How Singapore’s newly revamped Malay Heritage Centre expands the story of the Malay identity

But the Malay Heritage Centre’s expanded perspective also goes beyond gender, offering a more layered view of Malay identity that reflects both its diversity and its ties to the wider Malay world.

Throughout the galleries, visitors encounter communities that have forged Malay life in Singapore, from the Javanese and Bugis to the Baweanese, Banjar and Orang Pulau. “Malay identity in Singapore is a world of multitudes unto itself,” says Syafiqah. The exhibition encourages visitors to encounter “the diversity of people, languages, traditions, and histories that extend beyond Singapore” and to view Malay heritage as “a mosaic, rather than a monolith”.

General manager Hafiz Shariff echoes that perspective, noting that Malay identity has always been shaped by regional connections and shared histories across Southeast Asia. “We have evolved as a region together,” he says.

This approach is woven throughout the galleries, from explorations of kinship and power within the Johor-Riau Sultanate to examinations of merantau—the tradition of journeying in search of knowledge, opportunity and experience. Through stories of merchants, pilgrims and publishers, visitors are reminded that movement has long been central to the formation of Malay identity.

The same emphasis on interconnected histories informs the exhibition’s treatment of colonialism. One section examines the disruption of traditional power structures across the Malay world, placing the establishment of British Singapore in 1819 within a broader story of political contestation, succession disputes and colonial expansion across the region.

Stories such as those of Engku Puteri Hamidah, custodian of the Johor-Riau Sultanate’s regalia, and Tengku Embong Fatimah, who was selected to become the first Sultanah of Riau before opposition to female rule forced her aside, reveal a region already negotiating questions of power and succession before colonial intervention transformed the political landscape.

“After 60 years, we have matured enough to be able to talk about colonialism from a much more nuanced, perhaps even critical lens,” says Syafiqah.

The galleries also examine how colonialism transformed everyday life, moving beyond rulers and political elites to consider its impact on ordinary people. In Gallery 2, visitors encounter figures such as Temenggong Abu Bakar, who navigated changing political realities to become Sultan of Johor. Elsewhere, stories of writers and intellectuals including Abdullah Abdul Kadir and Tuan Simi reveal how new opportunities and identities emerged under colonial rule.

Syafiqah notes that Singapore’s experience differed significantly from that of the Federated Malay States. As a territory directly governed by the British instead of through a Sultan, local Malays had to negotiate a different political and social landscape. Yet even within those constraints, many found ways to steer their own futures. “We also didn’t want just to focus it on the story of the elites, because colonialism also impacted the everyday people,” she says.

Elsewhere, the exhibition examines how colonial administrations altered perceptions of Malaya for international audiences. In Gallery 2, a 1924 Britain's Past and Present Beckon You to Wembley poster from the British Empire Exhibition sits alongside traditional textiles, illustrating how the Malay world was represented and consumed through a colonial lens. 

The exhibition also examines the impact of Singapore’s separation from Malaysia in 1965, a moment Jaaffar describes as leaving a profound imprint on the Malay community. While some writers, artists and cultural figures relocated to Kuala Lumpur, many chose to remain, contributing to Singapore’s literary, artistic and cultural landscape in the decades that followed. Their stories point to a recurring theme throughout the galleries: that Singapore’s Malays remain part of a wider regional narrative even as they have developed experiences and identities uniquely their own.

The centre’s ambitions also extend beyond the exhibition itself. While the refreshed galleries revisit the past, the Malay Heritage Centre is increasingly positioning itself as a facilitator of heritage in the present.

“It is no longer just about complementing the galleries,” says Hafiz. “It’s really about activating heritage as something that is lived, shared, continuously evolving."

That philosophy is reflected in a growing emphasis on community-led programming and intergenerational transmission. Through initiatives such as its Intangible Cultural Heritage Mentorship Programme, which seeks to preserve practices including penglipur lara storytelling, the centre hopes to create opportunities for traditional knowledge to be passed on in ways that remain relevant to contemporary audiences.

For Hafiz, heritage should not be confined within the walls of a museum. Instead, MHC increasingly sees its role as bringing together practitioners, community groups and audiences, while extending cultural programming into Kampong Gelam itself.

“We need to recognise that MHC is part of this much larger community of practitioners and audiences,” he says. “It’s not just about being contained within its compounds.”

That ambition was evident in the reopening festival, Pesta Pecah Panggung – Transcending Boundaries, which featured heritage trails, performances, workshops and collaborations with businesses and cultural organisations throughout the precinct. From storytelling and traditional arts to supper tours and fashion showcases, the programme reflected the institution's desire to engage visitors through multiple entry points.

“Our varied programming targets different audience groups throughout the year,” says Hafiz, citing initiatives such as the reopening festival's first-ever day-to-night slumber party, Santai Sampai Pagi. “This diversity ensures that we remain a living, breathing cultural space, encouraging people to return and discover something new each time.”

One of the centre’s aspirations, says Hafiz, is to serve as a cultural anchor for Kampong Gelam. The goal extends beyond the centre itself, encouraging visitors to explore the wider precinct and the heritage that continues to be lived there.

As Syafiqah puts it, “The Malay Heritage Centre can become a gateway for them to explore so much more outside”. 

Five years on, Hafiz hopes the institution will be measured by more than footfall. “We hope for this to be the cultural nexus of the Malay community that they can be proud of and feel genuine ownership over,” he says.

The deeper measure of success, he adds, is whether visitors leave with a more expansive understanding of Malay heritage and see the centre as a space worth “investing in, shaping and returning to”.

It is a fitting ambition for an institution that has widened the scope of whose stories are told. Throughout the exhibition, the Malay identity emerges as layered and constantly evolving—influenced by migration, exchange, adaptation and the contributions of people whose stories have often remained at the margins of official history. In doing so, the institution expands not only what is remembered, but who gets to belong within the story.

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