Just like much of Singapore in the past, our north-western region was dotted with Chinese villages and Malay kampongs which sprung up from the 19th century onwards. Being located furthest away from the city, these communities were least affected by the changes that swept the country as Singapore modernised. However, all good things have to come to an end and by the 1980s; these rural outskirts which had isolated themselves previously have come to terms with their peaceful demise…
Kampongs and villages that existed in the past include the following:
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Kampong Keranji (named after the Kranji tree which Kranji was also named after)
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Sungei Kadut Village (named after Sungei Kadut which means ‘river’ and ‘cloth’ respectively)
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Lim Chu Kang Village (as mentioned in CHU KANG PORE)
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Neo Tiew Village (named after Neo Tiew)
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Thong Hoe Village (situated near Sungei Gedong Road)
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Nan Hoe Village (situated along Neo Tiew Road)
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Ama Keng Village (sits beside Tengah Air Base)
A name which might not ring any bells to you is Ama Keng. Well, Ama Keng Village got its name from the popular Chinese temple built in the 1900s, which worshipped the deity of Ma Zhu, the Chinese goddess of the sea (afterall, Singapore is an island surrounded by seas and more seas). The word ‘Ama’ refers to grandmother while ‘Keng’ directly means temple in Hokkien and Teochew respectively.
Back during World War 2, Ama Keng was a strategic location for Allied defences where a planned Ama Keng-Sungei Berih line was to be set up in the event where costal defences fell to the Japanese assault. This line never materialised as troops were ordered to fall back beyond the line due to miscommunications with the higher British command and Ama Keng was quickly overrun as a result.
Ama Keng Village
In 1953, years after the war had ended, Ama Keng became the centre of a multi-million dollar food production stint by the British government to resolve food crisis. As such, agricultural and animal rearing activities became focused at this area with a 750-acre plot of land split amongst over 300 farmers to meet the domestic demand.
Ama Keng flourished for many years to come and many public amenities had been developed in the area. Such amenities included a school, police station, community centre, clinic, school and most surprising of all, a Maternity and Child Welfare Centre! Not only that, Ama Keng had become a bustling and lively neighbourhood with shop-houses, kopitiams, provision stores and repair shops. (Imagine how prominent this place had been in the past!)
After completely destroying the Ama Keng Chinese Temple in World War 2, the Japanese went on to rebuild the temple in 1943 in respect for the deity
Enrolment in Ama Keng School was so high that at one point, there were over 1000 students in the school! (Considering this to be a rural area, that is a lot of students!)
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