The other Istana

Posted by noelbynature under Buildings and Monuments
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Think that the Istana is the place in Orchard Road that is the official residence of the President? Well, there’s another, older istana (the word means ‘Palace’ in Malay) in Singapore - at Kampong Glam.

The President’s Istana and the Istana Kampong Glam aren’t too far off in terms of age. The presidential istana was built in 1867, while the Istana Kampong Glam was built between 1836 and 1843. The earlier istana didn’t belong to the president or governor; it belonged to royalty. Uncle Dicko writes:

Singapore was founded in the year 1819 when Stamford Raffles landed near the Singapore River and there after started a trading post. At that time the island of Singapore was under the jurisdiction of the Johore Sultanate under Sultan Hussein Shah. It was he who ordered the building of the original Istana Kg Glam in that same year of 1819 on the plot of land given by the British East India Company. It was nothing glamourous. Just a wooden structure to the east of present day Beach Road.

The Sultan lived there until his death in 1835. His eldest son Ali Iskandar Shah then became Sultan and it was during this period between 1836 - 1843 that the existing concrete building was built.

Today, Istana Kampong Glam houses the Malay Heritage Centre which commemorates the various Malay people in Singapore and the region. Among them are the Bugis, the Boyanese and the Orang Gelam - find out more in Uncle Dicko’s post here.

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