External Essay

Introduction

The Malay Heritage Centre was formally known as Istana Kampung Gelam (Kampung Glam Palace). It was built in 1819 by Sultan Hussein Mua’zzam Shah Ibni Mahmud Shah Alam, the then 18^th ruler of Johor (Remember Singapore , 2012). Even after the fall of the Sultanate, the descendants of the Sultan continued to live in the palace until the palace was selected as a historical monument that has to be conserved and restored in 2001. Now, the palace functions as a Malay Heritage Centre (MHC) with the aim of highlighting the past contributions made by the Malays and other ethnic communities in the shaping of Singapore.

With its strategic position in the house of the Sultan itself, one would only expect to be immersed in the true Malay culture, traditions and history. However, the MHC’s clean and almost superficial environment severely lacks in the Kampung Glam Spirit of community and togetherness. Its narrow focus and “touch and go” methods results in it being ineffective in providing visitors with a macro view of the development of the Malay community in Singapore and the vibrancy of the community itself.

Narrow Focus

The gallery’s layout provides visitors with a clear storyline about the development of the Malay community since 1819. Before the visitors visit the other parts of the gallery, they are first brought to the “Anjung” or the arrival centre. The world arrival itself is symbolic in nature as the first section of the gallery focused on Kampung Gelam being a thriving trading and cultural centre within the Malay Archipelago. The gallery explained that Kampung Gelam was an established maritime centre that was connected to the rest of the world. With the Malays practicing an open identity, these traders eventually settled in Kampung Gelam and resulted in Singapore having a diverse population group.

The visitors are then brought to the different galleries such as “Perintis”(Pioneers), “Kehidupan” (Lifestyle), “Pustaka” (Language and Literature) and “Kesenian” (Arts) (Malay Heritage Centre, n.d). This is done only after the visitors are well aware of the background and history of the Malays in Singapore. The history and background serves as a foundation for the visitors to be able to further understand the content of the other galleries. It provides visitors with the connecting points between each gallery. In other words, the understanding of the background of the Malays enables visitors to visualize the flow of the whole gallery itself.

However, as the MHC gallery tries to focus on many themes under one roof, there are various facets of Malay history and social life that are being left out. The gallery adopts a broad and generalise way of conveying information to visitors. This “touch and go” method might result in visitors having to form their own interpretations and assumptions about the Malay community.   For instance, the gallery only focused on the development of the Malays since 1819. Visitors who are unaware of the Malay history might think that the Malays only developed during colonial rule. These visitors would not be aware that Singapore was initially founded by a Sumatran Prince, Tan Sri Buana in the 12^th to 13^th centuries (Lim, 2012 ) and was already a flourishing trade port and  a popular stop for many ships from the “great kingdoms and empires” of Asia (Magma Studios Pte Ltd, National Heritage Board, n.d ). Even before 1819, the Malay community was a thriving one. 

One reason on why the gallery imposed the year 1819 as the starting date could be due to the arrival of colonial powers in Singapore. As Raffles came to Singapore on 29^th January 1819 (Heriwin, n.d), the year 1819 is marked as the founding year of modern Singapore. Hence, the curators of the gallery might have intended to portray how the Malay community evolved and progressed under the new umbrella of colonial modernity. Hence the other aspects that came before 1819 might have intentionally been left out.

 The Arts

The MHC effectively highlighted the Malay community’s significant involvement in the arts industry. The gallery emphasized this fact in the Arts gallery and also in the “Language, Literature and Publishing” gallery which focused more on the written arts.

Under the Arts gallery, there are 2 other sub-galleries which are Bangsawan and Music (Malay Heritage Centre, n.d). In these galleries, visitors are provided with an overview about the history and developments of the arts industry in Singapore. Unlike the other galleries in the MHC which are static in nature, the Arts gallery was more interactive. This allowed visitors to be more involved in the arts itself by playing popular Malay soundtracks or watching an old Malay film while sitting in a makeshift cinema. Such interactions provide visitors with a chance to personally experience how the arts functioned as a powerful unifying tool in the Malay Archipelago.

However, the MHC’s gallery did not mention how Malays made used of entertainment to educate the public. Although the gallery did mention that the Malays used the arts to educate the masses, they did not provide examples to illustrate this point. As the point was not being emphasized, visitors would not deem it as important point. However, in reality, “Arts for Society” (Matheson Hooker, n.d) is a big part of the Malay World.

As the Malays were gifted in the arts, entertainment was a platform for them to subtly disseminate ideas and provide the masses with a different point of view. For instance, in his novel, “Pengantin Baru”, writer, Ishak Haji Mohammed communicated his concerns to the society about the need to maintain traditional values in the midst of modernity (Matheson Hooker, n.d). From the given example, it can be seen that unlike direct lectures, the Malay community was able to use the arts to reach out to the masses. Unlike common believes, the arts in the Malay community were not merely for entertainment. It served as an educational tool which was not fully elaborated in the MHC gallery.

“Arts for Society” was more prevalent during the colonial period when some groups such as the Angkatan Sasterawan ’50 (ASAS 50) felt the need to educate the masses and address the defects in society (Matheson Hooker, n.d) The Malays took advantage of their strong foothold in the arts industry to raise awareness of the various societal ills that hinders the Malay community from progressing forward. Perhaps, this was not sufficiently explained in the gallery as it is closely tied to the act of rebelling colonial powers and modernity. The curators could have eliminated this point as it could result in misunderstandings that the Malay community was backward and refused to adapt to changes. Such a misunderstanding could result in visitors having a tainted view of the Malay community as a whole. This could result in the further emphasis on the stereotypes that the Malay community faces today in the modern society.

Islam

Lastly, the gallery also allocated a significant space to explain about the importance of “Hajj” or pilgrimage in the Malay community. The effective use of pictures and artifacts enabled visitors to understand the scale of the “Hajj” business back in the mid-1900s. It was explained that Kampung Gelam used to be a hub for “Hajj” voyages which was manned by the Arabs who were operating in the brokering industry.

This gallery clearly shows the importance of Kampung Gelam to the Malay community. It was a location that saw the many emotions of the Malay community. Visitors could clearly see the joy, hope and despair as the relatives bid goodbye to their loved ones in hoping for their safe return.

However, the underlying reason for the practice of “Hajj” was not mentioned in the gallery. In fact, the function of Islam itself was not mentioned at all.  The gallery relied on the visitors’ own knowledge and perspective of Islam. There was evidently a clear lack of mention about the strong relationship between Malays and the religion of Islam. 

The curators could have emphasized more on Islam. This is especially due to the significance of Islam in the Malay world. In Singapore, being a Muslim is one of the main determining factors of being considered a Malay (Muhamad Zuber, 2010). Hence, the curators should have emphasized more on Islam. The gallery should have explained how Malays transformed from being a Hindu, feudal class community to an Islamic community. It is important to understand how and why the Malay community migrated and had a change in believes. The curators could have included the various agents of change in the Malay community such as the Sultans or the scholars. There was also a lack of mention of the Malay world being a “Hub of Islamic Learning” (MS1102E Department, n.d).

As the above mentioned facets are being left out, visitors are not able to fully understand the progress, development and social life of the Malays. Islam was a major revolution in the Malay world. It not only changed the Malays’ religion but also their way of life. The coming of Islam changed the thinking of the Malays, their lifestyle and also the way in which the Malays traded. Such explanations could have aided to demystify the current believes that Islam was only spread through wielding of a sword. 

The curators could have left this part out as the coming of Islam was much earlier than 1819. Islam came to the Malay Archipelago in the 14^th century (MS1102E Department, n.d). Hence, the time frame that was set for the gallery could have acted as a limit to the amount of information that the curators could include for display. Hence, there is a possibility that they intended to incorporate the relationship between Malays and Islam in the “Hajj” gallery instead. However, such incorporations were ineffective as it required visitors to derive their own meanings from the gallery. Allowing visitors to derive their own meanings would often result in inaccuracies. 

Recommendations and Conclusion

In conclusion, in the process of limiting the amount of information to fit the given 2 story palace, the curators have left out certain detrimental information. This information could have aided the visitors to understand more about the Malay community as a whole.

In order to remain relevant, the MHC’s gallery could be further improved. As the limited space limits the amount of information they can display, the curators can rotate the theme of the galleries to ensure that all aspects of the Malay community are being addressed. The curators could incorporate the Malay Kampung Gelam Spirit better by making the displays more interactive and lively. The lengthy descriptions currently adopted by the MHC’s gallery would only deter visitors from reading and understanding the displays. This might result in visitors choosing to opt for the aided tour instead which again would be a further summarization of the gallery itself.

All in all, the MHC’s gallery has the potential to reach out to the masses to showcase the Malays as a vibrant community. However, without major improvements, the MHC would just be a preserved palace in the middle of a metropolitan city.

Word Count: 1835

Bibliography

Heriwin, M. (n.d.). Sir Stamford Raffles' career and contributions to Singapore. Retrieved from Singapore Infopedia: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_715_2004-12-15.html

Jewels in our Midst: Kampong Glam, aired 27 June 2007. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hsse.nie.edu.sg/staff/blackburn/heritagejewelskampongglam2007.html

Lim, T. (2012 ). 14th Century Singapore: The Temasek Paradigm . 35. Retrieved from http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/bitstream/handle/10635/33342/14th%20Century%20Singapore.%20The%20Temasek%20Paradigm.pdf?sequence=1.

Magma Studios Pte Ltd, National Heritage Board . (n.d.). World of Temasek . Retrieved from http://www.worldoftemasek.com/index.php/article/history

Malay Heritage Centre . (n.d.). Virtual Tour . Retrieved from Malay Heritage Cente, Istana Kampung Gelam: http://www.malayheritage.org.sg/MHCPortal/Visitors'Information/VirtualTour;jsessionid=v2xhwP3h4KJpzVhgVz67mdBIGQkbSzaue3zFcehr1ijUa5IOWy5K!-943679767?_afrLoop=284035802671816&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=null#%40%3F_afrWindowId%3Dnull%26_afrLoop%3D284035

Matheson Hooker, V. (n.d.). Writting a New Society. 181-221.

MS 1102E Department. (n.d.). Lecture 3: Becoming Muslim and Keeping the Faith. 28.

Muhamad Zuber, N. (2010). Singapore Malay Identity: A Study of Dominant Perceptions of Islam In Post-Independence Singapore. 6.

Remember Singapore . (2012, February 21). A Forgotten Past – The Last Royal Palace of Singapore. Retrieved from http://remembersingapore.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/last-royal-palace-of-singapore/

Tantow, D. (n.d.). A Case Study of Singapore's Kampong Glam. Globalisation, Identity and Heritage Tourism.

Critical Reflection Edited 17/11/2014

I used to be skeptical of the usage of peer reviews. I personally felt that peer reviews were ineffective in vetting a student’s work. I thought that as peer reviews are normally done by our peers, we would not be able to get constructive comments. At that time, I felt that only a teacher was capable enough to review the work of students as they would generally have more experience.

However, after attending the ES1102 module, my perception of peer reviews changed. In the first lesson, we were separated into our various blogging groups. After each written work, we had to provide feedback to 2 members of our blogging group and to another classmate. We also did pair peer reviews and presentation reviews as well.

This was when I personally witnessed how effective peer reviews were. Because everyone has their own set of perceptions, viewpoints and believes, it is useful to engage in peer reviews to widen our scope.  Constant feedbacks provided by my blogging group, tutor and other classmates aided me in further understanding both my strengths and weaknesses.

I found it very exciting to receive through blog comments. Whenever I see a notification from blogger on my phone, I would automatically log into blogger to check the comments left by my tutor and classmates. It was interesting to read these comments as most of the time I would not be able to identify the mistakes highlighted if I were to review my work myself.

I also found it very challenging to provide feedbacks to other classmates. As they write in an interesting and engaging manner, I always find myself lost in their work. It is difficult for me to spot any form of mistakes. In order to avoid this, I would read their work multiple times and sometimes I would also read it aloud to hear for any inconsistencies.

In addition to peer reviews, I also feel that tutor reviews are important. As tutors relatively have more experience, they are able to provide us with practical advice. For instance, during our presentations, Mr Blackstone shared with us useful tips and practical advices for our future presentations. As these tutors have stepped into the working world, such practical advises would be useful in preparing us for the job market.  

On the whole, I feel that ES1102’s peer review activities has changed my entire perception of peer reviews .Now, I feel that in addition to tutor feedback, peer reviews can also promote further improvements to both written work and presentations. By being critical and analytical while providing feedback to others, we are also learning and improving at the same time.

Reader Response Draft 4

Article: World Wakes Up to Digital Divide

According to Wakefield (2010), there is an increasing gap between those with and without access to the internet. She defines this gap as the “digital divide”. According to her, research by the “International Telecommunications Union (ITU)” indicates that the extent of “digital divide" is directly related to the country’s economy. Knowing this, and the advantages of being connected, countries have introduced programmes to reduce the “digital divide”. For example in Hungary, in order to reach out to villagers, a “wi-fi village programme” was introduced. The programme provided infrastructure, sold recycled computers and educated villagers on how to use the internet. However, in the article, it was argued by a report author from New America Foundation (NAF), Meinrath that reducing the “digital divide” was not just about providing infrastructure and connectivity but about having comprehensive approach to reach those who are yet to be connected to the internet.

The income of citizens in a country has an impact on a country’s economy. If the economy is not flourishing, it means that the citizens are not earning enough. Although I do agree that a country’s economic status has a correlation to communities’ having internet access, I believe that there are other reasons such as the lack of priority and irrelevancy that can contribute to the “digital divide”. In this essay, I will further elaborate on the above-mentioned reasons and also highlight “unintended consequences” of reducing the “digital divide

The first thing that caught my attention was the research findings of NAF. They found out that less than 10% of the Native Americans were using the internet. I found it interesting that the low usage was not due to low income. In fact, the underlying reason was that internet access was much more expensive in the “tribal homelands”. In these homelands, usage of those who were connected was more than the national average. This shows that contrary to popular beliefs, income is not the sole reason for the lack of internet access.

One factor that could be hindering low income people from being connected to the internet is the lack of priority on internet access.  Why should they be concerned about the internet when they have more important things to worry about such as food and daily needs? Internet is therefore regarded as a secondary need in their lives. According to the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, people would put physiological needs first before social needs (McLeod, 2007). Having food to eat is significantly more important than being connected to the rest of the world through the internet.

The second factor is irrelevancy. Some people might not find the internet relevant in their lives. This is often applicable to the silver generation who are in fact able to afford internet access. It is common to hear the elderly saying that that the internet is not useful to them. They have no friends to connect with and they do not need to search for any new information. I can truly understand their point of view. Many of us make use of the internet for academic purposes, entertainment, to read the news or simply to connect with our friends.  For the silver generation, many functions of the internet are not applicable to them. Why should they be on Facebook or Twitter if none of their friends have accounts? This shows that the irrelevancy of the internet to their lives is a driving force behind them being unconnected.

Apart from the 2 reasons mentioned above, there are more factors contributing to the “digital divide”. Reducing the “digital divide” goes beyond building infrastructure and providing computers to those who are unconnected. Researchers or organisations would have to look into the root causes on why some choose to stay unconnected. The issue of the “digital divide” cannot be analysed from a one-dimensional point of view. For example, in the article, Wakefield states that Finland is attempting to reduce its "digital divide" through “declaring internet access to be a human right”. It was assumed that those who were unconnected were willing to adopt internet access. However, in reality, this is not entirely true.

Throughout this article, I noticed that Wakefield is assuming that internet access brings about economic prosperity. It may be due to the ability to collaborate and benefit from the increase in innovation and possibly entrepreneurship. However, does the internet really contribute to an increase in economic progress? According to Richtell (2012), research shows that as more low-income children have access to the internet, they are spending too much time on it for entertainment instead of using it for productive uses. This gives rise to the “time-wasting gap” where children are spending precious time without contributing to the nation’s progress and economy. In their attempt to reduce the “digital divide”, researchers, policy makers and governments have created “unintended consequences”.

Hence, all in all, this article was useful in proving readers information on how the “digital divide” is mainly caused by the inability to afford the internet. However, it failed to show other factors that can also lead to the “digital divide”. In order for it to be a more comprehensive article, it should also highlight the various "unintended consequences" that surfaced as a result of the many efforts made to reduce “digital divide”.

References

McLeod, S. (2007, January 1). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved September

7, 2014, from: http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Richtell, M. (2012, May 29). Wasting Time Is New Divide in Digital Era. The New York Times. Retrieved September 7, 2014, from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/us/new-digital-divide-seen-in-wasting-time-

online.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

The Digital Divide, ICT and the 50x15 Initiative. (n.d.). Retrieved September 7, 2014, from http://www.internetworldstats.com/links10.htm

Wakefield, J. (2010, March 19). World wakes up to digital divide. BBC News. Retrieved September 7, 2014, from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8568681.stm