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1. Geographical location of
Pulau Sejahat off Pulau Tekong; 2. Nowadays reclaim land project
cover most of the nearby water
3 & 4. A spiritual landmark on this little island is the shrine in
which a compelling legend is told
1. On the altar the most
prominent object of worship is the big round rock - they call it
Holy Rock
2. The rock is believed to be petrified by an Acehnese general who
gave his life in a very fiercely found sea battle hundred years
ago
3 & 4. SPI was checking the rock with EMF and Radioactivity
detectors
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A Less-Known Historical Site and
Legend
Pulau Sejahat is a small island about 1.2 ha located off the
north-eastern coast of Singapore, near Pulau Tekong. Disused
barracks, kitchens, gun emplacements and lookout posts still exist
on the island. This island was possibly part of the integral
defense of the Johore Straits when Singapore was a British Colony.
It is located within the stretch of waters between Pulau Tekong
and Changi Jetty.
Nowadays, disused barracks, kitchens, toilets, a watchtower and
even gun battery positions still exist on the island.
One intriguing legend about this Pulau Sejahat is the mysterious
rock on top of the hill, some called it holy. The locals believe
that, a spirit lives inside
Who is this spirit? Where did he come from? It is said that in the
19th century on Tekong Island, that was a man with beard, slim
built, fine features, rowing a small boat from Pulau Sejahat
everyday. The islander saw him a number of times and they became
suspicious and followed him. They followed him to Pulau Sejahat
but each time they could not find a trace of him. There was no
building on the island but only a rock.
Why is the island called Sejahat?
The name Sejahat, simply means 'bad'. Why would such a small
island be named so? That is because many deaths took place there
despite the tiny size of the island.
There were hidden corals under the water around there. So, Pulau
Sejahat was also considered as "dangerous zone" for boats. Many
ships sunk, in the past century. The little island was said to be
a pirates' hideout. The pirates ambushed the pass-by merchant
ships and slaughtered countless victims on the island. Fear was
implanted on everyone's mind.
In addition to that, there was a legend that in mid-14th century,
Acehnese and Portugese were at war around Tekong Island. The
Acehnese had 500 warships and over 10,000 warriors. The Portugese
only had a feet of 20 ships or so, but equipped with lethal
firearms and canons. Fierce and bloody battles took place right at
the water near Tekong and Sejahat islands. Ships were blasted
under fire; warriors were either drown or killed in action.
Soon, the Acehnese troop was almost totally wiped out. They were
outnumbered by the Portugese near the end of the battle. The
Acehnese fought till the last company but they refused to
surrender. Rather than being the captives, they landed on the
Sejahat island when being cornered by the Portugese army. Under
the command of their general (commander), all of the last men
committed heroic suicide on the island.
It was believed that that spirit could be the general. To have
peace in the area the residents of Pulau Tekong built a shrine
sheltering the spirit rock that they worshipped and honoured the
general for his bravery.
1. This is one of
the biggest oil lamp for offering tea-light candles
2. The 'face' on the sacred somehow resembles the face of Dark
Vader in Star Wars !!
¡@
Pictorial Tour |
Answering
Mysteries
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