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Date and
Time
30 July 2005, Saturday. From 5.00pm to 6.15pm
Interviewee
Mohamed Ridhwan Bin Mohamed Hassan, 18 years old, stall helper
Interviewers
Bomoh, Sunkist, Duck, Elaine & Wisely
Background of subject-matter
Shrine is the only tomb in the hilltop narrow strip of pathway.
Under the purview of National Parks Board, the shrine was
registered with MUIS (Islamic Council of Singapore) in 1984 and
granted the permission for the shrine to remain as it is.
Dream of the Holy Man - Visisted by Habib Noh?
According to Mohamed Ridhwan (a.k.a Ahmad Ridhwan), sometime in
1999 when he was 12 years old, he claimed to have been visited by
well-known local holy man Habib Noh (whose shrine is located on a
hilltop at Palmer Road, sharing the same compound with Hj Mohd
Salleh Mosque) in his dream on a Thursday night. Habib Noh, spoke
to Ridhwan in Arabic and when he couldn”¦t understand the language,
Habib communicated to him in Malay. In the dream, Habib, dressed
in white robe, introduced himself and made a request to Ridhwan
that he would like him to find the tomb of his only grand-daughter
Sharifah Rogayah located around Tanjung Pagar area and to be its
caretaker. With no further instruction or advice, Habib then
disappeared.
When Ridhwan woke up the next morning, he consulted with his
family and revealed the dream he had. Not having any knowledge in
the subjectmatter and the exact location of the shrine, Ridhwan
went to MPH bookstore to look for a street directory in order to
find out more about Sharifah Rogayah”¦s shrine. He discovered the
locality of the shrine and looked for it.
While trying to find the exact spot, Ridhwan met with one Malay
elderly man known as Pakcik Osman who was then working at the
nearby Yang Kit Pool. Pakcik Osman then directed Ridhwan to the
shrine.
Once the shrine was located, Ridhwan has been visiting and
cleaning the shrine on a weekly basis. Though his parents was not
so keen at their son”¦s new undertaking, they raised no objections.
Ridhwan has since been known and referred to as the keeper of the
shrine”¦s.
 
Hj Mohd Salleh Mosque, on a hilltop
at Palmer Road
”@
Another Paranormal Encounter - Visited by a Sharifah Rogayah?
After about a year of maintaining the place (cleaning the place,
removing dirt and unlawful offerings as well as changing the cloth
for the shrine”¦s stone-sign ”„nisan”¦), Ridhwan claimed that he was
visited by a mysterious lady entity.
It happened when he was cleaning the shrine”¦s compound when
suddenly he felt a tap on his left back shoulder. Unable to move,
as if deliberately froze by an unseen force, he heard the voice
(of a lady) introducing herself as ”„Umi”¦ (an Arabic fond-calling
term for mother). Umi expressed thanks to Ridhwan for cleaning the
shrine. When Ridhwan was able to turn around, he could not find
the lady and nor was he able to locate where the voice could have
came from. There was no one around the area at the time of the
incident. When asked by SPI whether Ridhwan could ascertain that
the mystery voice could have originated from the deceased ie
Sharifah Rogayah, Ridhwan could not confirm it and appears to
rather not to confirm it since he has no knowledge of how Sharifah
Rogayah would look like, nor did he see the mystery lady to know
that she is Sharifah Rogayah.
Since 1999, Ridhwan has seen many visitors, some regulars and
others just one-time visitors. Typically, there would be an Indian
Muslim gentleman who regularly offered prayer at the shrine on
Thursdays. From time to time, there would also be a Malay lady who
would recite the Holy Koran.
Habib Noh Thanked Him in a Dream
In 2001, Ridhwan claimed that Habib Noh visited him in his dream,
for the second time to say thanks for taking care of his
grand-daughter's shrine. No other contacts with Habib occurred
since then.
 
1. The headstone has traces of
green paints. The tomb in the past may be painted green that
symbolizes Islam,
or it is the color stained by the cloth that wrapped on it in the
past?
2 - 3. Flower offering brought by SPI. A close-up is
here.
4. Brooms and chairs, probably used by the caretaker and
worshippers for cleaning and for gathering respectively
Divine Power Protects the Grave from Exhumation
In 2003, while cleaning the shrine, he was visited by an old
(about 80 years of age) Indian Muslim man who informed him that he
used to be a resident in that area. The unnamed old man claimed
that the area used to be a cemetery before it was converted into a
kampung area. All the graves were exhumed and relocated except for
one grave, the site where Sharifah Rogayah rested. It was claimed
that workers were unable to unearth the remains and there were
reported cases of landslides. Realizing that there might be divine
powers protecting the grave, the grave was then left as it is and
was since upgraded by the community and referred to as shrine (or
makam in Malay).
The old man added that in the 1900s till the 40s, the shrine was
maintained and kept by the Alkaff family. The shrine was then
abandoned at the start of World War II. From the 50s till early
80s, there have been no reports on the shrine and nobody knows who
was the one who renovated the shrine to the current condition. So
how and who renovated the shrine to such well condition, is still
a mystery.
A Mysterious Medium Came to Offer Advices
From time to time, Ridhwan would witness different people of all
walks of life and of different religions making offerings near the
Shrine. There were cases of shrine worshippers cordoning off the
area by tying yellow strings around the trees surrounding the
shrine. Normal offerings would include incense and joss sticks
burning, and flowers.
Once according to Ridhwan, a man came to him and offered to be an
”„intermediary”¦ between Ridhwan and Sharifah Rogayah. At the
shrine, the man claimed to be able to communicate with Sharifah
Rogayah and has advised Ridhwan to take 3 different flowers from
the offerings on the grave, and to go home and bath with it. The
man said that upon performing the flower-bath rites, Sharifah
Rogayah would grant whatever that Ridhwan would wish for. The man
added that such instructions were given to him by Shariah Rogayah
for Ridhwan as a way to reward Ridhwan for his dedication in
keeping the shrine clean. Ridhwan said that he does not believe
the man and therefore did not do as instructed.
Ridhwan claimed that he has not experience any other paranormal
activities or experiences apart from what was disclosed above.
 
1 - 2. The direction of the shrine
facing is checked, to see whether it is facing Mecca. 3. A flower
pot that holds offerings and incense
4. The investigators, Duck and Elaine
 
The ghost photos that weren't
1. The giant and the dwarf? It is just camera trick of SPI Bomoh
in the foreground and Douglas on the background
2. A black shadow seems to be passing by Elaine's shoulder. Look
carefully, there is another man in blue tee on the left hand side
Obviously they are just pedestrians walking along the pathway
behind Elaine
4. Urban legends says that Keramat attracts pigeons. On the photo
there are several pigeons heading towards the keramat.
A logical answer to this is, the birds used to and expect to find
"food" from the offerings on the keramat such as crackers and
sweet!
A Keramat or Just a Grave?
When SPI asked Ridhwan whether he would consider the shrine as a
keramat, he categorically believe that it is not so. Ridhwan
mentioned that he has taken a keen interest in the study of
keramats and shrines in Singapore since being ”„appointed”¦ the
caretaker of the Shrine of Sharifah Rogayah. Ridhwan believe that
the shrine of Sharifah Rogayah remains no more than a resting
place of a pious Muslim lady who is connected in terms of
bloodline to the most famous Muslim holy man residing in Singapore
in the mid of 1800s.
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