Pondok Kelompang Gubuk

Pondok Kelompang Gubuk was a pre-war house situated at 35, Upper Weld Road. It was the first home in Singapore for most of the Boyanese who originated from the village Kelompang Gubuk in Bawean Island. This Pondok was able to house up to about 20 families at a time.

(The main enterance of Pondok Kelompang Gubuk - 1980s)

During the years before the 1970s, there were many visitors from Bawean who came to this Pondok to stay during their visit in Singapore. There were also many Boyanese sailors who rested at this Pondok for few days before sailing off to other destinations. These sea-men normally would bring news to the residents of this Pondok about their relatives living in Kelompang Gubuk village in Bawean island. They also acted like middle-man, transporting gifts from relatives in Bawean and vice-versa.

(The main enterance of Pondok Kelompang Gubuk - late 1950s)

Gradually, the number of visitors from Bawean Island decreases as time goes by. By the time it reached the 1990s, there was not even one around. The Pondok is now no longer in existence. My maternal aunt and her family was the last to move out from it in the late 1990s, before the premises along the whole stretch of Upper Weld Road were taken over by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore (URA) for re-development of the Jalan Besar area.

My Maternal Grandparents

Life in a distant land away from the village atmosphere of Bawean was not easy for my maternal grandparents. Together they faced the roller coaster of life against all odds during the British Colony in the Malay Peninsula. They also experienced the terror of the Japanese occupation in Malaya, witnessed Malaysia's independence, the separation of Singapore from Malaysia, the racial riot in 1964 and finally Singapore's independence on 9th Aug 1965.

(My maternal Grandma was doing her marketing at the old Tekka market of the 70s. Her image was captured by a photographer for the 'Singapore this Week' magazine.)

Even though my maternal grandparents' marriage was an arranged one, they had a wonderful life together. They were happily married and blessed with eight children. The eldest child was born in Ipoh, the second, third and fourth in Johor Baru while the last four were born in Singapore. They lived in Pondok Kelompang Gubuk at Upper Weld Road and became a prominent couple among the Boyanese in Singapore. My maternal grandfather was well respected for his honesty, trustworthiness, kindness, sincerity, and bravery. He had a remarkably outstanding personality and was born a leader. Due to these qualities in him, he was elected by the Kelompang Gubuk residents to be a Pak Lurah, the Head of the Pondok.

(My maternal Grandfather, Hj.Siddik bin Ismail, also known as Hj. Ali - in his sixties )

According to my maternal grandma, my maternal grandfather was a responsible husband to his wife and loving father to his children. He was a pious man who disciplined his children well. On the other hand, according to my maternal grandfather, my maternal grandma was a very kind soul who cared her family very well.

(My Grandmother, Hjh Ramlah Binte Morsidi, as a young grandma)

My maternal grandparents grew old together gracefully. My maternal grandfather passed away due to old age on 5th November 1981 at the age of 72, while my maternal grandmother passed away five years later on 1st December 1986. They never returned to Bawean after they first left the island.

My Roots

(Photo in Bawean island taken in the early 1960s. The second man from the left was my grand-uncle, the youngest brother of my maternal grandma.)

The Boyanese or Baweanese are virtually Muslims. Hence, their customs and traditions are those influence by Islam. Previously, stretching back as far as in the 1950s, it was still the culture of the Bawean people in the Bawean Island, to get married at a very young age.

(My relatives in Bawean island in the early 1960s. The old women in the photo was my father's paternal aunty, the elder sister of my paternal grandfather. )

Once a girl regardless of her age, experienced menses, according to Islam, she had attained the age of puberty. Thus, she is no longer considered a girl but a young lady ready to be married off by her parents. That was exactly happened to my maternal grandmother. She married at a tender age of 10 to my maternal grandfather who was then about 10 years her senior. This happened somewhere around the 1930s.

(My grandparents on board a vessel performing Haj Pilgrimage in 1960s)

After marriage, my maternal grandparents lived in their own home in Bawean. My granddad was of a noble birth. He came from a generation line of wealthy family that owned huge lands in the Bawean Island. Due to some misunderstanding on the distribution of estate left by his deceased father, my maternal granddad decided to leave the island for good to a distant land in the Malay Peninsula to build a new life. He settled in Ipoh for few years before living in Johor Baru and finally migrated to Singapore in the 1950s.

(My maternal grandparents on board the ship to Makkah )

My Heritage

Baby Endah

I am a Singaporean by nationality. By race, I am a Boyanese, an Indonesian ethnic group. My father was born in Bawean, one of the many small Indonesian's islands situated in the Java Sea. When my father was about two years old, his family migrated to Singapore.

My father (on the right) was 15 years old

On the other hand, my mother, a Boyanese descent like me, was born in Johor Baru. Her family migrated to Singapore when she was about eight years old. The family of my parents was from the village Kelompang Gubuk in Bawean island. They lived in Singapore at the same Pondok named Kelompang Gubuk. This happened during the British colonial days.

My mother in her teens

My parents grew up in the same vicinity. They were friends during childhood and got married during the later part of their teenage lives. They were blessed with six children. I am their second child.

My beloved parents

My parents had a wonderful marriage life. They made a perfect couple meant for each other. According to me their marriage was heavenly sent and I had a splendid childhood life. However, the happiness was not meant to last. I became orphan before I could repay my father's kindness in bringing me into this world. My mother continued to raise her children, taking the duties of both father and mother.

My mum as a young widow doing tailoring work to earn some income

On this coming 6th February, is the date my father passed away. My mother has been a widow ever since his death in 1982. My father was her only and true love that could not be replaced by any other man.

My siblings and I - we were once orphans