Revamped Malay Heritage Centre galleries invite visitors to ponder what legacy they will pass down

SINGAPORE – Several wayang kulit (shadow puppet) displays hang from the ceiling of a stairwell at the Malay Heritage Centre (MHC), each bearing costumes and facial features typical of puppets used in the centuries-old Javanese art form.

It takes a trained eye to know that the puppets on display, made by Singaporean artist Tumadi Patri, are a reinterpretation of the traditional puppets, which are usually decorated on only one side and made with paper or leather.

Tumadi’s puppets are acrylic-based and decorated on both sides – allowing them to function not just for wayang kulit performances but also as art pieces that can be admired from multiple angles.

Referencing the puppets and Tumadi’s Javanese heritage, Ms Syafiqah Jaaffar, MHC assistant curator, said: “He sees it actually as his interpretation and continuation or reinvention of his heritage.”

That act of inheriting, interpreting and possibly reinventing heritage is what Ms Syafiqah said the MHC wants visitors to ponder as they spend time in the centre’s revamped permanent galleries, which will reopen to the public on April 25 after it was closed in 2022 for restoration works.

“What heritage do you want to carry with us? What heritage do you want to reinvent? What heritage do you want to create anew? These questions really sum up our understanding of heritage,” said Ms Syafiqah at a media preview of the revamped galleries on April 22.

She added that heritage has a temporal element to it, and is not just about what this generation inherits but also about what is created and passed down to future generations.

For Ms Syafiqah, the centre’s fourth gallery – one of six in the MHC and which focuses on the changing visibility and roles of Malay women in the 1950s and 1960s – best conveys the theme of inheritance and change.

In the gallery are several outfits, including a black songket shift dress with an evening jacket, that showcase traditional Malay fabrics adapted to a Western silhouette.

There are also kebaya moden – versions of the traditional outfit that have a shorter cut – which Ms Syafiqah said emerged in the mid-20th century in part because of the influence of Western fashion houses.

“Many women in the 1940s and 1950s wanted to incorporate new stylistic elements in their kebayas without losing the traditional element of their clothing,” she said.

This gallery, said MHC general manager Hafiz Shariff, reflects the centre’s efforts to widen its representation of Malays in the latest iteration of its permanent displays.

“The earlier galleries presented important perspectives of that particular time and era, whereas in this refresh, it was really about showcasing the broader view of Malay heritage and history,” he said.

Mr Hafiz gave examples such as more Malay sub-ethnic groups being showcased in the galleries, a wider cast of pioneers, as well as an increased focus on the contributions of Malay women.

The galleries, said Mr Hafiz, are anchored on a narrative, Dari Rantau Ke Rumah (translated by the MHC as “From the Region to Home”), which reflects how Malay identities in Singapore have been shaped over time through movement, exchange and connections with the wider Nusantara, or Malay region.

Ms Syafiqah said the diversity of Malay heritage is especially apparent in the centre’s third gallery, which features items contributed by various Malay sub-ethnic groups the MHC has worked with over the years.

“By looking more closely at all these histories, traditions, material culture across the region, we hope we have been able to present the diversity of Malay communities in Singapore with greater depth, greater context and greater accuracy,” added Mr Hafiz.

Dr Imran Tajudeen, senior lecturer at the Department of Malay Studies and the Department of Architecture at the National University of Singapore, said one improvement in the latest iteration of MHC’s permanent displays was the inclusion of voices from the descendants of the centre’s original residents.

The MHC is housed in a building known as Istana Kampong Gelam, which once housed the descendants of Sultan Hussein Shah, the Sultan of Johor.

Dr Imran, who was invited to a preview of the centre’s new permanent displays, said that the themes of each of the six galleries were not always clearly conveyed, “as each gallery appears to bear the weight of a combination of multiple narratives that did not always cohere well”.

He added that the exact role of the different art installations within an overall vision of the Singapore Malay or Kampong Gelam story, or their position in relation to the galleries they were adjacent to, was also not always clear.

Apart from Tumadi’s work, four others had been commissioned to complement the refreshed galleries.

“Nevertheless, there is a rich and diverse set of materials and objects on display that could lend themselves to alternative readings and experiences,” said Dr Imran.

Nine-day festival

A nine-day festival that starts on April 25 will be held to mark the centre’s reopening.

Mr Hafiz Imran, a manager for programmes at the MHC, said that the festival rides on the message of diversity that the refreshed galleries aim to bring across, and features various sub-ethnic groups within the Malay community.

For instance, the festival will be kicked off by a 300 participant-strong parade on April 25, while a 75-minute-long arts showcase features arts practitioners from across the Malay archipelago, including Malaysia and Indonesia.

Mr Alhafiz Hosni, who will be dancing in the arts showcase alongside practitioners from Malang – a city in Java, Indonesia – said the performance will be especially meaningful to him as he undertook a month-long residency in Malang in 2025 to learn Topeng, a traditional Javanese dance.

Mr Alhafiz, who has Baweanese heritage but identifies primarily as a Singaporean Malay, said going through the residency reminded him “how much wider the Malay Archipelago and the Nusantara art form are”.

“It’s important to learn other art forms, especially other traditional art forms, to help spread them because they carry the history and values of a certain culture,” said Mr Alhafiz, a full-time performing artiste and teacher.