Who says Singapore has no culture?
Ramping up to Singapore’s inaugural Hari Orang Pulau, Islander’s Day 2025.
Hello everyone!
It’s been a long time coming.
When we first started Orang Laut SG, we dreamed of bringing our stories back into the light—stories of the sea, of life on the islands, and of community. We didn’t want to just preserve these stories. We want to live them, share them, and celebrate them together.
Two years ago, some of you joined us for a gathering at The Projector for Panggilan Anak Pulau, which was a small but powerful step towards those goals.
This year, we’re going bigger — come 14 June 2025, we’ll be hosting Hari Orang Pulau, a full-day cultural festival dedicated to the voices, lives and legacies of the Orang Pulau (Islanders) of Singapore.
This is the first time a cultural festival of this scale will be held on mainland Singapore, celebrating our community. Hari Orang Pulau is more than an event. It is a long-overdue homecoming for former Islanders, their descendants, and all in Singapore who wish to reconnect with their islander roots.
Here’s a rundown of all things happening on 14 June 2025, at West Coast Park
From 10am-9pm, there are many kinds of activities for all!
@ The Main Lawn (West Coast Park):
In Celebration of Island Life
At 10am, the festival will open with a traditional Malay dance performed by Tak Takut Kids Club. Performances will pop up throughout the day, including a powerful Silat Gayong demo by Silat Seni Gayong Nagabura, showcasing a martial art form originating from Pulau Sudong. You won’t want to miss the performance by Asnida Daud, an artist and musician who weaves the rich oral traditions of Pulau Sudong, her ancestral island, into a living tribute of the island’s voices, memories and rhythms.
Ask any Islander, and they will probably tell you that they can’t wait to Joget Dangkung. The traditional communal dance has its roots in the Southern islands and the Riau Archipelago; it is often featured at festive events like weddings, where large groups of dancers create a lively sense of community and celebration. At the islands, it was common for the dance to continue into the early hours of dawn; for a slice of island life, come dance through the evening with us at Hari Orang Pulau.
Our Joget Dangkung will be accompanied by live music by Orkes Melayu Mutiara, an intergenerational ensemble comprising islanders and descendants from Pulau Samulun, led by Cik Nasir Abdullah, who was born and raised on the island.
Conversations
From 11am to 3pm, there will be a series of four conversations that explore the cultural, historical, and environmental legacies of Singapore’s sea and island communities. We’ve gathered an inspiring group of speakers, including respected researchers like Dr Vivienne Wee, and cultural storytellers like Ilya Katrinnada, who has been working closely with Orang Seletar communities in Johor.
These aren’t just academic talks—they’re deeply personal stories, reflections, and knowledge-sharing moments from our speakers, including Orang Pulau and Orang Seletar elders. We hope that Indigenous knowledge can shape the way we care for our culture and environment today.
Traditional Games
Represent a pulau in a game of Tug-of-War and give it your all! Kids (and the young at heart) can enjoy lighthearted games like mini sampan racing, sepak raga, and more. These games are inspired by those once played by children on the islands, and they’re run by a group of awesome SUSS students we’ve been mentoring, and they’ve poured a lot of heart into it. It’s all about playing together, having a laugh, so come relive the island spirit with us!
Guided Walk
There are three sessions journeying through the oral histories, sustainable ways of living, and reflecting on how development has shaped—and continues to impact—Orang Pulau communities. These walks will bring us to the last remaining community space at West Coast Park, where traces of this maritime heritage still live on.
Film Screenings
We have curated a special screening of films that showcase culture and livelihoods of coastal communities in the region, including a touching short documentary on Mak Dare, the last female leader of a Joget Dangkung troupe in Tanjung Pinang. This traditional island dance is still alive today, and the film captures its spirit beautifully—stick around after for a chat! Later on at 7pm, wind down your evening with the classic Malay folklore film Bawang Putih Bawang Merah (1959).
Mini Photo Exhibition
We gave film cameras to three of our community fishermen, such as Cik Hamzah and Faizal, who captured a glimpse of their daily lives out at sea. Stop by the main lawn to take a look at a mini-exhibition featuring images captured by the islander community.
Jong Display
Cik Fawzi, a Jong enthusiast, will be setting up a Jong display on the open lawn for visitors to admire and appreciate the beautiful display of handcrafted boats and colourful sails. For a hands-on exploration of traditional maritime sports, you can also join in his Jong Workshop at the community hall!
Community Booths
Hari Orang Pulau is wholly organised by island descendants, volunteers, and our amazing community partners. We’re so happy to have their booths set up right at the main lawn! Do check out Islander-led booths like Wan’s Ubin Journal and Forest Child. The Island Foundation, who are based in Bintan, where they work with Orang Suku Laut communities, will also be making a trip down to join us. Kontinentalist will also be running a community-mapping project of islanders and their descendants. Potato Productions, whose kind support has made this festival possible, will have a booth sharing all about the work they do. Plus, there’ll be an islander food booth and a drink stall to keep you fueled for the day’s festivities.
Don’t forget to swing by the Orang Laut SG booth to grab exclusive Hari Orang Pulau swag like shirts, totes, and postcards :D !!!!!
@ City Sprouts: Community Hall and Tanah dan Air
We’ve brought together some of our dearest workshop partners — folks we’ve worked with closely and friends we’ve made along our journey as OLSG. Each one brings something special to the table, sharing knowledge and skills that are really close to our hearts. For food lovers, we have a Traditional Southern Island Cuisine Workshop led by women from Pulau Semakau, as well as Nusantara Flavours Workshop with Dapur Cahaya and Siti Flower Power, exploring native plants and their role in food across the region.
If you’re feeling creative (or just curious to try something new!), come join our Batu Lesung (Mortar & Pestle) Making workshop with Mud Rock Ceramics, or dive into Coastal Elements as Natural Pigments with Wild Dot. It’s a fun, hands-on way to connect with the islands through art and craft — no experience needed, just bring your curiosity!
Those looking for a hands-on way to connect with traditional sea life, cannot miss these workshops taught by the islanders themselves. Learn Maritime Skills like bubu (fish trap) weaving from Cik Am, a practising fisherman and former islander of Pulau Sudong.
The Jong Workshop is led by Cik Fawzi Nasir, an expert in traditional maritime sports like Jong and Kolek racing from Pulau Sekijang Pelepah. It is an introduction to the history, significance, design and the craftsmanship of the Jong. Sign up to learn the intricacies of this craft and participate in building a Jong together!
All our activities and programs are family-friendly, but we’ve got something extra special just for the little ones too—Tales from the Nusantara! Running in collaboration with the Malay Heritage Centre, it is an immersive storytelling session about the Orang Seletar and their magical encounters with the sea! Photographer Jefree Salim will also join us to share his work documenting the lives of the Orang Seletar community.
A special film screening of Voices: Pulau Brani, Isle of the Brave follows Azman Abu Bakar as he returns to his island home of Pulau Brani. Stay for an intimate conversation with former Pulau Brani islanders and their descendants, as they share personal stories and reflect on the legacy of island life they continue to carry forward.
Entry to the festival and most activities are free, with workshops being ticketed.
For registration, see our Eventbrite page. Our workshops tend to fill up really quickly, so jangan cakap tak jemput (don’t say never jio)!
All in all, it’s been a busy year planning this festival—gathering stories, reaching out to community members, coordinating with partners, and weaving together all the moving parts that make Hari Orang Pulau what it is. But we do it because it means something deeply important to us, and hopefully, to many others as well. It’s about keeping the jiwa laut alive, honouring the people who came before us, and sharing that love and knowledge with anyone who wants to listen and learn.
Listen to some of the community’s stories here.
Hari Orang Pulau is our community’s call to remember, reconnect and reclaim.
We warmly welcome anyone who feels a connection—or wants to build one—to the islands and the sea.
If you're an elder who carries memories of life on the islands, we’d be honoured to have you share your stories with us. If you’re a descendant of islanders, come honour your roots and reconnect with your jiwa laut (spirit of the sea).
This gathering is also for all who are curious to learn more about the parts of Singapore's story that often go untold. Whether you have a direct connection to the sea or are simply drawn to the culture, the history, or the kampung spirit—it’s a day for everyone.
We had lunch with President Tharman! (& other happenings)
This month, we had the honour of being hosted for lunch at the Istana by President Tharman and Mdm Jane Ittogi, together with fellow community members and Dr Imran bin Tajudeen from the Malay Studies Department at NUS. It was a meaningful opportunity to share about Hari Orang Pulau and to reflect on the identity and history of the Orang Laut in Singapore through our conversation.
As part of the meal, Mdm Nooraini, the heart and hands behind Orang Laut SG’s food, prepared our family’s special bubur lambuk ikan tenggiri (spiced mackerel porridge) as a starter, which was graciously received by the President.
We are grateful to be able to share a piece of our culture with the President and heartened to have leaders who value and engage with the diverse histories and communities that make up Singapore, and hope that such connections can support us in keeping our stories, flavours, and traditions alive.
As part of Singapore HeritageFest (SHF), we welcomed people from all walks of life to West Coast Park for Langkah Laut, a guided coastal walk. Yes, even a 2-month-old baby joined us in Tanah dan Air!
The tide was especially low that day, revealing abandoned boats that are usually hidden beneath the water’s surface. These boats once belonged to former islanders who have since passed on, which makes it difficult to keep the space maintained. Despite the challenges, other members of the community do their best to reach out to the families of these islanders. Some even take on the maintenance themselves, often at their own cost.
Cik Am showed us how to assemble a Jong—a small, unmanned wooden racing sailboat modeled after the traditional Kolek from Singapore, Riau and Malaysia.
Originally used to carry food to the spirits, Jongs are now raced in exciting competitions. Back in the 90’s, for example, they were a fixture of Pesta Five S, a sea sports festival linking Singapore’s five southern islands: Pulau Sekijang, Seraya, Semakau, Sudong and Seking.
These boats face Singapore’s challenging waters, making races both thrilling and steeped in tradition. Around Pulau Brani, they even use three sails instead of two, showing how local conditions shape this beautiful maritime art.
Our Jong named Awang Pantas (Fast Boy) was made by Pak Iskandar, a Riau islander, using pulai wood. We had raced it during the 2024 Jong Regatta at East Coast Park, and we’re glad to welcome our Jong to be a part of our guided walk.
Foraging for local medicinal plants has always been a part of daily life for our community. In our walks, we spotlight Pokok Dukung Anak, also known as the gale of the wind. Many see it as just a weed, but it holds healing properties. In a way, it's like how our Orang Pulau community is often overlooked––even seen as weeds needed to be uprooted––but full of valuable knowledge that should be shared.
Recently, we had the privilege of visiting two offices in Singapore to share the richness of our community's heritage through food and storytelling — Macquarie Bank, where we were joined by our dear friend and supporter, Pollyanna Rayappan, and SS&C.
During both sessions, we shared fruitful discussions about cultural memory, identity, and how industries and organisations can contribute to heritage conservation, as well as foster greater inclusion and equity within their spaces.
As food is our vessel for storytelling, we were glad to be able to sit down with the teams for a meal specially prepared by former Southern Islanders, bringing a unique taste of history to the table as we shared stories of our community’s past, present, and future.
We are proud to collaborate with organisations fostering deeper understanding and heritage awareness across sectors. If you’re interested in hosting a similar session with your team, whether for team building, DEI initiatives, or simply to create a meaningful shared experience, we’d love to hear from you — drop us an email at hello@oranglaut.sg.
Thank you everybody and see you @ Hari Orang Pulau !
See you soon!
Firdaus
Amazing!!! So glad to see this coming together 🤍🤍🥹🥹