Islanders' Day celebrates culture and history of Singapore's sea people

Work group to be set up to help them work with agencies on preserving heritage

- Ang Qing

A smattering of boats and shacks along a small coastal section of West Coast Park marks the last community space of Singapore's indigenous Orang Laut, or sea people.

Gesturing at the docking point, a guide told attendees of Hari Orang Pulau, or Islanders' Day, about threats — including the risk of development — faced by the space, which sits on state land.

The day-long festival on June 14, held by initiative Orang Laut SG, celebrated the culture and stories of Singapore's coastal communities that once lived off the land and sea. Most of them were relocated to the mainland to make way for national development.

Braving the heat, dozens of people watched practitioners perform a martial art originating from Pulau Sudong, learnt maritime skills, and participated in a high-octane two-hour-long Joget Dangkong, a communal dance that was once common on special occasions in the Southern Islands.

"This is an important day for us because we want to make sure that our culture is not left in the textbooks," said Mr Firdaus Sani, 37, who founded Orang Laut SG in 2020 to preserve the disappearing memories and heritage of Singapore's seafaring folk.