Pulau Tekong
Encyclopedia
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
's outlying islands with an area of 24.43 km², and the island is still expanding due to land reclamation
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
works on its southern and northwestern coasts which will eventually subsume many of its surrounding small islet
Islet
An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....
s, including Pulau Tekong Kechil
Pulau Tekong Kechil
Pulau Tekong Kechil was a 89-hectare islet off the larger adjacent island of Pulau Tekong in north-eastern Singapore. Land reclamation works are currently in progress to enlarge Pulau Tekong. When completed, Pulau Tekong Kechil will be subsumed by Pulau Tekong....
.
Pulau Tekong is found off Singapore's northeastern coast, east of Pulau Ubin
Pulau Ubin
Pulau Ubin is a small island situated in the north east of Singapore, to the west of Pulau Tekong. Granite quarrying supported a few thousand settlers on Pulau Ubin in the 1960s, but only about a hundred villagers live there today...
. Geographically, it is nearer to Johor
Johor
Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...
, Malaysia than the Singapore main island itself. The Pulau Tekong Reservoir
Pulau Tekong Reservoir
Pulau Tekong Reservoir is a reservoir located on Pulau Tekong, an island in Singapore.The reservoir provides the water supply for all the military installation within the island....
is also on the island.
Etymology and early history
Pulau Tekong appears in the Franklin and JacksonPhilip Jackson (surveyor)
Philip Jackson was a British Royal Navy lieutenant, who laid out the city plan for Singapore in 1822. He was a key person in Raffles plans for the settlement. The Elgin Bridge in Singapore was once named in his honour.-References:...
's 1828 map as Po. Tukang. The early name could have arisen because the island served as a trading
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
station for both residents of Pulau Ubin
Pulau Ubin
Pulau Ubin is a small island situated in the north east of Singapore, to the west of Pulau Tekong. Granite quarrying supported a few thousand settlers on Pulau Ubin in the 1960s, but only about a hundred villagers live there today...
and the state of Johor. Tukang means merchant in this case.
Tekong means "an obstacle", so called because the island blocks the mouth of the Sungai Johor
Johor River
Johor River is the main river in the Malaysian state of Johor. The river is 122.7km long and flows in a roughly north-south direction, originating from Mount Gemuruh and then empties into the Strait of Johor. Its major tributaries are Sayong, Linggui, Tiram and Lebam Rivers. Its banks are also...
. Pulo Tekong Besar came under the Changi
Changi
Changi is an area at the eastern end of Singapore. It is now the site of Singapore Changi Airport/Changi Air Base, Changi Naval Base and is also home to Changi Prison, site of the former Japanese Prisoner of War Camp during World War II which held Allied prisoners captured in Singapore and Malaysia...
district, and the island had a sizeable population, being the largest island off Singapore and two miles from Fairy Point. Ferries plied from the pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
at that point and the island daily.
Wild pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s and deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
were once plentiful on Pulau Tekong, and attracted hunters from Singapore. Pulo Tekong Besar had undergone so much development after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, with vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
, fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
farms, that the wildlife has mostly disappeared (wild pigs are seen throughout the island today). Mainly Malays and a few Teochews
Teochew people
The Chaozhou people are Han people, native to the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong province of China who speak the Teochew dialect. Today, most Teochew people live outside China in Southeast Asia especially in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. They can also be found almost anywhere in the...
and Hakkas
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
lived on Pulau Tekong. Most were farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s, fishermen and shop owners selling sundry goods.
Current situation
Today, Pulau Tekong is used exclusively as a training base for various Singapore ArmySingapore Army
The Singapore Army is the branch of the Singapore Armed Forces responsible for land operations. It is the largest of the three armed services and heavily reliant on a conscript army, comprising the majority of Singapore's Operationally Ready National Servicemen .-Capabilities:The mission of the...
Units. Home to the Basic Military Training Centre
Basic Military Training Centre
The Basic Military Training Centre is a military training facility located in Ladang, Pulau Tekong, in Singapore...
(BMTC), this is also where young Singaporean males are conscripted into National Service
National Service in Singapore
Conscription in Singapore, called National Service , requires all male Singaporean citizens and second-generation permanent residents who have reached the age of 18 to enrol in the military...
. The School of Infantry Specialists
School of Infantry Specialists
The Specialist Cadet School , formerly the School of Infantry Specialists , is the military training centre for specialists in the Singapore Army. The school is situated in Pasir Laba Camp in the western part of Singapore...
(SISPEC), which was situated two kilometres from BMTC, relocated to a new campus at Pasir Laba Camp
Pasir Laba Camp
Pasir Laba Camp is an installation of the Singapore Armed Forces. It is composed primarily of Army tenant units, apart from tri-service SAF Warrant Officer School...
in December 2005. A new training area, called Sanyongkong Field Camp
Sanyongkong Field Camp
Sanyongkong Field Camp is a military camp in Kampong Sanyongkong Pulau Tekong, Singapore. The camp is named after a nearby area called Kampong Sanyongkong....
, has been completed on the reclaimed land south of Dogra Bridge. Built by the Combat Engineers, this field camp will be used to train Infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
and Guards battalions. It also provides habitat to some wild animals that are rarely seen in main island Singapore such as the Leopard Cat
Leopard Cat
The leopard cat is a small wild cat of South and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern by IUCN as it is widely distributed but threatened by habitat loss and hunting in parts of its range...
, Sunda Slow Loris and Sunda Pangolin.
Runaway elephants
On May 29, 1990, national servicemen spotted a family of three Asian elephantAsian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
s which had swum 1.5 km. across the Straits of Johor
Straits of Johor
The Straits of Johor is a strait that separates the Malaysian state of Johor to the north from Singapore to the south....
. The Singapore Zoo
Singapore Zoo
The Singapore Zoo , formerly known as the Singapore Zoological Gardens and commonly known locally as the Mandai Zoo, occupies 28 hectares of land on the margins of Upper Seletar Reservoir within Singapore's heavily forested central catchment area. The zoo was built at a cost of S$9m granted by...
worked with the Malaysian Wildlife Department's
Department of Wildlife and National Parks
In Malaysia, Department of Wildlife and National Parks, commonly known as PERHILITAN is a governmental organization that is responsible for the protection, management and preservation of wildlife and national parks in Peninsular Malaysia.The department was established under the Wildlife Protection...
Elephant Capture and Translocation Unit to help in its plan to recapture the runaway elephants.
On June 10, all three elephants were captured and relocated back to the jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
s of Johor.
Land reclamation issues
Land reclamationLand reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
work is currently undergoing off the southern part of the island. Malaysia has referred the reclamation issue to International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is an intergovernmental organization created by the mandate of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. It was established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed at Montego Bay, Jamaica, on December 10, 1982...
under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea , which took place from 1973 through 1982...
on July 2003. Subsequently, the tribunal ordered a year-long joint study on the issue. The conflict was resolved on April 2005 following a signing of agreement between the two countries. The agreement includes modifications of the island in "Area D". The signed agreement was sent to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for final judgment.
Armed robbers incident
Pulau Tekong was the hiding place in March 2004 for a group of armed robbers comprising two IndonesiaIndonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
ns and a Malaysian. They fled from Malaysia, sparking off a massive, coordinated manhunt involving Air Force helicopters, commandos, ground surveillance radar, troops from the 2nd Singapore Infantry Regiment and the Singapore Police Force
Singapore Police Force
The Singapore Police Force is the main agency tasked with maintaining law and order in the city-state. Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police , it has grown from an 11-man organisation to a 38,587 strong force...
. All three were caught by police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
s; two by members of the Gurkha Contingent
Gurkha Contingent
The Gurkha Contingent is a line department of the Singapore Police Force. Members of the GC are trained to be highly-skilled and are selected for their display of strong discipline and dedication in their tasks...
and one by the Police Coast Guard
Police Coast Guard
The Police Coast Guard is the Marine Police division of the Singapore Police Force which also takes on roles of the coast guard typically handled by the military or as separate organisations in other countries...
's Special Task Squadron. They were later charged with illegal entry
Illegal entry
Illegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law.Migrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like...
and possession of firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s.
Pulau Tekong in Singaporean culture
In Singaporean folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, the island is deemed to be extremely haunted. It is unclear if these beliefs actually date back to the days when Tekong was inhabited by civilians or if they sprang up after the island was taken over as military territory. The lives of the inhabitants of Pulau Tekong before it was turned into a training area for the Singaporean military was portrayed in the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation
Singapore Broadcasting Corporation
Singapore Broadcasting Corporation was a partially privatised mass market media conglomeration, which dominated the entire television and most of the radio broadcasting industry in Singapore during its existence...
(now MediaCorp
MediaCorp
Media Corporation of Singapore, better known as MediaCorp, is a group of commercial media companies in Singapore, with business interests in television and radio broadcasting, interactive media, and, to a lesser extent, print publishing and film-making....
) Channel 8 drama Son of Pulau Tekong.
Pulau Tekong in Singapore Concept Plan 2001
There are plans that Pulau Tekong and Pulau UbinPulau Ubin
Pulau Ubin is a small island situated in the north east of Singapore, to the west of Pulau Tekong. Granite quarrying supported a few thousand settlers on Pulau Ubin in the 1960s, but only about a hundred villagers live there today...
to be reclaimed to be used as residential and commercial purposes which links to the Singapore mainland by bridge and MRT. An alternate plan was to reclaim the straits between these islands and the mainland, joining them as an extension of the mainland.
However these plans are yet to be necessary and remain unlikely to be realised in the near future. The Pulau Tekong which is not likely to be realised in the near future, will still be for military use, together with the Paya Lebar Airbase
Paya Lebar Airbase
Paya Lebar Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force located at Paya Lebar, in the central-eastern part of Singapore, the airbase goes by the motto of "Strength Through Readiness"....
, which wouldn't think of moving because of more buildings.
We will expect 60% demilitarization in the whole of Singapore but leaving things alone. This are: Paya Lebar Airbase
Paya Lebar Airbase
Paya Lebar Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force located at Paya Lebar, in the central-eastern part of Singapore, the airbase goes by the motto of "Strength Through Readiness"....
, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Sudong
Pulau Sudong
Pulau Sudong is a 209-hectare coral island off the southern coast of Singapore, it was enlarged through a land reclamation process during the late 1970s.-Restricted area:...
, Pulau Senang
Pulau Senang
Pulau Senang is a 81.7-hectare coral island about 13 kilometres off the southern coast of Singapore. Along with Pulau Pawai and Pulau Sudong, it is used as a military training area for live-fire exercises...
, Pulau Pawai
Pulau Pawai
Pulau Pawai, also known as Alligator Island during the colonial times, is a 182,000 m² island located within the Singapore Armed Forces Live Firing Area. It is located off the southwestern coast of Singapore, between Pulau Sudong to its north and Pulau Satumu to its south...
, part of Seletar Camp, Tengah Airbase
Tengah Airbase
Tengah Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force located at Tengah, in the western part of Singapore. The airbase is the most important airfield of the RSAF as it houses the bulk of RSAF's fixed-wing frontline squadrons, home to all of RSAF's E-2C Hawkeyes , most of the...
, and mostly Kranji-Mowbray Camp area.
Coastal Protection and Restoration at Pulau Tekong
The National Biodiversity Centre and National Parks BoardNational Parks Board
The National Parks Board is a statutory board of the Singapore Government.The National Parks Board is responsible for providing and enhancing the greenery of Singapore. NParks manages around 300 parks, the park connector network and the roadside greenery in Singapore...
(NParks) will be conducting coastal protection and restoration works at the north-eastern coastline of Pulau Tekong which suffers from coastal erosion. The National Biodiversity Centre stated that the erosion resulted from the movements of ships and strong waves in the area. A study NParks commissioned in 2006 found that 1.65 km of the north-eastern shore is most severely affected. The coastal erosion poses a threat to the 92 hectares of mangroves in Pulau Tekong which is one of the largest remaining mangrove areas in Singapore with a mature and undisturbed habitat.
External links
- Satellite image of Pulau Tekong - Google MapsGoogle MapsGoogle Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
- http://www.ura.gov.sg/conceptplan2001/index.html