Celebrating the diversity of the Singapore Tapestry

Ms Yeoh Chee Yan, Chairman, National Heritage Board

Dr Norshahril Saat, Chairman, Malay Heritage Foundation

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

1. Thank you very much. I must say, that was a wonderful performance. Don’t you think they deserve another round of applause?

2. Good evening. Such a pleasure to join you here today for the launch of the Malay Heritage Centre’s (MHC) Malay CultureFest 2020, and Urang Banjar: Heritage and Culture of the Banjar in Singapore special exhibition.

The centrality of heritage in uncertain times

3. We are all living through these unpleasant, unprecedented disruptions on a global scale because of the COVID-19 pandemic. During these difficult times, I must say that the role of heritage is perhaps ever more so essential in anchoring our Singaporean identity.

   a. Heritage is about knowing how Singapore and the society that we live in came to be. It reflects our roots in the community, and our place in the world.

   b. Heritage expands the term “Singapore” from being a little red dot on the map, to a place we call “home”. It elicits and evokes a sense of belonging, celebrating our unique way of life.

   c. Heritage is also a unifying force. Our multicultural society is like a rich tapestry of diverse and colourful strands. Our heritage can bring these different threads together through our shared experiences.

4. Let me try a little bit of that in Malay. Warisan yang kita kongsi bersama mengukuhkan identiti kita, sebagai rakyat Singapura. Saya mengucapkan terima kasih kepada masyarakat Banjar dan Taman Warisan Melayu kerana usaha bersama menghidupkan warisan Melayu.

5. The annual Malay CultureFest helps to showcase the value of a deeper appreciation of our shared heritage. Through its programmes, it celebrates the diverse expression of Malay arts and culture, and promotes understanding of the development of the Malay community in Singapore. It also highlights our historical and cultural links with the region – the region around us, where we are, where we come from – and how these have influenced and been influenced by developments in Singapore.

   a. As with previous years, the festival will feature dances and music from different parts of the Malay archipelago, and in collaboration with Singaporean artistes. For instance, the festival will highlight the signature dance showcase Lintas Nusantara. Audiences will get to enjoy dances from nine different spots across the archipelago.

   b. This year’s festival will be especially reflective, with dances and music exploring the themes of identity, cultural connection, and also isolation in the context of the pandemic.

   c. It will also be the first year – many firsts this year – that the festival is being presented in a digital format. You will be able to enjoy the various programmes easily at the festival’s microsite.

Culture and identity as part of the Singapore tapestry

6. As part of the Se-Nusantara (Of the Same Archipelago) series, MHC will present the Urang Banjar exhibition, which has been co-curated with the community. It will feature the history and cultural heritage of the Singapore-Banjarese community, the smallest of the Malay sub-ethnic communities in Singapore, but one of the many, many threads that make the Singapore Tapestry so special and so diverse.

   a. The Banjar braved journeys from South Kalimantan to other parts of the Nusantara, including Singapore, from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries.

   b. As they travelled, the Banjar shared their traditions, their language, and their customs with the wider communities they interacted with, and in turn adapted their own culture also to the local context. This interweaving of cultures is evident in their marriage customs and culinary heritage. For instance, a bridal headdress from the mid-20th Century on display at the exhibition reflects a blended style of Malay, Chinese, and even Art Deco elements.

7. I thank the Banjar community for your strong support for this exhibition. 

   a. Members of the community generously contributed invaluable stories – their own stories, of their own family histories and aspects of Banjarese heritage, such as food, practices, as well as personal items, photographs and other archival documents.

   b. Your stories have been captured in the exhibition. They will further illuminate the history behind the objects on display, which include artefacts from the National Collection.

Conclusion

8. There is a basa Banjar idiom: “haram manyarah waja sampai kaputing”. I hope I got it right and did it justice. But it means, “Let not the steel (of a blade) stop short until its very point.”

   a. It is an exhortation for a Banjar to undertake all endeavours with determination, and not to give up until the goals are achieved.

9. It is through this “steely” determination that the Banjar community and MHC have succeeded in presenting Urang Banjar and Malay CultureFest 2020 to us, amidst and perhaps, despite this pandemic.

10. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the Banjar community and MHC for promoting and documenting the intangible cultural heritage of the various ethnic Malay communities in Singapore, and I hope we can continue to rediscover and reconnect with our shared heritage. Thank you very much once again and enjoy the evening.