Jaslin Loh

The first gallery of the Asian Civilizations Museum is the Singapore River Gallery. Overlooking the actual River located beside the museum, it displays the Singapore River of the past and present and has deep significance in Singapore’s developments over the years and advancement towards independence as it improvements move as a parallel to Singapore’s progress. 

ACM located beside the Singapore River.

Being the most well known river in Singapore, the 11,000 metres long Singapore River flows from the Central Area, lying in the Central Region in the southern part of Singapore, before emptying into the ocean. Almost all land surrounding it is commercial as the Central Area is treated as a central business district. 

Commercial buildings along Singapore River.

During the colonial times from 1819-1959, the River was at the heart of the port and settlement, where traders and migrants flocked to trade, visit or settle on its banks. The main themes in the gallery were focused on the trade and finance along the river, along with the main ethnic groups, the native Malays, the Chinese, Indians and Europeans, and their lifestyles and occupations around the river from the past to the present. One of Singapore’s special features is its multi-racial and multi-religious society, and the abundance of the different ethnic groups along the River further highlighted this feature. Artefacts from the past along the Singapore River were displayed.

Artefacts along the River in the past.

There were various occupations along the Singapore River in the past. Different people of different races were in diverse occupations. The Chinese mostly engaged in labour works, while of them were merchants and involved in the China-India trade. Merchants of the trade also involved Indians. Opium was easily accessible then, and could be found anywhere from rich Chinese homes to decrepit back rooms. Being a narcotic, opium offers sweet relief, easing pains and lulling its user into a daze. It is estimated that a third of the Chinese adult population of Singapore were addicts in the mid-19^th century. They view opium as a means to escape after a day’s hard labour, and addiction was advantageous to the opium dealers, whom the British government “farmed” the right to sell opium in return for a substantial fee.

Opium addicts.

One of the key historical events of the River is the clean-up action from 1977 to 1987. Due to rapid urbanization and expanding trade, there was heavy traffic on the River; there was an improper disposal of garbage and other by-products of the industries along the river, oil spills and wastewater from ships, causing severe water pollution in the River. Thus, the government took action and cleaned up the river. Squatters were resettled into flats, refuse was collected daily for incineration and licenses were issued to hawkers to areas provided with proper sewage. Removal of tons debris that piled up over a long period of time allowed the return of marine life; the clean-up was a major success.

Other galleries in the Asian Civilizations Museum include the Southeast Asia and West Asia galleries. They cover the different religions in the regions, as well as the lifestyle and culture of the people there, and the different arts, clothing and jewellery of the people in the specific area. The arrows and directions in the galleries make it trouble-free for people to go around the museum. Also, the tranquility in the galleries gives a serene ambience for people to appreciate the lavish exhibits.