Aljunied is a sub-urban area located in the central part of the

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. Named after Aljunied Road, it was formerly agricultural land which has since been heavily urbanised and presently comprises a variety of land uses. Today, Aljunied is a bustling neighbourhood with HDB flats with amenities like shops, schools, parks and recreational facilities, as well as quite a number of traditional Singaporean shophouses.

Etymology

Aljunied Road was officially named in 1926 after Syed Sharif Omar bin Ali Al Junied (died 1852), who owned large tracts of agricultural land in the area. Syed Sharif Omar bin Ali Al Junied was a wealthy Hadhrami

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

from

Palembang Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palemban ...

, where he had set up business after migrating from his hometown in Tarim,

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast an ...

. He was also a highly respected man, looked upon by the

Malays Malays may refer to: * Malay race, a racial category encompassing peoples of Southeast Asia and sometimes the Pacific Islands ** Overseas Malays, people of Malay race ancestry living outside Malay archipelago home areas ** Cape Malays, a communit ...

as a

prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

. Syed Omar came from the well-respected Arab family who were descendants of

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets a ...

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

. He was a nephew of Syed Mohammed bin Harun Al Junied, who also came from

to Singapore before the

founding of modern Singapore The establishment of a British trading post in Singapore in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles led to its founding as a British colony in 1824. This event has generally been understood to mark the founding of colonial Singapore, a break from its sta ...

in 1819. Syed Omar was a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

and his charitable acts included donating what is now called Jalan Kubor Cemetery, a large plot of land in Victoria Street for the purposes of a Muslim

burial ground A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are burial, buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek language, Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifical ...

, the construction of a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a Place of worship, place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) ...

in Bencoolen Street and Masjid Kampong Melaka, renamed

Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka (or ''Omar Kampong Malacca Mosque''; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: مسجد عمر کامڤوڠ ملاک) is a mosque in Singapore, and is located at Keng Cheow Street in the Singapore River Planning Area, within the Central Area ...

in his honour. The land where St Andrew's Cathedral stands was also donated by him. He and his family contributed largely to the setting up of the

Tan Tock Seng Hospital Tan Tock Seng Hospital ( abbreviation: TTSH) is a tertiary referral hospital in Singapore, located in Novena. The hospital has 45 clinical and allied health departments, 16 specialist centres and is powered by more than 8,000 healthcare staff ...

. Syed Omar's descendants continue to reside in Singapore. In 1927, one of his descendants, Syed Abdul Rahman Aljunied, built the Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah on a vacant ground next to Jalan Kubor Cemetery in commemoration of his grandfather, Syed Omar. Madrasah Aljunied was a leading Islamic religious school which produced many religious leaders of Southeast Asian countries.

Education

Kindergarten

* St Magdalene's Kindergarten

Primary schools

* Canossa Catholic Primary School * Geylang Methodist School (Primary) * CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel * red swastika school

Secondary schools

* Geylang Methodist School (Secondary) * MacPherson Secondary School(Has been removed)

Special schools

* Canossian School

Politics

The Aljunied area falls along a stretch that falls under the

Marine Parade GRC The Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) located in the central, eastern and north-eastern areas of Singapore. The constituency consists of a section of Bedok, Chai Chee, G ...

MacPherson SMC The MacPherson Single Member Constituency is a single member constituency located in the central area of Singapore. The current Member of Parliament for the constituency is Tin Pei Ling of the People's Action Party (PAP). History It existed fro ...

and also

Jalan Besar GRC Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency composed of several city suburbs surrounding the Central Area of Singapore. There are four wards in the GRC: Kreta Ayer- Kim Seng, Kolam Ayer, W ...

. Previously, Aljunied area is under

Aljunied GRC The Aljunied Group Representation Constituency is a five-member group representation constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern and eastern region of Singapore. The GRC consists of five divisions: Eunos, Bedok Reservoir-Punggol, Kaki Bukit, Ser ...

and

Aljunied SMC Aljunied Constituency was a single member constituency in Aljunied, Singapore that was formed in 1959 and continued throughout till 1988 where it was one of the wards that form the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency. Member of Parlia ...

before 2001. However, Aljunied GRC falls within the corridor from Temasek Polytechnic all the way to Serangoon Gardens.

References

*Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), ''Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names'', Eastern Universities Press,
Aljunied Town CouncilPenrose website
Articles from National Library of Singapore Infopedia Website :

{{Places in Singapore Places in Singapore Geylang