sultanate.219 Sourabaya (Surabaya), a port city in Java was identified as a

218 The British saw the Germans as trying to incite hatred of the British within British colonies, so as to undermine British strength during the First World War. The Germans, being allies with the Ottomans against the British during the war, were happy to support the cause of pan-Islamism at this juncture. 219 Kostiner, �Impact of the Hadhrami Emigrants�, p.210.

65

German stronghold, being �an especial object of German flattery and assiduous

attention.�220

Arab communities within particular locations were essentialized by the

British, closely associated with their place of residence in the Netherlands East

Indies. According to one report in 1918, �Arab feeling� in Sourabaya showed signs

that it had �veered round in a pro British direction,� as if Arabs in that city were

unified by a single collective sentiment.221 Soon, the whole island of Java in the

Netherlands East Indies was regarded as �not only one of the main centers, but the

main centre itself in Asia of strong German, Turkish and Moslem conspiracy.�222

Dubbed �an increasingly storm centre for anti-British Moslem intrigue,�223 the

island of Java (or sometimes its capital city Batavia) was regarded as a hostile

breeding ground of anti-British sentiments fostered by the Germans and Turks.224

This constant mapping of Arab individuals was borne out of a colonial fear

of anti-British elements. The British Consul-General in Batavia produced

numerous lists of Arab names, most of whom were residents of the Netherlands

East Indies. These lists were filled with recurring names with each copy sent to

various British colonial governments in the Aden Protectorate, British India, Straits

Settlements, Cairo as well as to the Foreign Office in London. On 27th September

1919, the many lists of individual Arabs finally culminated in a very long and

detailed index of names of purportedly dangerous Arabs, known as the �Index of

220 IOR R/20/A/1409, W.H. Lee Warner in Singapore to the First Resident in Aden, 17th October 1918. 221 Ibid. 222 IOR R/20/A/1409, W.H. Lee Warner in Java to the Under Secretary of State, FO, 14th July 1919. 223 Ibid. 224 IOR R/20/A/1409, �Former Secret Dispatch � Sarikat Islam September 1918 onwards,� 12th September 1918.

66

Arabs in Netherlands East Indies,� which lists 238 male individual Arabs in

alphabetical order.225 The Index supposedly lists �most anti-British Arabs, and�a

few friendly Arabs,� according to W.N. Dunn, the British Consul-General in

Batavia, but it actually created an image of an Arab society which was largely anti-

British, as the number of anti-British Arabs identified was overwhelming.226 Future

correspondences from then onwards often contained cross-references to the Index

of Arabs.227

Arabs in Singapore were scarcely mentioned. The Bin Abdat family and the

Al Djofri (Aljufri) families were identified as Hadhrami families who were anti-

British and connected with Singapore (the latter family was also connected to

Java). They were known to be leading anti-British Kathiri allies, and opponents to

the pro-British Qu�aiti regime and to the British as well.228 Another list had eight

names of pro-British Arabs residing in Singapore but with property in Java.229

Financial motivations of the Arabs

225 The list of men was preceded by the names of six organizations and one publication, the Oetoesan Islam along with their descriptions. Parts of the Index have unfortunately been eaten by worms and it is in constant danger of disintegration. IOR R/20/A/1409, �Index of Arabs�, W.N. Dunn, British Consul-General in Batavia to A.J. Balfour, FO, 27th September 1919. 226 Ibid. There were so few pro-British Arabs listed in the Index that it was called a list of �undesirables� by Dunn himself a few months later. FO 371/5236, W.N Dunn, British Consul-General, Batavia to Earl Curzon of Kedleson, FO, 16th March 1920. 227 For examples of these references, see IOR R/20/A/1412, F.G. Gorton, Acting British Consul-General, Batavia to the High Commissioner, Cairo, April 21st 1921; IOR R/20/A/1412, F.G. Gorton, Acting British Consul-General, Batavia to the Political Resident, Aden, 9th May 1921; IOR R/20/A/1411; J. Crosby, British Consul-General, Batavia to the Political Resident Aden, 12th December 1924; IOR R/20/A/1412, J. Crosby, British Consul-General, Batavia to the Political Resident, Aden, 29th January 1926. 228 IOR R/20/A/1409, List of Arab names, unsigned and undated. 229 They had property or businesses in Batavia though and this was mentioned in parentheses beside their names. IOR R/20/A/1409, �List of leading Kathiris who are pro-British in Singapore�, unsigned and undated.

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Not surprisingly the effectiveness of such a strict classification grid

weakened at times, for example when the staunch Kathiri supporter Abd al-

Rahman bin �Ubaydillah al-Saqqaf (1883-1956) offered his help to the Allies in

August 1917.230 In fact, the British were frequently forced to mull over requests

made by known anti-British Arabs, especially when financial benefits outweigh

ideological and political considerations.

Arabs in the Archipelago appreciated how beneficial Singapore under

British colonial rule has been to Arab traders after 1819. As early as the 1830s, a

rich Arab merchant and ship-owner in Surabaya known as Syed Hassan

complimented the British on sound judgment that they had displayed in making

Singapore a free port, its excellence being proved by the extensive commerce

which the liberal system there had attracted to the settlement.231

The commercial success of the Arab community in Singapore was a

significant incentive for Arab merchants to maintain warm and cordial relations

with the British. The British were definitely aware of how economically valuable

Singapore had been to the Arab community in the Archipelago. Henri Onraet, who

served as the Acting Director of the Political Intelligence Bureau in Singapore, was

of the opinion that the rich Arabs like the Alkaffs at Singapore, �hav(ing) given

hostages to fortune in the shape of substantial possessions in the Straits

Settlements, would not dare to incur the displeasure of the British authorities by

intriguing against the established order of things in the Hedjaz and against the

King ibn Saud, with whom His Majesty�s Government has but lately concluded a

230 Freitag, Indian Ocean Migrants and State Formation in Hadhramaut, p. 180. 231 The Dutch on the other hand demanded heavy customs dues. Earl, The Eastern Seas pp. 67-68; Pearson, People of Early Singapore, p. 91.

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treaty.�232 Having invested so much in Singapore, sometimes aided by their

alliance with the British, financial interests seem to be a strong motivation for the

Arabs� decision not to offend the British in any way. Pragmatic decisions based on

economic reasons might have spurred the Arabs to enter into social interactions

with the British as they could potentially serve as business allies subsequently.

In order to persuade the British Government in Aden to open up

opportunities to members of the anti-British Arab societies of Al-Islah and Al-

Irshad, an Arab merchant named Mohamed bin Obeid Obud astutely appealed to

the business aspect of empire-building by writing,

�Some of the rich class of people attached to the

Arab Society of Islah and Irshad and its branches in

Java are anxious to have mercantile centres in some

of the countries of the British Government and in

other countries of the Protectorate.�

He ended his letter by emphatically stating, �Hadhramaut will be benefited

by the trade of such rich people in it (sic).�233 By framing his letter as such,

Mohamed bin Obeid Obud had the potential to influence British attitudes towards

anti-British Arabs, by cleverly emphasizing the Arabs� wealth which could be

232 The British Consul-General in Batavia, J. Crosby agrees with Onraet�s reasoning. Likewise he adds, the Dutch would look with disfavour upon such intrigues by interfering in affairs in the Hedjaz. IOR R/20/A/1412, J. Crosby, British Consul-General, Batavia to Sir Austin Chamberlain, London, April 11th 1928. 233 The British denied his request for a smooth passage to Hadhramaut. He was detained at Mukalla, but later allowed to pass to Hadhramaut, after signing a guarantee bond to the effect that he will not take part in any movement affecting the political affairs that country. IOR R/20/A/1412, Mohamed bin Obeid Obud to Major B.R. Reilly, First Assistant Resident Aden, 5th March 1922; IOR R/20/A/1412, First Assistant Resident, Aden to Governor of Mukalla from 13th May 1922; IOR R/20/A/1412 British Consul for the Netherlands to Major C.C. Barrett, the First Assistant Resident, Aden, 31st July 1922.

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advantageous to the British, while cleverly downplaying the threat they posed in

promoting anti-British ideology.

On 29th August 1919, a well known pro-British Arab, Said Mohamed bin

Agil of Singapore offered another reason for preferring to stay in Singapore instead

of Java. He told the Dutch colonial scholar Dr. Bertram J.O. Schrieke that

�The reasons which have led me to settle in

Singapore are because the British Government

extends sympathy and respect to the inhabitants of

the country, treats them equally, is ever careful and

interested in protecting their religions and

reputations, and continually endeavors to bring all

their aims to one ideal; the Government feels

confident that in so doing it causes the inhabitants to

back the Government up.�234

The exchange between Schrieke and Syed Mohamed continued as follows.

Schrieke: Is there a branch of the Al-irsjad Society in

Singapore?

Said Mohamed: No

Schrieke: Why?

Said Mohamed: Because the British Government is

ever watchful and will never allow anything which

234 IOR L/PS/10/630, W.N. Dunn, British Consul-General of Batavia to FO, �Enclosure of Batavia despatch Secret no. 50 of 10th April 1920.�

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may produce evil effects to find its way into or

prevail in its country.

Schrieke: Isn�t it unfair to prohibit the establishment

of an al-Irsjad branch there?

Said Mohamed: Would a civilized Government

allow an infectious disease such as cholera to enter

its country?

Schrieke: Certainly not.

Said Mohamed: Can such prohibition be considered

unfair?

Dr.Schrieke: Certainly not.

Said Mohamed: Because if it were allowed to enter

and rage, it would affect the whole public, but it

would make no progress if kept to the quarantine

section. It is the same with anyone full of bad

feelings and ideas liable to produce malice and

disturbance, and in fact such a person can justifiably

be termed as more dangerous than the disease I

spoke of. 235

In this instance, the Arab presented himself as unequivocally pro-British.

He clearly spoke on behalf of the British by defending British colonial policy on an

anti-British publication in the Netherlands East Indies. His rhetoric in this

particular interview with Schrieke is extremely satisfying from a British point of

235 Ibid.

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view. British-Arab relations in Singapore was presented as cordial and filled with

mutual understanding. Even though the Arab knew perfectly that the British has

banned the formation of the anti-British Muslim association of Al-Irsjad (Al-

Irshad) in Singapore, he understood it was for the good of the Muslim public.

While responding to Schrieke, Said Mohamed bin Agil adopted an enlightened

British perspective, by taking the stand of the British government as he argued that

the disease (anti-British elements) should be prevented from contaminating the

body (the British colonial empire).

The case of Shaikh Yahya bin Ahmed Afifi of Singapore

Nonetheless, the classification grid proved to be rather resilient in shaping

British policy concerning the Arab community in Singapore. This was evident in

the case of Shaikh Yahya bin Ahmed Afifi of Singapore, the manager of the Alkaff

Trust in Singapore, and also �a man of considerable weight in the Mohameddan

Community.�236 He applied for naturalization as a British subject in 1923, but was

refused on the grounds of his nationality as the British thought he was a Turkish

subject.237 Thus he was not eligible for naturalization until ten years after the

conclusion of peace after the war.

Shaikh Yahya painstakingly tried to prove that he was an Arab of the Hijaz

(Hedjaz). Sir David James Galloway who voted in favour of granting

naturalization to him even provided a statutory declaration on behalf of Shaikh

236 CO 273/534, George Sewell, Buckingham Gate, London to L.C.M.S. Amery, CO, 19th August 1926. 237 Several �influential members of the community�, including Sir David Galloway voted in favour of granting naturalization, but an equal number of important people voted against it. CO 273/534, Laurence N, Guillemard, Government House, Singapore to L.C.M.S. Amery, CO, 26th October 1926.

72

Yahya.238 At one point, the London Counsel admitted that they were satisfied that

�he was an Arab.�239 Unfortunately for Shaikh Yahya, not everyone was convinced

and he was still referred to as a Turk, to indicate his possible Turkish nationality.240

In this case, it is important to note that the racial categories of �Arab� and �Turk�

were more closely tied to political affinity rather than ethnic affiliation, making

such labels less rigid and more fluid.

Two months later, his request for naturalization was denied again as he was

still regarded as a Turk, an ex-enemy subject. Furthermore, his ties with the Alkaff

family placed him against the British government as the family opposed the pro-

British Al Kathiri tribe in Hadhramaut and instead furnished funds to the anti-

British Al Ku�aiti (Qu�aiti) tribe.241 In addition to this, the Governor of the Straits

Settlements, Laurence Guillemard states that �the big land-owning firm of Alkaff

and Co. in Singapore�has a very deplorable reputation as landlords, being

responsible for extensive oppression of their tenants by the extortion of �tea

money.��242 Afifi was denied a certificate of naturalization by Guillemard in

1926,243 much to the regret of Unofficial Members of the Legislative and

238 CO 273/539, Enclosure no. 6 Straits despatch of 22nd September 1927, Statutory Declaration of Sir David James Galloway on behalf of Shaikh Yahya Afifi, 23rd November 1923. 239 CO 273/534 George Sewell, Buckingham Gate, London to L.S. Amery, CO, 19th August 1926. 240 CO 273/539, J.W. Harries, Sports Club, London, to Secretary of State for the Colonies, CO, 23rd May 1927. 241 CO 273/534, Laurence N. Guillemard, SS Government House, Singapore to L.C.M.S. Amery, CO, 26th October 1926. 242 Ibid. 243 At this point, the matter was decided by Guillemard in the SS, as L.C.M.S. Amery of the CO decided not to interfere in Guillemard�s decisions regarding to the matter. CO 273/534, M.E. Antrobus to F.G. Penny, Member of Parliament, Downing Street London, December 1926.

73

Executive Councils of Singapore, Judges, Police Officials and �leaders of all

communities�.244

In May 1927, a British man named J.W. Harries spoke very strongly for the

granting of naturalization to Shaikh Yahya Afifi. Harries astutely pointed out that

�continued refusals given to Shaikh Yahya�s petitions for naturalization may affect

the loyalty of certain sections of (Singapore�s) population.� He emphasized that

Shaikh Yahya was most eager to take part in public work in Singapore, and was

�eminently fitted� to do so. As if to directly counter the language of intelligence

documents of the British Consul-General in Batavia in 1919, Harries stressed that

Shaikh Yahya was �a really desirable citizen.�245 He underscored this aspect of

Shaikh Yahya�s character by alluding to �the high esteem and respect he is held by

the Chinese, Malays, Indians and Europeans alike.�246 These appeals on behalf of

Shaikh Yahya must have made an impact on Guillemard, for by September 1927,

he granted a certificate of naturalization to Shaikh Yahya.247

Were the Arabs racialized criminals as they were in the Netherlands East

Indies?248 Did the British colonial elite target the Arabs in Singapore as possible

agents of colonial unrest? A close eye was after all kept on the Arabs in colonial

Singapore precisely because they were perceived by the British to possess the

ability to influence the rest of the Muslim community. The British felt that the

Arab individuals could potentially pose a threat to the colonial project. However, it

244 CO 273/539, J.W. Harries, Sports Club, London, to Secretary of State for the Colonies, CO, 23rd May 1927. 245 Ibid. 246 Ibid. 247 CO 273/539, Laurence N. Guillemard, Government House, SS, Singapore to L.S. Amery, CO, 22nd September 1927; CO 273/546, Officer Administering the Government, Government House of the SS, Singapore, to L.S. Amery, CO, 22nd February 1928. 248 Tagliacozzo, Secret Trades, Porous Borders, p. 150.

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seems that the British did not intend to directly antagonize the Arabs in Singapore

at any time. Suspicions of the Arabs were confined to colonial intelligence reports.

The Arab community in Singapore was not regarded as an enemy, whose

movement should be restricted within the colony. Rather the British seemed keener

on viewing the Arab elite in Singapore as vital auxiliaries in the business of British

Empire.249 In other words, the British were eager to keep the Arabs as allies.

Regardless of their suspicions of certain Arab individuals, British attitude

generally remained amiable towards the Arab community in Singapore.

The process of indexing and mapping allowed the British to monitor the

shifting centers of the Muslim world. The British noted that there is a tendency for

anti-British Arabs in Java to look towards the Ottoman Sultan as their Khalifa,

while simultaneously denouncing the Sherif of Mecca who had turned against the

Ottoman ruler by becoming a steadfast British ally.250 This indicates a possible

remapping of the spiritual centre of Islam by some Arabs in Southeast Asia.

Simultaneously, the British were also intent on locating centers of power in the

Arab world in order to manipulate those in power to advance British rule or to

maintain British control in other parts of the Arab world.251 Through keen

observation, Captain W.H. Lee-Warner, the �Agent of His Majesty�s Government

at Mokalla�, realized that �although Aden is the geographically the diplomatic

centre of southern Arabia, Singapore and Java are the brain centres of the

249 Linda Colley states that Islamic powers during the eighteenth century were regarded as such by the British Empire. Linda Colley, Captives � Britain, Empires and the World, 1600-1850 (London: Jonathan Cape, 2002), p. 103. 250 IOR R/20/A/1409, W.N. Dunn, British Consul-General, Batavia to A.J. Balfour, FO, 10th July 1919. 251 Boxberger, �Hadhrami Politics 1888-1967�, p. 58.

75

Hadhrami political activity��252 In fact, the Hadhramis in Singapore took such a

keen interest in Hadhrami political affairs that the Second Hadhrami Peaceful

Conference was held in Singapore on 12th May 1928, and not Hadhramaut.253

Thus it was to British advantage to regard the Arab community in Singapore as

their allies, as the friendship would enable them to influence Hadhrami politics

through these Hadhramis.

Arabs and colonial law

Arabs and Indian Muslims in Singapore often utilised the law as a resource.

The number of law cases involving the two groups (as suitors or plaintiffs) were

disproportionate to their numbers within the colony. According to Jane F. Collier,

colonised people�s heavy use of courts had contradictory effects for the colonized

as well as the colonizers.254 Clearly reliance on a juridical system had become a

dominant strategy of protection for them within the colony. However, by often

resorting to colonial law courts to settle their disputes, it sets into motion a

relationship that sustained colonial power and defined them through legal

categories and procedures.

Arabs in Singapore actually utilized both British colonial law and Muslim

Shari�a law. From time to time, a request for a �fatwa� was made by members of

the Muslim community to a religious leader outside of Singapore. A �fatwa� is an

opinion on a particular topic from the point of view of Islamic Law, given by an

252 FO 371/5236, W.H. Lee-Warner, Singapore to the FO, 15th July 1920. 253 IOR R/20/A/3293, Government of Aden �Note on the Proceedings of a �Second Hadhrami Peaceful Conference� at Singapore on (12th) May 1928�, April 12th 1929. 254 Jane F. Collier, �Law, Social Contract Theory, and the Construction of Colonial Hierarchies�, in Austin Sarat and Bryant G. Garth, eds. How does Law Matter?: Fundamental Issues in Law and Society (Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1998), p. 175.

76

acknowledged expert, known as a �mufti.�255 During the 1880s, a slave-trader

based in Singapore requested for a �fatwa� from a Muslim scholar in Batavia.256 In

1905 a �fatwa� or legal advice of an Islamic scholar was sought in Cairo, after the

mufti in Singapore stated that the marriage between a �sharifa� from a Saiyid

family and an Indian Muslim was not legal.257 Another �fatwa� was requested from

a scholar in Hadhramaut on the matter of fees on money-changing services.258

The Arabs� recourse to Shari�a law certainly supports the case for a

reconfiguration of historical space in the study of the Arab community. The Arab

slave-trader in Singapore requested for Islamic legal advice from Batavia within

the Dutch colonial sphere. What was remarkable about the slave trade conducted

by the Arabs in Singapore, was that the British demonstrated tolerance and a

general reluctance to interfere in the affairs of the Arabs in this matter. The reason

behind this is not clear. Was it because the British recognized that the Arab was to

be subjected to Muslim law and not British law? Was it due to British

complacency in enforcing colonial law in Singapore? One thing that is clear is that

the centre of legal authority for the Arabs in Singapore did not lie solely with the

British, each time a fatwa was sought from a Muslim scholar. The Arabs inhabited

an autonomous Muslim space in an ambiguous legal situation under British

colonial rule.

255 Nico J.G. Kaptein, �Introduction to Theme Issue: Fatwas In Indonesia�, Islamic Law and Society 12,1 (2005), p. 1. 256 Georg Stauth, �Slave Trade, Multicultralism and Islam in Colonial Singapore: A Sociological Note on Christian Snouck Hurgronje�s 1891 Article on Slave Trade in Singapore�, Southeast Asian Journal of Social Sciences 20, 1 (1992), p. 68. 257 Bujra, The Politics of Stratification, p. 94. 258 Serjeant, �The Hadrami Network�, p. 151.

77

At the same time, certain Arabs in Singapore were very willing to engage

the services of English lawyers, and this was known to appease the British colonial

government when it came to certain disputes such as the employment of Javanese

labour at the Kukub (Cocob) Island in Johor.259 Most of these Javanese labourers

were �Haj� pilgrims who had to pay off their debt to the Arab for having traveled to

Mecca on his �Haj� pilgrimage at his expense. Her Majesty�s Consul to Jeddah

Arthur Alban claimed that the deal was unfair to the Javanese pilgrim who often

did not manage to free himself from his bonds to the Arab employers even after the

maximum period of servitude stated in their contracts.260 Despite this allegation,

historian Edwin Lee emphasized that Syed Mohamed Alsagoff maintained a warm

relationship with British colonial officers. Edwin Lee states that the British

government did not view the special tie between the Javanese and the Arabs with

any alarm, precisely because these Arabs were known to retain English lawyers,

and respect the law, apart from being a good influence on the Javanese (and

Malays) in Singapore.261 Syed Mohamed Alsagoff�s lawyers in Singapore were

Messrs. Donaldson and Burkinshaw.262 A letter, dated March 1st 1923 which stated

that Syed Mohammed Alsagoff was granted land concessions in Johor in 1878 and

1884 came from B.R. Whitehouse and was handed over to the law firm of Drew

and Napier.263 By willingly working within the British colonial system in the

colony to the extent of hiring English lawyers, these Arabs played a part in

259 Lee, The British as Rulers Governing Multiracial Singapore, p. 167. 260 Ibid. 261 Pearson, People of Early Singapore, p. 167. 262 Saadiah, �Kegiatan Keluarga Alsagoff Dalam Ekonomi Negeri Johor�, p. 67. 263 Ibid., p. 55.

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ensuring that the colonial structure was maintained, even reinforced, creating a

situation which clearly favoured the colonial power in charge.

Arabs in Hadhramaut frequently granted their kin residing in Singapore the

Power of Attorney. By granting the Power of Attorney to a person living in

Singapore the Arabs in Hadhramaut formed extremely enduring and stable links

with their kin in Singapore which transcended geographical boundaries. Power of

Attorney was for example transferred from five members of the Alkaff family

based in Tarim in Hadhramaut to Syed Alawi bin Abubakar bin Ahmed Alkaff in

Singapore as executors of the will of Sharifa Mariam binte Abdul Rahman

Alhinduan on 21st April 1919.264 In this way, the British were made very much

aware of the Arab�s landholdings. Wealthy Arabs in Singapore often made wills,

detailing to whom they bequeathed their property and money to after their death.

By utilizing British law to conduct their business, and financial matters, the Arabs

opened up channels of surveillance for the British to keep tabs on their financial

assets, and money flow.

Requests made by Arab individuals for �fatwas� underpinned the diasporic

notions which transcends physical boundaries, linking them to a larger Muslim

community. This could have potentially isolated them from the social environment

in colonial Singapore. Simultaneously however, Arab usage of British colonial law

indicated a strong desire to continue working within the British colonial

framework. Certainly, this desire manifested itself noticeably within the social

environment of cosmopolitan Singapore.

264 Shaik Awad Saidan before the Rotary Public of Singapore, John Koh Collection, National Museum of Singapore, 2000-05711-01, 7th July 1919.

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Chapter Three

Interactions between the Arab Elite and the British in Cosmopolitan

Singapore

Arabs in the world of sociability in cosmopolitan Singapore

According to British historians Christopher Bayly and Timothy Harper, the

�new world� of Singapore in the 1930s was the first truly global city of the

twentieth century, being a hub of communications and infinite ethnic fractions with

Arabs, Armenians, Jews, Parsis, White Russians, and Japanese residents.265 In fact,

when an Arab from Singapore Syed Esa Almenoar went to London in 1936, he

admitted that he did not feel particularly anxious as he had been in contact with the

international world just by being in Singapore.266 Bayly and Harper emphasized

that these communities contributed to Singapore�s general obsession with

technology and consumption in a city built especially for trade and pleasure. As a

result, these groups of people were highly visible in cosmopolitan Singapore

compared to other ethnic groups.267

Cosmopolitan Singapore led to the emergence of a world of sociability

freely inhabited by the different groups, including the British colonial elite. In his

salient article �Globalism and the Pursuit of Authenticity�, Timothy Harper argues

that the world of sociability within a colony was defined by conversation, letters

and a vocal public opinion. Such a world thrived in the spheres of education,

265 Christopher Bayly and Timothy Harper, Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia 1941-1945 (London: Allen Lane, 2004), p. 51. 266 Syed Isa Almenoar, NAS, Oral History Centre, A000321, recorded 24th August 1982, transcript of interview with Syed Isa Almenoar, p. 36. 267 The city brought unprecedented new contact amongst different communities, usually newcomers to Singapore, through the emergence of a mixed labouring world. Bayly and Harper, The Fall of British Asia, pp. 52-53.

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culture, charity and welfare. It had a tendency to undermine the exclusivity of the

core social institution. Simultaneously however, the world of sociability enabled

the colonial power to gain allies amongst subject populations. Having such allies

would enable the colonial government to strengthen and validate colonial rule.268

The world of sociability in cosmopolitan Singapore was the crucible in

which relations between the Arabs and the British in Singapore took shape during

the early twentieth century. How exactly did this �mixing� affect British colonial

perceptions of the Arab community? Did the Arabs manage to influence British

opinion of their community, perhaps even able to persuade the British to pursue a

certain policy in Hadhramaut? Or did this social world function primarily as a site

of surveillance for the British to keep a close eye on the Arab community in

Singapore?

In the study of the Arab community in Singapore, much more light has

been shed on their mercantile activities within the Malay Archipelago, while their

social interaction with other non-Malay communities in the region have been

neglected as the subject of study. Of course, the commercial sphere and the social

sphere were closely intertwined and often inseparable. After all, the Arab elite�s

mercantile activities formed the key to establishing useful contact with the British

colonial power in the first place. Not surprisingly, Van den Berg associated the

social position of the Arabs in Singapore with their economic affluence within the

colony.269 Based on colonial reports, it was the wealthy upper strata of the Arab

community, known as the Arab elite in colonial Singapore, who socialized

268 Harper, �Globalism and the Pursuit of Authenticity in Singapore�, p. 273. 269 Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, pp. 130-131.

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considerably with the British colonial officers. This �top-notch elite� that Edwin

Lee identifies is defined by their economic affluence within Singapore till the early

part of the twentieth century at least. This would include the Alsagoff family, the

Alkaffs, and the Aljunieds.270

Mary Turnbull writes that Arabs in Singapore lived in European style and

in fact drew away from the mass of the Muslim community.271 They lived in

mansions with a wide array of Victorian, Parisian and Italian influence.272

Generally, they were well-traveled and well-connected. For example, a wealthy

flamboyant Arab named Syed Mohamed bin Ahmad Alsagoff traveled frequently

to Europe, Jeddah and other places.273 By leading a cosmopolitan lifestyle along

with the colonial ruling elite, the Arab elite in Singapore blurred the line between

the worldly colonizer and the colonized population supposedly contained within

the colony.

Arab philanthropy in cosmopolitan Singapore

Their acts of philanthropy helped to greatly expand the Arabs� world of

sociability in Singapore. From 1924 to about 1936, a contemporary account

mentioned that during almost every lunch or dinner, the table in the home of the

Syed Abdul Rahman Alkaff has about 10 to 20 people, as he had many visitors

270 Lee does not consider the Bin Talibs prominent enough but Ulrike Freitag thinks they should be added to the list of prominent Arab families in Singapore who formed the economic elite of the Arab community. Lee, The British as Rulers Governing Multi-Racial Singapore, p. 269; Freitag, �Arab Merchants in Singapore�, p. 109. 271 Turnbull, A History of Singapore, pp. 143-144. 272 Stauth, �Slave Trade, Multicultralism and Islam in Colonial Singapore�, p. 72. 273 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 565.

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coming to meet him during the course of the day due to his generosity.274 In his

article, �From Tribute to Philanthropy: The Politics of Gift Giving in a Western

Indian City�, Douglas Haynes writes:

Engagement in philanthropy was also a path to the

attainment of honors from the administration and to a

certain degree of solidarity with British officials. The

government acknowledged generous gifts by

erecting plaques on public buildings, by holding

ceremonies attended by leading local and provincial

officials to open new structures, and by reserving

special places for donors at the annual durbar held in

the city square. Philanthropists generally found

themselves invited to the occasional �at-home�

parties held in the collector�s residence. Finally, the

empire held out its greatest rewards, the possibility

of a title to those with histories of extensive

contributions to public causes. As in the past, the

public acknowledgement of such illustrious

associations with the ruler did much to raise the

recipient�s local reputation.�275

Members of the Arab elite in Singapore actively participated in the social

events organized by the wealthy members of colonial society in Singapore. In

274 Rajabali Jumabhoy, NAS, Oral History Center, A000074, 24 June 1981, transcript of interview with Rajabali Jumabhoy, p. 170. 275 Douglas Haynes, �From Tribute to Philantrophy: The Politics of Gift Giving in a Western Indian City�, Journal of Asian Studies 46, 2 (May 1987), p. 351.

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1848, for example, prominent members of the Arab community were invited to the

anniversary of Her Majesty�s birthday in Singapore organized by the British.276

The Arabs organized parties at their homes as well. The Rotary Bulletin in 1919

gave due credit to the members of the Arab community for organizing a sumptuous

dinner to mark the celebration of Singapore�s centenary. It was the biggest party

compared to the ones held by other communities.277

The Alsagoff family, known as �the merchant prince family of the Arabs�

had a bungalow in Bukit Tunggal bordered by Thomson Road and Chancery Lane.

The head of the household, Syed Omar Alsagoff had a small lake within the

grounds, with a small launch for cruising by invited dinner or lunch guests.278 His

entertainment style was so lavish that it was observed that he served dinner on

gold-plated plates. Syed Omar�s son, Syed Ibrahim also carried on with this

tradition of entertaining guests, according to Rajabali Jumabhoy a frequent visitor

to the home of the Alsagoffs.279

As a consequence of his active participation in the social cosmopolitan

world in Singapore, Syed Omar Alsagoff counted amongst his �personal� friends,

prominent members of the British ruling class - the Governor of the Straits

Settlements, the High Commissioner of the Federated Malay States and Major

General Henry Ridout, the General Officer of Commanding Troops in Malaya.

Apparently, Syed Omar Alsagoff actively sought company with either powerful

276 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 100. 277 Rotary Bulletin of 1919 cited in Ameen Ali Talib, Helmi Talib and Khaled Talib, Arabs in Singapore � A Vision for the Future (n.p, August 1992), p. 1. 278 Syed Omar Alsagoff stayed in a �princely style� in this home at Bukit Tunggal. Rajabali Jumabhoy, interview transcript, p. 170. 279 Ibid.

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British men in Singapore, Straits Settlements and Malaya, or non-British men who

were in extremely good favour with the British.280 For example, he was on very

friendly terms with Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor and his son Ibrahim who were well-

known figures in Singapore society.281 Abu Bakar lived on Tyersall Avenue in

�fashionable Tanglin,�282 near other European bungalows. Mary Turnbull points

out that the Sultan of Johor associated mainly with the Europeans as well as the

wealthy Chinese, and precisely because of that, he was �a man much petted and

decorated by the British Government for unswerving fidelity to British

interests.�283

Unexpected Arab-British alliances

One of the earliest mentions of a social relationship between the British and

the Arabs in Singapore is between an Arab and a British man known as Henry

Stanley who refused the society of Europeans. Rather intriguingly, Henry Stanley

chose to dress like a Muslim (�Mohamedan�) in Singapore, thus making the natives

believe him to be one. In 1865, Stanley published a book criticizing Sir William

Jeffcott�s decision many years before to apportion some of the funds under a

Muslim�s will to the Free School in Penang and Raffles Institution in Singapore.284

Stanley was most likely referring to the will of Syed Hussain, the Arab merchant

from Penang who attacked Aceh in 1815. Upon his death, a part of Syed Hussain�s

280 These non-British men include Moona Kader Sultan, Justice of Peace and holder of the Croix de Guerre and Légion d�Honneur, who resided in Singapore and Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar, Judge of the Singapore District Court. 281 Mohammad Redzuan, �Hadhramis in the Politics and Administration of the Malay States�, pp. 89-90. 282 Turnbull, A History of Singapore, p. 100. 283 Ibid. 284 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 723.

85

wealth was to be dedicated to charitable purposes, such as through alms and

prayers. However, the Recorder of the Straits, Sir W. Norris ruled that the money

should be invested, and the interests be given in the form of annual grants to the

Penang Free School and the Raffles Institution in Singapore.285 Angered by this

decision, Syed Hussein�s younger son, Syed Abdulrahman bin Mahomed bil Fagi,

a well-respected Arab in the Muslim community, moved from Penang to

Singapore, never again to return there, although he never stopped feeling a keen

sense of injustice at the court�s decision.

This strange alliance between an Arab and a Briton in condemning a

decision made by a British court judge reveals the complexity of Arab-British

relations. Arab-British relations need not occur only amongst those known as the

�elite� in society. The Arab in question, who might have been Syed Abdulrahman

bil Fagi, kept a relatively low profile in Singapore. Bilfagi was certainly not one of

the Arab elite in Singapore, as defined by the British colonial power. As Stanley

also refused the company of Europeans in Singapore, both personalities did not

feature prominently in social life amongst the colonial elite in Singapore.

Conventionally however, it was the Arab elite who socialized with the

British. Complexity within the social setting in a colony is nowhere more evident

than in the mixing of the British and a non-European population in the public

sphere. As a result of this interaction, racial hierarchies within the colonial society

which privileged the European colonial officer over the subject population, were

sometimes undermined and made ambivalent. Traditional hierarchies were

definitely overturned to some extent by some Arab men who married European

285 Ibid., p. 714.

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women.286 There was for example an Arab named Syed Zainulabidin bin

Mohamed bin Ahmad Alsagoff who married an English girl in England in 1921,

who later left him. He then married another English girl in 1926.287 Nonetheless,

marriage to European women was not completely tolerated by the Arab

community in Singapore. Some Arabs were very worried that their children who

were sent abroad to study will end up marrying European girls. An Arab from

Singapore, Syed Esa Almenoar confessed that this mother made him promise that

he would not bring home a European wife after studying law in London.288

Evidently, such marriages happened often enough to cause a degree of

alarm amongst certain members of the Arab community who were less likely to

send their sons to England thereafter. In fact, Syed Esa Almenoar states that Arab

children in the 1920s were more inclined to attend Arab schools, because

furthering one�s education in a place like England was considered somewhat

�taboo� as the Arabs feared their children would marry European women or

convert to Christianity.289 Even the stories of non-Arabs from Singapore who

marry European women were enough to discourage Arabs from sending their

children there. Syed Esa Almenoar, on the other hand, insists that his father was

not as narrow-minded as these Arabs, and in fact strongly encouraged him to

286 Turnbull did not provide details of these marriages. Turnbull, A History of Singapore, pp. 143-144. 287 CO 273/561/16, R. Onraet, Director of the Criminal Intelligence Department, SS to FO, 31st August 1928. 288 Isa Almenoar, interview transcript, pp. 11, 31. 289 From the perspective of Arabs in Singapore, there were many disadvantages in sending Arab children to study in London. Some of these Arabs �enjoyed themselves too much,� by being spendthrift neglecting their studies. Two or three Arabs �enjoyed themselves so much, gambling and other things and the whole of Singapore came to know.� Almenoar specifically stated that two Arabs died because of �overenjoyment.� This discouraged other Arabs from sending their children to England. They were more likely to go to Egypt to further their studies after attending Arab schools in Singapore. Ibid, pp. 10, 11.

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pursue the study of law in England. Interestingly, the reason he gave for his

father�s open attitude towards studying abroad in Europe was that he was educated

in Singapore.290

Education

Nonetheless, members of the Arab elite in Singapore continued to find the

prospect of a Western or European education rather attractive because it provided

an effective entry point into European society. Van den Berg observed that the

Arabs in Singapore appreciated the advantages of a European education more than

their counterparts in the Netherlands East Indies, as he found that there were more

Arab students in the English schools in Singapore than in the Dutch schools in the

Netherlands East Indies.291 In actual fact however, certain conservative elements in

Singapore still frowned upon a Western education.292

Syed Mohamed bin Syed Omar Alsagoff (1889-1931) on the other hand is

a clear representative of the cosmopolitan Arab who greatly benefited from a

European education. From 1908 to 1910, he attended Cambridge University

(Christ�s College) in England. An education abroad in Europe broadened one�s

circle of friends in Europe. In fact, Syed Mohamed had a circle of European

friends to whom he was known as Billy Alsagoff.293 He was so successful in

straddling both Singapore and European society that it was said that he managed to

290 Ibid., p. 11. 291 Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, p. 130. 292 Freitag, �Arab Merchants in Singapore�, p. 133. 293 Alsagoff, The Alsagoff Family in Malaysia, p. 19.

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gain celebrity status in both Singapore and Europe.294 It certainly helped that he

was proficient in four European languages - French, Italian German and Spanish

besides Arabic. In Singapore, he showed that he was well-versed in various matters

of arts, sports, business and society.295 His European education had provided a

leveling ground for him to socialize with the Europeans.

There was another Arab who was a member of the Communal Council,

Van den Berg wrote in 1886. Van den Berg also mentioned a �special circle of

about 30 members,� some of whom were Arabs. Only the most respected (�les plus

considérés�) and learned people were granted admission into this special circle.296

At the same time, there was some form of debating society that was in vogue at the

time, in which both Arabs and Englishmen were members. Thus a Western

education definitely formed one avenue through which Arabs could socialize with

European society.

The British on the other hand saw an English education as an opportunity

to eradicate anti-British sentiments amongst the Arabs. Henri Onraet reported that

an Arab named Syed Zainulabidin Alsagoff, was put under the care of an English

tutor and �soon lost any anti-British feelings he might have had.�297 In 1917, a

British Indian agent called �D� stationed in Java reported that many Arabs in Java

expressed a strong desire to learn English, and he perceived that this desire

294 �The Enterprising Alsagoffs of Singapore: Men of Property�, in Singapore Days of Old, A Special Commemorative History of Singapore Published on the 10th Anniversary of Singapore Tatler (Hong Kong: Illustrated Magazine Pub. 1992), p. 15. 295 Ibid. 296 Van den Berg, Le Hadhramout et Les Colonies Arabes, p. 130. 297 CO 273/561, R. Onraet, Director of Criminal Intelligence Division, SS to FO, 31st August 1928.

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amounted to some kind of �mania� amongst the Arabs.298 The Arabs asked British

Agent �D� if �Mohammedan colleges� in India can admit them for education or if

the big factories in India could allow their sons to work there. The Arabs in Java

wished to learn English for pragmatic reasons as they thought that �English is most

essential nowadays for the purposes of trade business.� 299 Once again the Arab

community in the Indo-Malay Archipelago seemed to be motivated by commercial

benefits in pursuing a course of education, a clue as to why some wealthy Arab

merchants had steadfastly allied themselves with the British in Singapore. The

British Consulate in Batavia recognized that this �Anglo-mania� emerged due to

Arab recognition of the current political climate in 1917. Matters were not faring

well with Germany and that the British still dominated world commerce which

caused �some of the wise Arabs are causing their sons to learn English.�300 The

British were quick to recognize that this formed a good opportunity to increase

their propaganda and convince the Arabs that Great Britain � not Germany or

Turkey � was the actual protector of Islam.301

Indeed British Indian Agent �D� recognized this and judiciously suggested

to his British superior that the Arabs should be encouraged to learn English in

Muslim colleges in India. He foresaw that these Arabs

�will imbibe the British civilization, will adopt

English manners, shall realize the difference between

298 IOR/L/PS/10/629, W.N. Dunn, British Consulate General to FO, �Extracts from diary for September 1917 Part II�, 30th September 1917. 299 Ibid. 300 IOR L/PS/10/629, W.R.D. Beckett, British Consulate General Batavia to FO, �Copy Secret No. 275�, 6th September 1917 301 Ibid.

90

Dutch selfishness and English liberality and

generosity, when these men will return from India

they will bring with them good wishes for English

people and communicate it to their fathers and

family here.�

Not only that, agent �D� reminded the British that the whole of the Muslim

population of the world was at the time under British protection, or at least under

British influence.302 Agent �D� added that �once the Arabs of Java or even the

whole of the Dutch East Indies are �Britainized� there is not the least doubt some

wonderful result will follow,� as members of the Arab community were the most

prominent Muslims in the Netherlands East Indies. An English education, as

shown by agent D�s optimistic vision of Empire, was capable of transforming the

mindset of anti-British Arabs.

Employment of Europeans in Arab businesses

Arab contact with Europeans occurred through the running of Arab

businesses, though historical evidence is so far too scant to shed useful light on

Europeans in subordinate positions working for Arab employers. In his book The

Shadow-Line, Joseph Conrad described Syed Mohsen, a real-life Arab who

employed white men in his shipping business, including a Captain Vincent who led

the first ship owned by Syed Muhsin - the steamship Vidar.303 Syed Hussin, an

302 India, Afghanistan, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, Sudan and others recognized British protection. 303 Sherry, ��Rajah Laut�: A Quest for Conrad�s Source�, p. 35.

91

Arab merchant from Penang who attacked Aceh in 1815 also employed Europeans

to man his ships.304

During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Alsagoffs hired an

English manager to run their Perseverance Estate where lemon grass was

cultivated.305 The Alkaff family on the other hand hired Europeans to run Hotel de

l�Europe. In an interview, a member of the Alkaff family admitted that �definitely

the manager and all the managerial staff were all expats,� and that �they might be

Europeans.�306 It was frequently patronized by European travellers, and it could

have been a site of interaction for Arab owners and the Europeans.307 Syed Omar

Alsagoff also received European visitors at Raffles Hotel which he owned.308 Far

from being out of the limelight, their businesses enabled them to come into contact

with other Europeans within Singapore.

British perception of the Arab in cosmopolitan Singapore

These efforts of the Arab community to maintain excellent relations with

the British and European communities were duly appreciated. The British and

other European members of society highly valued the ease with which certain

Arabs mixed with them, and placed much importance on both the economic and

social aspects of their relationship with the Arab community. One of the earliest

writings by a European concerning an Arab in Singapore is that of a Scotsman,

304 John Anderson, Acheen and The Ports on The North and East Coasts of Sumatra (London: Wm. H. Allen & Co.), p. 58. 305 Geylang Serai: Down Memory Lane, p. 19. 306 Alwee Alkaff, interview transcript, p. 13. 307 Awad bin Diab, interview transcript, p. 21. 308 Freitag, �Arab Merchants in Singapore�, p. 133.

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quoted by Harold Pearson. The Scots merchant wrote in his diary after the death of

Syed Mohammed Aljunied on 22nd February 1824 �

�This forenoon, died Syed Mohammed (Aljunied), a

much-respected Arab merchant, whose death is

greatly lamented both by natives and Europeans. He

was a man of great honesty, and fair and open in his

transactions with all classes. He is supposed to have

left considerable property.�309

A British colonial officer wrote of another Arab, Syed Mohamed Alsagoff,

ship-owner and proprietor in Singapore and Johor �

�He is now a very wealthy man, and although much

younger than many rich Arabs in this place, is looked

up to by all. He has the character of being open-

handed, and ever since his father�s death, he and his

family have given public feasts in the mosque every

Friday� My experience of Syed Mohamed Alsagoff

is that, although a strict Mohamedan, he is liberal in

his views and is certainly not fanatical, mixes freely

with Europeans, and amongst them is, probably the

best known Arab in the place. He was during the

year 1883, a member of the Municipal Board of

Commissioners.�310

309 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 156; Pearson. People of Early Singapore, p. 95. 310 Lee, The British as Rulers Governing Multiracial Singapore, p. 165.

93

In his novel The Shadow-Line, the author Joseph Conrad wrote about a real

Arab shipping merchant named Syed Mohsen Aljufri in Singapore who was �the

head of a great House of Straits Arabs, but as loyal a subject of the complex British

Empire as you could find east of the Suez Canal.�311 Evidently, the owner of

several large trading vessels and some steamers, who died in May 1894, was well

known and well liked by many Europeans.312 In fact, in striking contrast to Raffles,

Norman Sherry, a scholar of Joseph Conrad emphasizes that the Syeds (Arabs who

could directly trace their lineage to the Prophet Muhammad) were loyal subjects of

the British and had provided them with peaceful conditions in which they could

trade.313

Arabs in Singapore and their links with Hadhramaut

The world of sociability inhabited by the Arab elite and the British in

Singapore was delineated in the colonial records within the framework of British

political relations with Hadhramaut, the land of origin of the majority of the Arabs

in Singapore. Social relations between the Arabs and the British in Singapore often

directly hinged upon political affairs in Hadhramaut. After all, Hadhramaut had

fallen under limited British influence in 1839 when Aden has been occupied by the

British. The British recognized the Qu�ayti Sultan as the ruler of Hadhramaut. The

British proceeded to tighten their hold over Aden in 1888, when a British

protectorate was set up there. The Arab elite in Singapore was particularly keen to

311 Charles Buckley spells his name as Syed Massim bin Salleh Al Jeoffrie. By the time of his death in 1894, he was blind and his business was declining. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 565; Conrad, The Shadow-Line, p. 3. 312 Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, p. 565. 313 Sherry, �Conrad and the S.S. Vidar�, p. 160.

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court an audience with British colonial officers especially after the British started

to intervene actively in Hadhramaut affairs for the first time in 1934.314 This

spurred them to welcome to Singapore the First Political Officer for the Aden

Protectorate, William H. Ingrams, one of the main architects for increasing direct

British involvement in Hadhramaut.315 The Qu�aiti and Kathiri Sultans in

Hadhramaut elected Ingrams as the Resident Adviser who had to be consulted �in

all matters except those concerning Muhammadan religion and custom.�316

Their willingness to engage in a dialogue with Ingrams points towards a

general recognition of British influence in Hadhrami political affairs, which had

come securely under British purview in recent years, especially after Ingrams had

facilitated the signing of the Hadhramaut peace treaty which recognised the

political fragmentation in the town of Hadhramaut. The fact that Hadhramis in

Singapore were still very concerned about political affairs in Hadhramaut strongly

suggests that they continued to look towards the region in southern Arabia as their

home in the 1930s. They remained part of a larger global diasporic community,

being very much involved in their homeland. It is extremely remarkable how

Singapore, a British colony in Southeast Asia, formed the site for highly political

discussions and negotiations on a region about 7000 kilometres across the Indian

Ocean.

314 Until 1934, the British seemed to be merely interested in keeping out other foreign powers from Hadhramaut. Mobini-Kesheh, The Hadhrami Awakening, p. 20. 315 Freitag, Indian Ocean Migrants and State Formation in Hadhramaut, p. 21. 316 William H. Ingrams (1897-1973) served as Political Officer in Aden, and British Resident Adviser at Mukalla (later the Eastern Aden Protectorate), and as Acting Governor, and Chief Secretary in Aden. W.H. Ingrams, �Political Development in the Hadhramaut,� International Affairs 21,2 (April 1945), p. 237.

95

In matters concerning Hadhramaut, the British were indeed very willing to

seek the help of Hadhramis in Singapore. In this way, the continued classification

of the Arabs as a distinct community, separate from the native Malays could have

been reinforced by their function as British allies in controlling Hadhramaut which

was within the British sphere of influence. Ingrams confidently referred to the

Hadhramis in Singapore in terms of their importance to Hadhramaut in 1939 and

rarely alluded to them within the context of the Malay community. He even

expected the Hadhramis in Singapore to take political affairs in Hadhramaut very

seriously. He criticized the younger generation of Hadhramis in Singapore for

taking more interest in local social life than in business. �They are more interested

in merry making than in money making and do not possess much character nor

love for their country of origin,� he complained.317 As a British colonial official

based in the Aden Protectorate, Ingrams� perspective obviously stemmed from the

concerns of British colonial interests in south Arabia.

Ingrams� visit to Singapore

It was clear that the Arabs who welcomed Ingrams to Singapore settled into

their roles comfortably as hosts to a British guest because they had been playing

host to other Europeans prior to Ingrams. During the 1830s, G.W. Earl, a British

colonial official visited Seyed (Syed) Hassan, a rich Arab merchant and ship-

owner, who lived in the town of Sourabaya in Java. Earl was received in a room

furnished in the European style, which he recognised to be �exclusively

317 Ingrams, A Report on the Social, Economic and Political Condition of the Hadhramaut, p. 150.

96

appropriate for the reception of European visitors.�.318 Apparently the Arab

merchant entertained Europeans often enough for him to furnish a room in

European style.

As part of his tour to Malaya, Java and Hydrebad in 1939, W.H. Ingrams

came to Singapore specifically to speak with members of the Hadhrami

community in the British colony. In this case, we see that the colonial vocabularies

and methods of control for handling the affairs of a particular colonized race were

developed in the colonies (Singapore and Hadhramaut), rather than the metropole,

London.319 The whole exercise seemed to be an anticipatory move, a tactic to

deflect future Hadhrami dissent, demonstrating that the British recognized that

diasporic communities had the potential to continuously shape and reshape the

terrain of contestation for the colonial power. Frederick Cooper correctly points

out that collaborators and allies of colonial regimes, or people simply trying to

make their way within empire are indeed capable of changing the way the colonial

rulers acted.320

Ingrams� detailed reports on his dealings with the Hadhrami community

were mainly organised into categories of warm friendly reception, or cold

responses which often led to interviews with the Arabs who were not convinced

that the British had good intentions in Hadhramaut. In other words, interviews

were deemed to be corrective measures to change anti-British opinions held by

certain individuals of Hadhrami origin. From the beginning, Ingrams was aware

318 Earl, The Eastern Seas, pp. 67-68. 319 Frederick Cooper, Colonialism in Question � Theory, Knowledge, History (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005), p. 15. 320 Ibid., p. 25.

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that �the more people who hear something direct form the horse�s mouth the better

as there is less likelihood of garbled versions going the rounds.� Ingrams reported

that at the lunch party on 21st July 1939, he was asked �innumerable questions�

and he thought �it went far to clear up doubts based always on lying reports in the

papers.� He confidently asserted that:

�The open door resulted in a number of interviews

with people of varying importance and the

interesting discovery that in fact there had been

proposals to boycott my visit. I apparently succeeded

in convincing most people that I was a fairly

reasonable person and in establishing confidence

with and converting others.�321

Thus, social gatherings in this case formed a very useful site for

communication and exchange of information for both the colonial administrator

and the colonized subject. In such a relaxed and informal atmosphere, Ingrams

managed to create an open environment in which he could answer queries and

dispel negative rumours of British policies in Hadhramaut in the process. At the

same time, he also gained much information about Hadhramis in Malaya and

Singapore after socialising with members of the community. For example, after

talking to Saiyid Alwi bin Tahir al Haddad, the Mufti of Johore, Ingrams admitted

that he found his conversation with him �interesting and useful as he had the

321 IOR/R/C/1066, W.H. Ingrams to Political Resident Aden, �Report on a Tour to Malaya, Java and Hydrebad; 10th April 1940.

98

experience of living in a State Government in Malaya, and as an active member of

Hadrami society in Singapore, he knew well the conditions of the country.�322

Ingrams spoke very warmly of his Arab hosts whose efforts to make his

stay more comfortable were highly appreciated.

�We arrived at Singapore in the early morning of

Sunday the 16th July and were met by Sheikh Yahya

Afifi J.P. and Saiyid Muhammad bin Hussein Al Kaf

who drove us to the Al Kaf house at Mount

Washington which was kindly placed at our disposal

together with a car.�323

He stayed by invitation of Saiyids Abdul Rahman and Bubakr in the Al Kaf

(Alkaff) house in Mount Washington.324 According to Ingrams, four �large parties�

were held in his honour. A lunch party was held on 21st July 1939 by Saiyid

Ibrahim Al Saqqaf attended by attended by �more than a dozen Arabs of varying

importance and including Saiyid Alawi bin Tahir al Haddad the mufti of Johore.�

On 27th July, Saiyid Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Yahya, the President of the Arab Club

gave a tea party for Ingrams with about a hundred guests in attendance. The same

night, a buffet supper was held in his honour. Ingrams noted that it was mostly

attended by Europeans but some Arabs and leading Malays, such as the Prime

Minister of Johore were also present. The next day, another tea party was given by

the Al Kafs attended by 90 to 100 guests.

322 Ibid. 323 Ibid. 324 Ibid.

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Naturally, Ingrams� hosts were the ones who managed to have private

discussions with him. On 19th July, Ingrams dined privately with Saiyid Ibrahim in

�European style,� The other guests were the Trade Commisioner Mr. Wilmot, his

wife, as well as Lt. Col. McPherson. On 26th July, Ingrams had tea with Saiyid

Ibrahim Al Saqqaf to discuss Hadhrami affairs and he mentions that his wife had

tea with the ladies. In a footnote in his report, Ingrams added that his wife met

many of the Arab ladies in Singapore. 325

During his visit to Singapore, Ingrams admitted that he was rather startled

to see alcoholic drinks being served during a lunch party held by Saiyid Ibrahim Al

Saqqaf. Saiyid Ibrahim told him later he had kept up the custom of his father on

this matter when entertaining Europeans.326 This suggests that Saiyid Ibrahim�s

family already had frequent contact with Europeans prior to this meeting, and that

a European style of dining was most probably adopted whenever a function was

held with Europeans present or in honour of one of them, as in the case here.

Descriptions of the �European style� are wanting, but it was apparently adopted to

the extent of serving alcoholic drinks, which is supposed to be for the sake of the

Europeans present, as implied in the reply given by Saiyid Ibrahim Alsagoff to

Ingrams.

In his report, Ingrams displayed an appreciation of the complimentary

addresses that he received from his gracious hosts. �I was the recipient of a

congratulatory address for which the Al Kafs were responsible,� he noted at one

325 Ibid. 326 IOR/R/20/C/1066, W.H. Ingrams, �Tour in Java: Arab Contacts in Malaya and Java, September 1939�, 10th April 1940. They also had tea with him on 26th July 1939 and discussed Hadhrami affairs and his wife had tea with the ladies. Mrs. Ingrams visited many of the Arab ladies in Singapore.

100

party. After tea Saiyid Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Yahya gave a welcoming address

and gave thanks for the peace in the Hadhramaut.327

However, Ingrams� visit also met with anti-British outbursts.

�A young man, Ahmed Ba Sharahil, sitting next to

the editor of As Salaam, then got up and read a long

address which was not at all well received as it was

full of abuse of the present policy and declared that

the Al Kafs were traitors and had sold the Hadramaut

to the British Government. I received several

apologies for his outburst. Saiyid �Ibrahim Al Saqqaf

replied in a careful speech giving the facts has he

now knew them��328

It is interesting to note that anti-British speeches were regarded as

anomalies, as �outburst(s)� to be controlled and suppressed. Based on his report,

Ingrams perceived that a certain amount of damage control was required after anti-

British tirades by so-called errant Arabs who supposedly misunderstood British

intentions in Hadhramaut. In general, Ingrams recorded that the Arabs in Malaya

and Singapore had a positive opinion of British presence in Hadhramaut.

From his report, it is apparent that Ingrams considered it extremely crucial

that the Hadhramis in Singapore were aware that the British actions were meant to

benefit their homeland Hadhramaut. Perhaps this explained why he stayed at a

327 IOR/R/C/1066, Resident Adviser of Makalla to Political Resident, Aden �Part IV � Tour in Java: Arab Contacts in Malaya and Java�, 10th April 1940. 328 IOR/R/C/1066, Resident Adviser of Makalla to Political Resident, Aden �Part IV � Tour in Java: Arab Contacts in Malaya and Java�, 10th April 1940.

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party and even gave a speech while suffering from a bout of malaria with a body

temperature of 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius), despite confessing

in his report that it was a great effort for him. He urged the Hadhramis to �pull

together for the good of the Hadhramaut, that Hadhramaut was for Hadhramis, not

for Jews or other foreigners,� and he emphasized the necessity of working instead

of talking all the time. His efforts paid off as he wrote in his report that

�Saiyid Alawi bin Tahir al Haddad the mufti of

Johore, who has also been partly a doubter before but

at a later occasion made a strong speech in my

favour which was of importance as he carries a good

deal of weight.�329

Ingrams� �open-door� policy indicates a sense of urgency in his desire to

convince the Arabs of British intentions. It was an exercise that was clearly

designed to win the hearts of the Arab community in Singapore. He made an effort

to socialize and discuss with the Hadhramis in Singapore in Arabic. Likewise his

Arab hosts tried their best to create the optimum social setting by quickly

smoothening over rough patches such as overtly anti-British talks given by certain

members of the Arab community. During Ingrams� visit to Singapore, the world of

sociability already comfortably inhabited by Arabs and British alike, was

transformed into a site of interaction between a powerful influential British

colonial officer and the Arab elite to further their own respective agendas in

Hadhramaut, which in this case seemed to have coincided. At the same time, his

Arab hosts had ample opportunity to communicate their positive feelings towards

329 Ibid.

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Ingrams who was thus convinced of their support for British policy within

Hadhramaut.

In this case, the world of sociability forms a valuable site of contestation

for both parties to effectively influence the opinion of the other. The colonial

officer was able to convey the positive intentions of the British while the Arabs

granted themselves the opportunity to display hospitality for the British. The

colonized subject had wrested some measure of control to construct his own

identity before the eyes of the colonizer. In this way, the world of sociability in

Singapore formed a level playing ground for both the British and the Arabs in

Singapore to interact and influence how the other community perceived them.

The desire of the Arab elite to be near the British in cosmopolitan

Singapore ironically facilitated British surveillance of the community as they

became highly visible to the colonial government. The interaction between the

Arab elite and the British through education, business activities and the informal

political discussions managed to allay British fears of anti-colonial Arab

movements amongst the Arabs in Singapore. Ironically it is the desire of the Arab

elite that made them more susceptible to colonial surveillance, which in turn made

them less of a threat to the British who were able to keep convenient tabs on them.

It is interesting to note that the full names of particular Arab individuals

were provided complete with their titles as Justices of Peace where applicable. For

example, Ingrams took pains to list the names of the Arabs who saw him off on his

voyage to Java as �Saiyid Muhammad Al Kaf, Saiyid Hussein Al Kaf, Sheikh

Yahya Afifi J.P. Saiyid Ibrahim Al Saqqaf J.P. Saiyid Abdulla bin Yahya, Saiyid

Abdul Wahid Jeilani, Sheikh Karama Baladram, Saiyid Ahmed Al Shatiri, and

103

Ahmed Ba Sharahil.�330 Such attention to detail reveals a keen desire to identify

the pro-British Arabs in Singapore, as if to categorically confirm whom the British

could trust.

Ingrams� visit proved that the British cautiously recognized the influence of

the Hadhramis in Singapore over Hadhramaut and made an effort to collaborate

with them, rather than attempt to supplant their authority. For the British,

collaboration, rather than marginalization was the prevailing mode of management

in Hadhramaut.331 Cannadine strongly posits that during the heyday of empire from

the late 1850s to the mid 1950s, two visions of empire continued to exist � one

based on colour, and another based on a shared recognition of social rank and

class.332 The individualistic, analogical way of thinking, based on the observation

of status similarities and the cultivation of affinities, was projected on colonial

societies abroad and determined British perceptions of the social order overseas.333

The British might have viewed the Arabs as a �subject race� but this view was

certainly tempered by what Cannadine calls �the notions of metropolitan-

peripheral analogy and sameness.�334

Similarly, British colonial rule in the Malay world was rather conservative.

The British kept Malay Sultans as figureheads in leadership roles in the Malay

peninsular. The historical imaginations and supposed genealogical inclinations of

the Arabs formed a powerful persistent force in maintaining the status quo in the

330 Ibid. 331 Cannadine points out how the ruling structures in Malaya was kept intact early on during the British colonial period in Malaya. Cannadine, Ornamentalism: How the British Saw Their Empire, pp. 58-59. 332 Ibid., p. 9. 333 Ibid., p. 8. 334 Ibid., p. 5.

104

British Straits Settlements as well. The Arab elite was considered by the British

colonial power as the leaders amongst the Muslims in Singapore, as they had been

in the Indo-Malay Archipelago before the founding of Singapore in 1819 by

Stamford Raffles. The British decided to preserve the ruling structure in the Malay

world by treating the Arab elite as allies in ruling over the Muslim community.

This would explain why prominent members of the Arab community were often

treated with shows of public respect at social gatherings within the colony. The

British felt they could rely on the Arabs and therefore showed a high degree of

comfort in interacting with them.

The Arabs in Singapore frequently rendered their services to the British

colonial Government in Hadhramaut as well, further reinforcing their position as

the steadfast allies of the British colonial power in more than one British territory

simultaneously. Serjeant notes that the notable Sayyid Sir Abu Bakar Al Kaf spent

the bulk of his fortune on welfare and the promotion of peace in Hadhramaut. At

the same time he also provided British Political Resident W.H. Ingrams with �wise

counsel.�335 However, not all Arabs were above suspicion just because they

offered to help the British colonial government. For example despite making

efforts to help the British government in Singapore, Shaikh Yahya Afifi still did

not gain the trust of Laurence Guillemard, the Governor of the Straits Settlements

in 1926. In fact, Guillemard warned that the Arabs� services for the British

government were �frequently adopted as a cloak to other designs.�336

335 Serjeant, �The Hadrami Network�, p. 149. 336 CO 273/534, Laurence Nunns Guillemard, SS Government House, Singapore to L.C.M.S. Amery CO, 26th October 1926.

105

Chapter Four

Conclusion

Arabs under different cloaks

British images of the Arab elite in colonial Singapore ranged from that of a

dangerous enemy in the form of the shrewd, unscrupulous, exploitative Arab

merchant under the cloak of piety in 1819, to that of being useful British allies in

governing Singapore and Hadhramaut by the 1930s, though such amity was still

sometimes perceived as a cloak to other designs. Hence, the British consistently

maintained a cautious stance when dealing with the Arab elite in Singapore

throughout the colonial period. Their attitudes changed according to the numerous

estimates and speculations made by British colonial officers who discussed these

Arabs through colonial correspondence. These colonial documents show that

British opinions of the Arabs were mixed and mutating rather than monolithic.

Throughout the colonial period of Singapore, no single particular aspect of Arab

identity in Singapore dominates British colonial discourse. Members of the Arab

elite were simultaneously perceived by the British as fanatical, liberal,

cosmopolitan, wealthy respectable merchants, highly opportunistic traders,

progressive press barons, trustworthy British allies and dishonest Muslims with

ulterior motives which could potentially undermine British colonial rule.

The Arab elite in colonial Singapore preferred to maintain a distinct

identity, separate from the Malays even though most of the Arabs were of mixed

descent, borne of Arab fathers and indigenous mothers. The British reinforced their

foreign identity through colonial classification of the Arabs under the category of

�Other nationalities� in the colonial census. As the British sought the help of the

106

Arabs in Singapore to expand their colonial influence in Hadhramaut in the 1930s,

the Arabs� links with their homeland were strengthened further. Thus Arab identity

in colonial Singapore was shaped by both the Arabs� own conception of their

identity as well as by British colonial perceptions of their society.

Financial motives

Arab motives and British colonial aims converged in the realm of

commerce. Both the British and the Arabs in Singapore were keen to reap as much

financial profit as possible in colonial Singapore. For that reason, Raffles

welcomed Arab merchants to Singapore even though he distrusted them as a race.

In order to protect their lucrative financial investments in Singapore, members of

the Arab mercantile elite were careful not to antagonize the British and instead

openly pledged their support for the British throughout the colonial period. In

order to maintain good relations, these Arabs willingly worked within the British

colonial framework by making use of British colonial law to run their businesses

legitimately.

On �mixing� in cosmopolitan Singapore

Cosmopolitan Singapore offered a leveling ground for the wealthy elite in

Singapore, be it the Chinese, Indians or Arabs, to mingle and socialize with the

British and other Europeans seemingly on equal social footing at social events.

This world of sociability was transformed into a site of negotiation between the

Arabs and the British who discussed Hadhrami affairs during the late 1930s within

this social setting of parties and dinners.

107

Historiography of Singapore produced during the postcolonial period tend

to refer to the Arabs as a discrete and static ethnic group, inhabiting a clearly

delimited territory known as Singapore, despite the fact that the Arabs in colonial

Singapore were highly mobile in the region and often travelled to neighbouring

port cities in the Indo-Malay Archipelago as well as to the Hijaz and Hadhramaut.

Strangely, scholars confined the location of the Arab community to Arab Street

and environs of Kampong Glam, even though their property and social life

extended far beyond that location. Perhaps this fixing of ethnic communities could

be avoided by studying how the different ethnic communities actually mixed in

cosmopolitan Singapore. In examining the heavy Arab involvement in the trade of

Chinese girls and boys in Singapore during the 1880s, Georg Stauth hints at the

possible discomfort of scholars of Singapore in studying multicultural relations in

the form of a �Muslim honorable and a Chinese slave� in Singapore.337 Instead the

historiography of Singapore has portrayed a neat montage of different ethnic

communities who coexist harmoniously in a plural society but never truly mixing.

Other sources which may highlight the social world of the British and the

Arabs in cosmopolitan Singapore are documents produced by institutions such as

the Anglo-Chinese school, the Legislative Council, racing clubs,338 and the Journal

of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.339 A few Arabs such as Awad

Ben Diab joined a club for stamp collectors and befriended Chinese, Germans,

337 Stauth, �Slave Trade, Multicultralism and Islam in Colonial Singapore�, p. 69. 338 Ulrike Freitag, private correspondence, 31st January 2005. 339 List of members, Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, (1878-1894).

108

Italians and other Europeans.340 These interactions form exciting potential

historical sources for the social history of Singapore.

Limitations of colonial boundaries in the study of diaporas

Studying the Arab community in one particular location does not yield

much knowledge about the workings of a diaspora whose presence transcended

geographical boundaries and colonial territories. The British colonial governments

of the Aden Protectorate and Singapore collaborated extensively to determine

policies which affected Arabs in both places. Ann Stoler and Frederick Cooper

pertinently question to what extent and by what processes the knowledge of

individual empires has become a collective imperial knowledge, shared among

colonizing powers.341 The Dutch and the British definitely exchanged intelligence

on the Arab community within their respective colonial spheres of influence in the

Indo-Malay Archipelago. Engseng Ho rightly questions the validity of

geographical boundaries such as �colonial spheres of influence� in the study of the

Arab community.342 The Arab community was never rooted to one particular

location and often moved in the watery space of the Archipelago and beyond, in

the Indian Ocean. A study which encompasses the vast Arab networks during the

colonial period would definitely shed more light on British images of Arabs.

340 Awad bin Diab, interview transcript, p. 98. 341 Ann L. Stoler and Frederick Cooper, �Between Metropole and Colony: Rethinking a Research Agenda�, in Ann L. Stoler and Frederick Cooper, eds. Tensions of Empire � Colonial Cultures in a Bourgeois World (Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1997), p. 13. 342 Ho, �Diasporic Arabs Cast in Creole waters�, p. 10.

109

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Appendix 1

Map of Hadhramaut

Source: Linda Boxberger, �Hadhrami Politics 1888 � 1967: Conflicts of Identity and Interest�, in Ulrike Freitag and William Clarence-Smith, eds. Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s (Leiden: Brill, 1997), p.57.

123

Appendix 2

Map of the Indian Ocean

Source: Reference map of the Indian Ocean in 1993, Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection of the University of Texas, Austin, accessed 4 August 2006 <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/islands_oceans_poles/indianoceanarea.jpg>.

124

Appendix 3

Map of Southeast Asia

Source: Reference map of Southeast Asia in 1999, Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection of the University of Texas, Austin, accessed 4 August 2006 <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/se_asia_ref802645_1999.pdf>.

125

Appendix 4

Population census of the Arabs in Singapore from 1824 to 1931

1824 1834 1849

Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

15 55 11 66 121 73 194

1860 1871 1881


65 52 117 275 191 466 551 285 836

1891 1901 1911


503 303 806 523 396 919 716 521 1237

1921 1931

Male Female Total Male Female Total

738 544 1282 1057 882 1939

There was no census in 1941, due to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Source: J.A.E. Morley, �The Arabs and The Eastern Trade�, Journal Malayan Branch Royal Asiatic Society, 22, 1 (1949), p. 175.

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