14 Nov 2014 – And Masjid Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim.

Wed: bright and early to pay a visit to the mosque, Masjid Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim. It is the only mosque in SIN managed by the state government of Johor, Malaysia. Originally built in 1890 and named after Daeng Ibrahim, son of Temenggong Abdul Rahman.

History buffs may want to pay a visit to this mosque as the Temenggong’s tomb lies within a small cemetery surrounding the Johor Royal Mosouleum located which now has its own building under construction.

Tue3May2022: edited with this interesting YouTube link tkx to TuahBugis/SarafianSalleh but plx note that Haji Khairizan bin Haji Khair info regarding the remaining pillars to the gate is incorrect. They did NOT belong to the Istana Lama, but were remains from #5 Temenggong Rd, my birthplace and where I lived for the first 15yrs of my life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99u4Fr8cKbw

Coincidentally met up with this night guard and asked him if he had any knowledge of the neighbouring land to the mosque. To my surprise and delight he told me that when he and his friends were kids, they used to help themselves with rambutans from our trees and how the owners of the grounds let loose the dogs to chase them. OMG, I remember just like it was yesterday about those incidents. When we parted ways, he asked if all is forgiven. Told him that there was nothing to forgive as when we were kids, we too helped ourselves to the jumbu fruit trees in the cemetery and exchange was no robbery 🙂

https://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com/2011/06/12/johor-pride-and-heritage-in-temasek/

Unfortunately my knowledge of #5 Temenggong Rd (marked O on this ariel map-tkx to Benny for this map and X on other maps here) is minimum and no one from father’s generation/blue generation had any interest or facts that I can find to go on.

Used to climb down the drain behind the stone-bench in the early 1950s, one of my earliest memory recalled.

Have been told by word of mouth that grandfather LAM SongKee bought #5 from the WONG AhFook’s family. When? When was this house build?? By the time the LAM family acquired this site, it would have been around the 1940s???  Area of site????

Wong Ah Fook, Immigrant, Builder and Entrepreneur by P Lim Pui Huen 

Early 1950s – the house where I was born and grew up in from 1940-50s

Later in 1950s – after the wall was built, and I remember watching that stonewall being built in the early 1950s.

The 1950s views of the lower-field and Pulau Blakang Mati then.

When the State took over the land, it was supposed to be used for PSA then (so they claimed!). But who knows what they have in mind now?? Better with a green densely overgrown jungle than a concrete block or anything concrete. Anyway it was supposedly to be full of spirits as most of the bank staff experienced when they had to attend their annual dinners at #5. Have never experienced or seen any in the 15yrs there! But then according to my grandmother, even the spirits fear me – lol.

Much appreciations and thanks to my young hero Chris who accompanied me to #5 and helped to tear off a piece of the cement where the bulb-wire fencing was! So sorry that he got bitten by fire-ants. Without him, this journey would have not been! Now a closure to this chapter is possible before the memory fades!

Sunlight through the trees in summer
Endless masquerading
Like a flower as the dawn is breaking
The memory is fading – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats

Inside the densely over-grown jungle and at the lower field. I was a total wimp, fully dressed and sprayed from top to toe, even with gloves and cap! Not about to take any chance in case a snake crosses my path. Tripped a couple of times over the roots but thank goodness nothing broken except the heart 🙁 Disheartening to learn that the house where I was born was deliberately burnt down and destroyed.

The house in the 1950s. The stone-bench was@the upper-field when rockwall was not yet built. This pix is after the rockwall was built and the stone-bench moved to from the upper-field to the same level as the house, must have been around the mid 1950s. Remember father planting trees by the stone-bench after the rockwall was built. Discovered that part of the rockwall by the upper field still stands today.

The wall and I in its heydays 1956! Some parts of this wall still stands and as far as the memory can recall, this end section of the wall ended with a smaller set of stairs which led to rambutan orchard.

1950s view of part of TemenggongRd (by the fence) and the row-houses on TelokBlangahRd, the godowns@Gate8 with a cruiseship. Today’s (2000s) VivoCity with Sentosa in the background.

Tue3May2022: downloaded pix of then&now TelokBlangahRd/TemenggongRd with fond childhood memories of the ice-cream-man (can still remember his face up to today!) ringing his bell on his icicle tricycle by the EssoStation. 2000s Habourlights condo, TelokBlangahHouse.

https://amylamsg.com/2008/12/05/temenggong-road/

https://amylamsg.com/2011/04/19/habour-views/

https://amylamsg.com/2014/10/25/temenggong-rd-revisited/

 To be edited, hopefully when more lights & pix and factual info are gained…

#5 no longer exist and thus no info can be google or provided anywhere. The only info are my memory which I will be putting in this blog posting and editing when more info or facts turn up. This is a touchy subject as the State took over our family’s land with the min compensation at a time when I was too young to understand!

By words of mouths, ie not sure if these are facts: the State bought over the house and land at min price in the 1970s? claiming to be used for the cable car. PSA also had part of their hands in it. Somehow nothing was done and there were squatters in the house. The house was burnt down and destroyed…

Cousin YatSoon in London asked ‘What has happened to the site?‘ And the only answer I could provide was: the site has been taken over by the State many moons ago. Do not know when the house was destroyed as I left SIN in 1965. Today it is a an overgrown jungle and the only ruins left standing are the one gate pillar and the rock wall by the upper field.

24 Feb 2015 – saw this fantastic map at the National Library. Will look more into it when time permits.

Updating with more info&pix when they get into my hands as time goes by…

30Mar2018: https://mothership.sg/2018/03/temenggong-road-telok-blangah-colonial-houses/

Edited 10May 2018 – appreciations to the Malaya Heritage in FB and to Tuah Bugis who shared this YouTube. I heard about the Istana Lama Bugis (just learnt the name) when I was a child but unfortunately by the time I could run and play in this area it was no longer. Instead there was a BataShoe factory there and that too is no longer. Now replaced with condos.

Incorrect info the above video –  both the pillars to the gate and the rock wall did not belong to the Istana Lama. They were remains from #5.

Edited 16Apr 2019 – grandfather LAM SongKee’s (1891-1950) funeral – is the building in the background part of the Istana Lama??

Mother Tsang MayLan’s (1911-1965) funeral – the roof&building in the backgound was probably the BataShoe factory??