Infrastructure
Contributions to Infrastructure
Arab Infrastructure
Many Arab properties are still standing today, though the land is no longer leased to the Arab families they once belonged to. Some prominent examples include the Alkaff Mansion, the Arcade and Geylang Serai. Due to the great fortunes they amassed, the three Arab families invested in real estate and owned large plots of land used to build monuments and facilities that remain significant till today.
Many of these buildings had designs inspired by other cultures that were used to invite foreign visitors to Singapore: The Alsagoff Compound had a British element in its facade and was built with expensive materials and tiles; The Alkaff Mansion was built inspired by a Tudor mansion. The Alkaff family in particular, was known to have fraternised with prominent members of society, used to hold important functions in the Mansion and invite distinguished guests, including Syed Ibrahim bin Omar Alsagoff, Rajabali Jumabhoy and British colonial officers. In the 1930s, Alkaff Mansion became widely known as a gathering place for notable members of society and it continues to be an ideal location to invite government officials all around the world. The Alkaff Arcade (now renamed as The Arcade), built in a Moorish design, used to be owned by the Alkaffs and was Singapore’s first shopping centre and introduced the choice of shopping to the locals.
Alkaff Arcade in 1978
Philanthropic Contributions
Hajjah Fatimah Mosque in the 2010s
The contributions of Arab philanthropists extends to even infrastructure. A notable philanthropist is Mr Syed Abdulrahman Taha Alsagoff, whose contributions to society were extremely valuable. His kind and generous nature led him to set up 2 Muslim orphanages, which are still standing even until today, that is the Darul Ihsan orphanage for boys and the Daral Ihsan Libanat orphanage for girls. Another example of a notable female Arab philanthropist is Hajjah Fatimah, who donated her land and money for a mosque to be built on the same site of her home. The mosque, when built, was eventually named after her (Hajjah Fatimah Mosque).
On this note, another mosque, Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka was built by Syed Omar bin Ali Aljunied, who also used money collected from rent from surrounding lands owned by the mosque to finance the mosque. When Syed Omar willingly placed the property as a wakaf (public property), this ensured that everyone regardless of their status or class could enter the mosque to pray.