Sikhs In Singapore - A Story Untold (Indian Heritage Centre)

One of the exhibit items that caught my eye was the Punjab / Indian stone guards that originated from a tomb in Bukit Brown. It was very heartening to see National Heritage Board (NHB), conserving this lovely rare statue that was affected by the 8 lane highway and used in this manner. From the pictures below, you can see how this statues look like when it was in Bukit Brown and who is Madam Yap Woo Neo. Kudos to National Heritage Board (NHB) for doing this !

The stone statues were part of an exhibition featuring over 450 artefacts and it was launched on 26 March 2021, showcasing the Sikh  community in the country's history. Sikhs In Singapore - A Story Untold is available for people to visit at the Indian Heritage Centre . It features mostly artefacts contributed by the community over the past year. Although the exhibition space is just 230 sq m, contributions from the sikh community number over 1,000 artefacts and the curators had to carefully select and reduce the numbers to 450 to fit into the available space. From the article, i also gotten insight that 26 March was chosen for the exhibition's launch as it marked the 140th anniversary of the Sikhs' arrival in Singapore. Since arriving in Singapore from Punjab in the 19th century, Sikhs have firmly established themselves here over the years. While it is true that the first wave of immigrants were mostly men who joined the Sikh police contingent under the British colonial administration, they had later taken on roles in businesses trading textiles, foodstuff, electronics and sports goods by the first quarter of the 20th Century.

source: Straits Times

 Background Story of the pair of Punjab / Indian guard

Tomb of Madam Yap Woo Neo. Died 1st Oct 1935
Blk 2 Division D  @1.337484,103.823149  (peg 1876)

Madam Yap Woo Neo (Mrs Peck Chin Kiat) passed away on 1 October 1935 at the age of 69 (listed in the newspaper as 72 years old) at her residence in  No 167 Neil Road. She is buried in a section of Bukit Brown that was affected by the 8 lane highway. Her tomb (LTA peg number 1876) and the tomb of her son, Peck Teck Chee (LTA peg number 1875). Her grave is easily identifiable as it has two Punjabi guards guarding the tomb.  She is survived by 2 sons (Peck Teck Chye and Peck Teck Kian), 1 daughter (Peck Gim Siew), 2 daughters in law, 6 grandsons, 10 granddaughters.

Madam Yap Woo Neo 

References

Kings, shields and gold bracelets: One of the biggest exhibitions on Sikhs opens in Singapore of the 20th century. (2021, March 27). The Straits Times Interactive. Available Online. (last accessed 30 March 2021)
Showcase on Sikhs in Singapore features more than 450 artefacts. (2021, March 28). The Straits Times Interactive. Available Online. (last accessed 30 March 2021).
Punjabi Guards / Sikh Guards in Bukit Brown. (2011, December 11). Rojak Librarian.
Newspapers mention of Rojak Librarian. (2017, August 9). Rojak Librarian