Syed Omar Aljunied

Syed Omar bin Ali Aljunied (b. 1792, Hadhramaut, Yemen–d. 6 November 1852, Singapore¹) was a wealthy merchant and philanthropist who came to Singapore shortly after Stamford Raffles set up a trading post on the island in 1819. He contributed to the development of early Singapore with his philanthropy such as the building of mosques. These include the Masjid Omar Kampong Meleka, which still stands today.

Early life
The Aljunied family were established traders in Palembang before setting up their base in Singapore.² They hailed from Hadhramaut in Yemen (Middle East), the origin of many Arab traders who came to the Netherlands East Indies (today’s Indonesia) to trade.³ By 1750, some of them had also started to settle in the region and the establishment of a Hadhramaut colony in Palembang dates to around this period.⁴ The opening of Singapore in 1819 brought Arab commerce to the port, much to Raffles’s pleasure. In his plan for Singapore Town, he instructed for a part of the town to be carved out for the Arab community, which became known as the “Arab Campong”.⁵

Palembang (in Sumatra) was one of the early centres of Malay Archipelago interisland trade which would later be emulated by Singapore.⁶ The patriarchs of the Aljunieds in Singapore, Syed Mohammed bin Harun (Haroon) Aljunied (d. 22 February 1824, Singapore–d. unknown)⁷ and Syed Omar, first landed in Palembang and established their business in the Netherlands East Indies as did many other Hadhramis before they migrated to Singapore, Penang and other Malay states in the 18th and 19th centuries.⁸ Courted by Singapore’s free port,⁹ Syed Mohammed and Syed Omar shifted their base to the island by 1820/21 and were among the earliest to arrive.¹⁰ When Syed Mohammed died on 22 February 1824, he was said to have left behind “considerable property”.¹¹ Syed Omar carried on the family business likely because Syed Mohammed’s son, Syed Ali (d. 9 December 1858, Singapore),¹² was only a boy when his father died.

Wealthy merchant
While little is known about his uncle Syed Mohammed’s property, the Aljunied estate under Syed Omar’s management was very extensive. An indication of its size and value was given in newspaper reports in 1881 which covered the lengthy sale of Syed Omar’s estate.¹³ Taking up at least nine auction sales, the total proceeds from the sales was more than $875,000. While the sales did not include Syed Omar’s sprawling old family residence on High Street, it was estimated that if it had been part of the property auctions, the total proceeds would have probably reached a million dollars.¹⁴

Before starting his business in Singapore, Syed Omar traded in Penang where Arab merchants had formed an elite community.¹⁵ By the mid-19th century, Syed Omar had become the “principal Arab merchant” in Singapore.¹⁶ That Syed Omar was held in high regard could be gleaned from his 1851 appointment as one of only two Asian members (the other was Tan Kim Seng) to work with leading European merchants to represent the Straits Settlements in an all-empire industrial exhibition held in London in 1852.¹⁷ During his long residence in Singapore, Syed Omar established a wide and lucrative trade network¹⁸ that included Siam (Thailand),¹⁹ Madras (Chennai) and Bombay (Mumbai).²⁰

Philanthropy
With his wealth, Syed Omar contributed to the welfare of the growing colony. He donated land and built a mosque on Omar Road in Kampong Malacca, which was up kept by rent collected from the surrounding lands owned by the mosque. Placing the property as a wakaf (public property), the mosque, known as Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka and still standing today, has been open to anyone for prayers since its establishment. Upon his death, Syed Omar handed the trusteeship of the mosque and lands to his sons.²¹ The Muslim community in Singapore also benefitted from another mosque through Syed Omar’s charity. This is the Benggali Mosque on Bencoolen Street, probably built between 1825 and 1828, which served the small community in Kampong Bencoolen who followed Raffles from Bencoolen to Singapore. Originally an attap structure, it was upgraded to a more solid building by Syed Omar around 1845.²²

Another gift from Syed Omar to the Muslims in Singapore is the burial ground on Victoria Street, which is now closed. In 1998, it was earmarked for redevelopment by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.²³ Before his death in November 1852, Syed Omar had willed that the large plot of land between Victoria Street and Rochor Canal to be a wakaf for Muslim burials.²⁴ Syed Omar was laid to rest at the cemetery²⁵ and it was subsequently referred to as the “Syed Omar burial ground”.²⁶ In 1927,²⁷ the Aljunieds started a religious school on Victoria Street near the cemetery. Known today as Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah, boys enrol to study the Arabic language and the Quran.²⁸ The founder of the school, Syed Abdul Rahman bin Junied Aljunied, was Syed Omar’s grandson and a justice of the peace.²⁹

Omar Road
In recognition of Syed Omar’s role in Singapore’s early development, Omar Road (now expunged) was named after him.³⁰

Family residence
Syed Omar made his home in the heart of town. The ground “extends along North Bridge Road from North Boat Quay to High Street, close to Elgin Bridge”, covering almost an acre.³¹ The residence was the scene of a murder attempt on Syed Omar in 1823. The plotter, Syed Yassin, was a Pahang trader who had been sent to jail by then British Resident William Farquhar for not settling his debts with Syed Omar. Syed Omar escaped unscathed but the violent scuffle that occurred resulted in Farquhar being stabbed by Yassin, who was subsequently killed.³²

Syed Omar treasured the High Street property and instructed in his will that the house should remain within the family forever.³³ However, the Aljunied family residence was put up for sale in 1919 for over a million dollars.³⁴

Family
Wife: Sherifa Alweeah.³⁵
Sons: Syed Abdullah (d. May 1865, Arabia);³⁶ Syed Abu Bakar, who was a founding member of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce and the only non-European on the board of governors of the Singapore Harbour Board, the precursor to the present Port of Singapore Authority; Syed Haroon (d. February 1860);³⁷ Syed Junied (d. 29 November 1891);³⁸ and Syed Ali.³⁹
Daughters: Zena, Sherifa Fatimah and Khatijah.⁴⁰



Authors
Michael Mukunthan & Nor Afidah Abd Rahman



References
1. “Singapore, Friday 12th November, 1852,” Singapore Free Press, 12 November 1852, 2; “Death,” Singapore Free Press, 12 November 1852, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
2. Charles Burton Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore: 1819–1867 (Singapore: Printed by Fraser & Neave, Limited 1902, 62. (Call no. RSING 959.57 BUC-[HIS])
3. J. A. E.  Morley, “The Arabs and the Eastern Trade,” Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 22, no. 1 (March 1949): 155. (From JSTOR via NLB’s eResources website)
4. Morley, “The Arabs and the Eastern Trade,” 155.
5. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore: 1819–1867, 85.
6. Morley, “The Arabs and the Eastern Trade,” 165.
7. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore: 1819–1867, 156.
8. Latifah Abdul Latiff and Mohamad Redzuan Othman, “Hadhrami Sayyids in Malaya, 1819–1940,” Jurnal Usuluddin (July–December 2013): 151.
9. Latifah Abdul Latiff and Mohamad Redzuan Othman, “Hadhrami Sayyids in Malaya, 1819–1940,” 152.
10. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore: 1819–1867, 62; “Death.”
11. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore: 1819–1867, 156. 12. “Deaths,” Singapore Free Press, 16 December 1858, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
13. “Latest Market Quotations,” Straits Times Overland Journal, 18 April 1881, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
14. “Thursday, 26th May,” Straits Times Overland Journal, 2 June 1881, 7; “A Will Dispute,” Straits Times, 6 October 1922, 8. (From NewspaperSG)
15. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore: 1819–1867, 162; Kamarudin Ngah et al., “The Protective Designation for Urban Conservation and Heritage Development in George Town, Penang,” Global Journal of Business and Social Science Review 3, no. 1 (July–September 2015): 19.
16. “Untitled,” Singapore Free Press, 30 November 1848, 3. (From NewspaperSG)  
17. “Notice,” Singapore Free Press, 24 May 1850, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
18. “Singapore, Friday 12th November, 1852.”
19. “Shipping in the Harbour,” Straits Times, 28 October 1851, 7. (From NewspaperSG)
20. “Imports,” Straits Times, 18 February 1851, 7; “Shipping in the Harbour,” Straits Times, 25 February 1851, 15. (From NewspaperSG)
21. “The Supreme Court,” Eastern Daily Mail and Straits Morning Advertiser, 22 September 1906, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
22. Victor R. Savage and Brenda S. A. Yeoh, Singapore Street Names: A Study of Toponymics (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2013), 36 (Call no. RSING 915.9570014 SAV-[TRA]); Marjorie Doggett, Characters of Light (Singapore: Times International, 1985), 41. (Call no. RSING 722. 4095957 DOG)
23. Melody Zaccheus, “NHB Project To Document Malay Cemetery,” Straits Times, 4 January 2014, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
24. “Supreme Court,” Singapore Free Press, 29 March 1898, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
25. Saini Salleh, “Dari Jalan Kubor Ke Masjid Omar,” Berita Harian, 6 October 2002, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
26. “The Appeal Court,” Singapore Free Press, 11 October 1898, 3; “Municipal Engineer’s Office,” Straits Observer (Singapore), 21 September 1875, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
27. Joe Durai, “Madrasah Launches Global Alumni Network,” Straits Times, 4 June 2012, 7. (From NewspaperSG)
28. “Mattters Muslim,” Singapore Free Press, 18 February 1929, 8. (From NewspaperSG)
29. “Sejarah Penubuhan Madrasah Disingkap,” Berita Harian, 21 April 2000, 24. (From NewsapaperSG
30. “Omar Rd Is a Link With Our History,” Straits Times, 14 December 1983, 21; “Pedestrians Will Use Omar Road,” Straits Times, 11 January 1984, 17 (From NewspaperSG); Savage and Yeoh, Singapore Street Names: A Study of Toponymics, 277–78.
31. “Thursday, 26th May.”
32. Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore: 1819–1867, 97–98; “The Day the Holy Man Ran Amok,” Straits Times, 15 August 1954, 14. (From NewspaperSG)
33. “Untitled,” Straits Times, 7 September 1922, 8. (From NewspaperSG)
34. “Page 8 Advertisements Column 1,” Singapore Free Press, 3 March 1919, 8. (From NewspaperSG)
35. James Willima Norton-Kyshe, Cases Heard and Determined, vol. 1 (Singapore: Printed at the Singapore and Straits Printing Office, 1885), 439. (From National Libray Online)
36. Norton-Kyshe, Cases Heard and Determined, 439.
37. Norton-Kyshe, Cases Heard and Determined, 439.
38. “Syed Junied bin Omar Al Junied,” Straits Times, 1 August 1892, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
39. Norton-Kyshe, Cases Heard and Determined, 439.
40. Norton-Kyshe, Cases Heard and Determined, 439.

The information in this article is valid as at 2016 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the library for further reading materials on the topic.