The late Othman Wok, a People’s Action Party (PAP) old guard and first generation Singapore minister, has a long family history in Singapore.

Born in 1924, Othman is of Orang Laut (sea gypsies) ancestry, and his family was descended from one of the few hundred families living in Singapore (some sources claim that there were about 1,000 inhabitants on the island), when Stamford Raffles arrived in 1819.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="623"] View of the Singapore River and Chinatown from Government Hill (present day Fort Canning) in 1824. Source: NAS[/caption]

In an oral interview with the National Archives of Singapore, Othman shared this of his ancestors:

"My ancestors came from the Riau Archipelago. I believe I’m the seventh generation of this old ancestry from the Riau Archipelago.

I could remember my grandfather on the maternal side. He was still alive when I was 16 or 17 years old.

He used to tell us that his grandfather (Othman's great great grandfather) came down to Singapore and opened up a piece of land somewhere in Thomson Road. His grandfather was killed by a tiger, while doing work on the land.

His father (Othman's great grandfather) then found a job with the Temenggong, who was the sultan then here, and he became a sort of harbour master here then, controlling the movement of crafts in Singapore harbour.

He was there until Raffles came in.

Then after the retirement of the Temenggong, he did business on behalf of the Temenggong with the Indonesians. My grandfather, who was about 17 or 16 years old, followed him around, and they did business for about 13 to 15 years, before my grandfather really settled down in Singapore.

And after that my great grandfather passed away.

My grandfather then stopped doing business and he joined the Johor military forces. They were the personal bodyguards of the Sultan of Johor then.

After that he became a religious man. He taught the Quran to children in the surrounding area’s Muslim children.

Both my parents, my father and mother, were born in Singapore."

As harbour master, Othman's great grandfather would have borne witness to the historic arrival of Raffles in Singapore, and perhaps even the signing of the treaty that allowed the British to take control the island.

Othman's great grandfather and his family would have also witnessed the awesome transformation of Singapore from the sleepy fishing village, that it was before Raffles came along, into the bustling major international port that it is today.

Othman's unique family history and his own contributions to the Singapore Story should be preserved for generations to come.

Top image from NAS.

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