Palace of Ghosts: Singapore's Untold History

I am far from any kind of expert in the field of etymology nor in the Malay language. However, a quick survey of the existing research on the topic provides plenty of food for thought and, like the previous few blog posts, is intended to provide context for the story of Palace of Ghosts. Some of the explanations may be plausible, but cannot be undisputedly proven. The point is to show that Singapore and the surrounding islands and shorelines are far from being disconnected from history. What is important is to strip away the barriers which blur perceptions of the past. Look beyond the modern inventions of borders and cities to see more clearly how the present links to the past and vice versa. The people who today live in territories once occupied by the Johor-Sultanate should look to the island of Sumatra to understand where the people who created the first trading hubs in area originally came from. The zone where mainland Southeast Asia (SEA) meets maritime SEA seems to lack a catchy ...

Occasionally an item of news appears that makes me stop and think about how the present engages with the past. It can be a comment from a politician, an announcement from a government department, or an observation by a journalist that arrests the mind for a while and stands out from the dross that unfortunately characterises much of the so-called current events commentary. And the reason why is that it connects to something you had previously thought was important to you in one way or another. A key theme of Palace of Ghosts is the way the past connects to the present. So, I am always on the lookout for those connections, however unlikely their provenance. One of my pleasures in life is waiting for, then reading, the next episode of ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad, age 96, ranting about something or other. I do find it a little amusing. Rants that are often disguised as a reasoned observation or philosophical musings, but which simultaneously cast aside any semblance of ...

For many Singapore residents and visitors alike, the heat, humidity, and heavy downpours appear consistent and relentless–random and frequent bouts of intense weather. When it rains, it really rains hard, and yet it remains hot, cooling noticeably in the hours after the downpour dissipates. Sometimes, it seems to be simultaneously raining and sunny!  Having spent my childhood in the dreary north of England’s cold drizzle, I know a little bit about rain, but in Singapore, the rain is astonishing in its often damaging power and volume. A tropical storm, including the frequent Sumatra squalls that scurry across the Straits of Malacca, hit Singapore like a sledgehammer. It is an amazing spectacle. It is a genuinely awesome demonstration of nature’s raw power. Despite billions the dollars spent by Singapore on canals and drainage systems, Singaporeans regularly receive SMS notifications about the dangers posed by flash floods, falling trees, and other weather-related mayhem.  Washe...

While Palace of Ghosts makes no claim to be a history of Singapore, it is a Singapore story based on real events, and one that looks beyond the founding narrative of Raffles and 1819. The story begins earlier not to challenge any existing narrative, official or otherwise, but simply because that is where a more logical beginning point exists relative to the linked events that subsequently transpired. The idea of continuity – the links in the historical chain of events connecting the past to the present and extending into the future - arises time and again throughout Palace of Ghosts. It’s opposite, discontinuity, is an ever-present shadow, lurking in the background. I preferred, however, the notion of erasure over discontinuity as that shadow, because in many unfortunate cases erasure is the cause of discontinuity. But erasure can be a slow process because of evidence that stubbornly continues to exist. In Palace of Ghosts Istana Tyersall and Istana Woodneuk – the two palaces which fea...