Shedding Some Light: Jalan Kampong Chantek
by Kevin Lee, with additional research by Ho Chi Tim
Off Dunearn Road is a road with a picturesque name: Jalan Kampong Chantek. This road (jalan) once led to a to a pretty (chantek) village (kampong).
A search on Google throws up over 500 mentions of the road name, mostly relating to property sales and international schools in the area. There is one mention (Creamer, 2003) of one Iskandar Jalil, a potter who was born in Singapore in 1940 and “grew up at Kampong Chantek at Bukit Timahâ€.
The village, and the road, supposedly got its name after a visitor saw the village and remarked how pretty the village was (Savage and Yeoh, 2004).
There is no village there now, just landed property for the landed gentry like company directors, and international schools for wheel-heeled scions.
One building there, a bungalow, shows its age: it has holes in the roof, wooden windows with slats (which mean they were made in pre-air-conditioning days). There are holes in the wall for air-conditioning - the single unit type, not multi-split).
I wonder who has lived there and why the house has been abandoned for so long. Once upon a time, the houses in the area must have looked just like this one, just that new owners decided to increase the built-up area and built two to three-storey buildings.
Jalan Kampong Chantek is a quiet road – so quiet that no road markings are needed; there are no yellow lines or white lines. At the end of the road is the Murnane Service Reservoir, which was completed in 1956 (Kog, 2001). I’m guessing it’s the only reservoir in Singapore whose waters can’t be seen from the road, as it surrounded by an embankment and fenced up.
The writer enjoys journeys to wide open spaces and into the past by bicycle. He rides around Singapore occasionally to “paint with light”, photographing scenes that may shed light on bits of the island’s past. This way, he can relive in future memories of the past even when what has been photographed has disappeared. After all, when things are gone, all we have left are memories which may dim with time - and photographs.
References
Creamer R. 2003, “Iskandar Jalilâ€, retrieved 17 Jun 07 from http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_267_2005-01-13.html
Kog Y. C., 2001, “Natural Resource Management and Environmental Security in Southeast Asia: Case Study of Clean Water Supplies in Singaporeâ€, retrieved 17 Jun 07 from http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/WorkingPapers/WP15.PDF
Savage, Victor R. and Yeoh, Brenda S. A., 2004 (2nd Edition), “Toponymics: A Study of Singapore Street Names”, Singapore, Eastern University Press
This is an aspect of Singapore’s history that is generally overlooked. The origins of the names of places in Singapore makes for some very interesting read. Do we know why the area we live in is called Pasir Ris, or Jurong, or Woodlands? Where do these names come from? Who decided that they will be called as such?
Lovely pictures! By the way, the kampong was not along the front end of Jalan Kampong Chantek where that decrepit house is but inside the forested area right at the end of the road. If you travel up the road, just before the Murnane Reservoir, you will see the entrance to the Kampong Trail …. and the Durian Loop. There are plenty of durian trees there and when I was there today, the air was heavy with the scent of the fruit. If you walk along the trail, you will see remnants of the kampong houses ….. a concrete platform here, a short flight of steps there, part of a floor still covered with colourful tiles….. Walking there always makes me feel nostalgic and a little sad.
is this “iron horse” kevin lee here?
Hi Fairoz, there is a “Street and Building Names Board”, see http://app.sgdi.gov.sg/listing.asp?agency_subtype=dept&agency_id=0000001350
I imagine that before the board was formed, road / street names often arose from what day-to-day users chose to name the various places.
Hi Phebes, glad you like the photos. And thanks for pointing out where the kampong was. I reckon the trail you mention is the one with the prominent “no bicycles” allowed sign at the entrance …
Hi Seh Suan, yes, it’s me.
small world!
Well if you guys want to know the history behind every single road name in Singapore, there is a book called Singapore Street Names available at the Woodlands Regional Library. Its under the reference section. Cheers..