Weaving through Bidadari ( Muslim Cemetery )

Taking a stroll along Bidadari in the area bordering Bartley Road, Upper Serangoon Road and Upper Aljunied Road either to bird watch or just commune with nature, you might notice remnants of what this place was before, a Muslim cemetery.

Map showing location of Bidadari  Muslim Cemetery 

Bidadari Muslim cemetery open in 1910 and closed it's doors in 1973. Burial plots in the past cost as low as $1 for children and $2 for adults. An estimated 79,000 graves at the 28.9 ha land was exhumed to make way for development. Among the personalities buried in Bidadari Muslim Cemetery were Baharudin Arif ( a member of the Singapore Legislative Council ), Haji Muhamad Hakim Haji Muhamad ( a community leader in the 20's) and Ahmad Ibrahim (Minister of Labour).

A family plot in Bidadari 

Masjid Bidadari (Bidadari Mosque)

Funeral procession of  late Minister of Health Ahmad Ibrahim at Bidadari
(source: a2o)

Funeral of the late Minister of Health Ahmad Ibrahim at Bidadari
(source: a2o)

Today
As you stroll the forested park for bird watching opportunities, you might still spot remnants of the cemetery including grave stone markers, granite stones and finally direction stone poles. Come next year all this will disappear as well as this place will be developed for housing.

Bidadari Muslim Cemetery today

Grave stone markers (E404 and G 239 )

Granite stones 

Stone poles and stone path

Some of this stones were handpicked and placed in the Bidadari Memorial Park, nearby Mount Vernon, off Upper Serangoon Road. More stories to uncover ? I hope so.

The future of Bidadari 

References
Minister Ahmad Ibrahim dies, 35. (1962, August 22). The Straits Times
Plots then cost $1 for kids and $2 for adults. (1996, March 15). The Straits Times

See also previous post on Bidadari : 

Weaving through Bidadari (Alkaff Gardens and Lake), posted on October 8, 2013

Weaving through Bidadari (Birdwatching), posted on October 14, 2013
Bidadari (17 December), posted on December 18, 2012

Saving Bidadari, posted on December 5, 2012
Bidadari (7 December), posted on December 9, 2012
Bidadari (18 November), posted on November 18, 2012