Life as an Orang Laut on Pulau Semakau

Singapore's first islanders once called Pulau Semakau their home. Now, they're trying to keep their stories alive.
Find out more about their history and cuisine at oranglaut.sg/
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[@OGS.Official]

Thank you Firdaus and family for sharing your story with us ❤️🌊 Find out more about their story - and try the amazing food - at oranglaut.sg/

[@a.c.k4710]

Any details of how to get there?

[@hafizahwahab301]

a very sad story about orang laut from pulau semakau or even any Malays losing their kampung. The livelihood, heritage and memories are all gone in the name of modernization

[@Banom7a]

yeah, it's a shame really, anything kampung is deemed backward in the face of singapore government.

[@Emsyaz]

@@Banom7a No guys, its not about backwards. Singapore doesnt have enough land to build kampungs. Its a necessity for us to live in flats.

[@nicktasteless360]

@@Emsyaz it's true but i wish they would have preserved a bit more.

[@PAK_SYIEKH]

Selamat datang ke Indonesia 🇮🇩

[@hafizahwahab301]

@@Emsyaz why do they remove kampungs and not landed houses? because landed houses are modern. It is not because of not enough land, we have enough but the government wanted 6.9m residents, of course they had to build flats right?

[@barbarajoseph-adam8337]

The three ladies are so awesome, I adore the nenek so much she’s so cute! “Half-fresh” 🤣 and curried pineapples is yum...!

[@OGS.Official]

Nenek was really adorable, and the relationship between mother-daughter was super precious too :)

[@mangotango7647]

The island residents were forced to evacuate to make way for a landfill? I am not trying to stir racial sentiments here but if not for the malays who welcomed others, would you be able to live peacefully here? There is so much about the malay history than just being fishermen. The truth is out there for those who are keen to look for it. Malaysian academics are piecing the hidden pieces and revealing them. Malays will know why they were hidden and what was the enemies' agenda.

[@Sean-mj9gz]

Your ancestors may be welcoming but you don't sound very welcoming at all, more like bordering on hostile to be honest.

[@mangotango7647]

@@Sean-mj9gz where is the hostility? I am highlighting injustice given to the malay history here which glorify colonials and chinese immigrants. Singapore's malay roots is being erased litle by little and we have become a minority in our own land due to the govt's policies. My only consolation is that our national.anthem is still sung in malay

[@sharifahmalek1934]

@@mangotango7647 in future the national anthem might be changed too

[@mangotango7647]

@@sharifahmalek1934 If that happens, then the malays' concerns about losing their rights and identity is legit

[@kerdak]

orang sungei seletar 7th Gen sini! Original native in Pulau Temasek!!

[@ibumuhammad7590]

Menarik tu. Orang sungei seletar ni melayu mana

[@mujahid1411]

Sotong hitam is one of the dishes my mom used to make when i was a little. The squid with the black ink is pretty hard to come by. Miss my moms sotong hitam darn much.

[@yohanneskawatu1808]

I think you are not Orang Laut but Orang Pulau Semakau orang Orang Pulau... Orang Laut those who living in sampan or Small wooden boat they seldom go to shore.. sorry if I'm wronged..

[@Rosmah_Mansor_Uwek]

this is what i want to see...the other side of Singapore..its make me wonder if there are any "Kampong" or any traditional place like this still exist in Singapore..all i see is bunch of modern things and that..

[@farouqomaro598]

The Orang Laut are mentioned in the history of Malacca

[@uncledan2u]

The Orang Lain should be given special privilege to return and live on the island of their ancestors. The heritage and cultural significance of these original inhabitants of these people can still be preserved and saved for future generations. The orang laut has been recorded as inhabitants of Singapore and its surrounding islands for thousands of years. It's bad enough you evicted these people from their place of birth as a people, you (Singapore) can at least preserve their heritage as a living community within their familiarities of their sociocultural heritage. Otherwise, Singapore will be remembered as land thieves who destroyed a significant part of Singapore's rich history.

[@ibumuhammad7590]

Orang Laut not Orang lain

[@liewsoonhao4643]

This is a curious question: Where can we take a boat to Pulau Semakau?

[@KevGoesRiding]

Hello grandfather story...thank you for making me so hungry. Makcik, masa depan boleh tolong masak sotong hitam itu untuk saya tak :)

[@boyan619]

u can order from them thru oranglaut.sg/taste-our-heritage/

[@barbarajoseph-adam8337]

@@boyan619 Alamak, I was just about to respond to his message with “masak sendiri” (took me a couple of days to recall how to say it correctly bahahahaha) 🤣

[@patpatsikulipat7063]

Orang laut juga dipanggil orang kuala dlm kategori malay - proto

[@horriblehector8595]

They are all such warm and wonderful people. Absolutely no evil. And it's good to see a young fella like Firdaus so proud of his family and heritage. I wish this family all the best in life.

[@tenga3tango]

So beautiful life , living so tightly entwined with nature. So precious

[@rikadomez8201]

I find it awkward that I was reading the caption while I perfectly understand Malay.

[@adrianoavellinomorata4376]

Their malay language sounds like johor malay..some singapore malay language does sounds like indonesian,but this one sounds like johor.

[@senjahari8941]

Di Kepulauan Riau bahasanya seperti ini..

[@ibumuhammad7590]

Ye betul

[@ibumuhammad7590]

Ini bahasa melayu riau

[@gamergenix5429]

malay in riau islands sound like this,riau islands are just in front of singapore island & these regions used to be under johor-riau kingdom

[@dominique74]

Pretty good share. My relatives are from Semakau. They've aged now and still wonder how can we visit the island to take a look.

[@khairurejal]

Thanks for sharing this. This is immensely valuable ... very important to remind ourselves of our history ..

[@shahrimanjohann9283]

A tale of misplaced natives. Misplaced and displaced.

[@rifqimirza3761]

Thats why the Malay race is special. Remember Singapore is in the Malay peninsula and was ruled by Sultans in the past

[@aisinGioroPon]

No they’re not

[@rifqimirza3761]

@@aisinGioroPon zip sudah babi

[@janna7267]

I really love these kinds of videos. Thank you for uploading this!

[@hannesmahfuz5323]

Orang laut not only semakau , its all the island that all this people being staying. St johns, ujong, bukom, ubin, tekong and many more in the 60s to 70s.the gov chase them out in the event of so called giving them a better life but not all wants to live in mainland, some of the oldies suffer internally and mentally as their life and dignity being rip off.

[@42_10_]

happy je, simple life, nampak bahagia, Rahmat dari Tuhan

[@1813kumar]

Thank you, this brings back memories to me while I was in Malaysia in 50s and 60s (Batu Pahat, Minyak Beku) use to have a lot of friends in Pulau nearby their main source of income is home made belachan and fishing, sincere hard working folks as an 10yrs old Indian me and my brother were always considered as family with the islanders.

[@dianmohd5174]

My late mum was from Pulau Brani...always.listen to her story how she grew up in that island...and she moved in to Sg..in some of Radin Mas....it so interesting to know that yr family do went back to the island by boat...very fascinating

[@43sunray]

Life in the kampong. The good old days are now memories.

[@amoishasha6335]

Orang laut pulau besar melaka here

[@paparoti4006]

The very very old timers will know the hard truth why all the islands of SG are in malay names and now devoid of human life. Sad to Say most of the elderly have passed on already.

[@chimericalperfection]

Care to share?

[@tambakoverlanders]

Sad to see Such names as Coney Island, Saint John's Island, Lazarus Island on maps now... What happened to all the Malay names?

[@Sean-mj9gz]

​@@tambakoverlanders Tbh, I think some names are changed for obvious reasons. Like Sentosa used to be Pulau belakang mati. Sentosa is now a holiday resort destination, They obviously cannot keep the old name. 😂

[@azaleebenahmed3726]

@@Sean-mj9gz Bukit Permai dah jadi Purmei🤔

[@laliluleli]

Enak sekali sepertinya kehidupannya..sederhana, tapi kebutuhan hidup sehari-hari bisa tercukupi karna tinggal di kota yang modern dan bersih.

[@whitejumadi9692]

I always jealous when my sibling inform about their happy life at pulau sekijang. Their faces light up just like the sisters interviewed on this episode. How I wish I was part of the history...of being the 'orang laut'. The only consolation that I have is finding joy through fishing... Just like my late father.

[@aldidadu3057]

Nenek moyang saya orang Pulau sekijang.. sebelum berpindah Sekijang mereka² menetap di Pulau Seringat

[@vanessafong1332]

Thank you for sharing. Miss our kampung lifestyle.

[@rasidali9986]

Mak cik ni bukan org laut.mak cik ni org Pulau semakau.org laut tingal atas laut,mcm org Bajau laut.itu baru kata org laut.saya org Pulau sekijang pelepah.saya tak panggil saya org laut.saya pangil saya anak pulua Sekijang Pelepah saya org pulau.sekolah d sekijang bendera.ninek,datuk saya jaga pulau kusu.kalu ada sembayang china d pulau kusu,pasti keluarga saya ada d pulau kusu...kenagan saya d pulau sekijang Pelepah,Pulau kusu tak, akan lupa samapai ahir hayat saya.org pulau misti ada acara lumba kolik.org pula misti tau kolik KACIP SERAWA or PISAU SERAWA kolik pulau SEKIJANG PELEPAH siapa tak kenal kolik KACIP SERAWAK or PISAU SERAWAK aruah daduk saya KAHMIS BIN DIMO keturunan org BUTON indonesia.yng tak boleh lupa d pulau SEKIJANG PELEPAH.Kalau ada anak pulau kawin.mesti ada jogit d pulau SEKIJANG PELEPAH..

[@rasidali9986]

Betul kita anak pulau.kalau kita naik boat insaallah kita tak rasa janggal ,takut keran dah kebiasa dri kecik tgl d pulau. Mcm manapun sapai hari saya masih main laut pegi pancing,pasang jaring,selam bubu d Pulau Mecan batam.saya cucu mecan.pulau sarang.pulau lingkang batam.jujur kalau lihat Pulau Sekijang pelepah.pasti Air mata keluar.😥😥😥😥bayak kenagan manis tak boleh lupa sampai mati.

[@HELLK130]

When I watched this on 14/12/20, i realised i had not eaten sotong masak hitam ever since my mum pass away in 2016. Lucky for me could find it on Grabfood and ordered it immediately.😀

[@MrBoliao98]

I look at the sotong hitam, I'm like now I know how y'all got the ink sac and get the sotong ink out.

[@victortay6751]

I stayed in Semakau for many years since l was young and l knew Firdaus' grandparents. They were simple and friendly islanders. The island folks called him Kanek. His grandfather was an expert fisherman who specialised in catching a type of fish called Sagai. My family used to stay there, even my maternal grandparents and great grand parent! As a young boy l used to catch fish and crabs. The island was teeming with these seafoods.We were living on stilt house. From my home l could catch crabs and fish as my house was built into the sea. I hope the govt would one day allow the ex islanders to go back and build homes or better still build apartments for us to lease. Pulau Senang and Pawai are two islands worth exploring. They are now reserved for military purposes. This problem can be circumvented. With a number of countries such as Australia. Taiwan, that can allow us to send our army boys to be trained there, the need to reserve these islands for training purposes is not that crucial now. Personally l think it is a sheer waste of keeping the islands as they are now as we have limited land. They would be grossly underutilised! By keeping the status quo we may deprive our future generations of the optimum use of our land. These islands can be used to preserve our heritage as well as to promote local and international tourism. Besides these the economic spin off is another factor that one should not overlook. I shall be pleased to offer help with respect to the above mentioned if any institution or government agency wish to take up this suggestion. I can be contacted at hp number 96988975

[@mohamednaim4084]

Orang laut ke orang darat ke orang dulu ke orang sekarang ke.......... Kita semua adalah orang singapura.....

[@boyan619]

my ancestors are island people too

[@pramodkumar-rw4pj]

From where can take boat bro thanks for replying me

[@kesidang70]

Orang Laut exist even longgg before Parameswara founded Malacca.

[@Klaharnchaiya]

Of course. Masih ada orang laut juga kat johor (orang seletar) kat kampung sg temon. If im not mistaken..

[@muhd195ify]

Yeah they are one of "orang asal" /natives of malayan peninsula.

[@totot99]

@@Klaharnchaiya ya, rasanya dah ramai yang pindah ke johor sejak dulu

[@patpatsikulipat7063]

Mereka kan kategori malay proto mg mirip dgn melayu nenek moyang melayu

[@Emsyaz]

@@muhd195ify Genetically related to Malays though. They are sub ethnic of Malay.

[@PikaPikoo]

Amazing 😍. Reminds me of my late grandmother. 🥰

[@aranimpact]

firdaus is cute 👀

[@Chew81]

The sea people, ie orang laut, are the true indigenous Singaporeans. Among Singaporeans of Malay descent, not many descended from the sea folk. Many came from other parts of the Malay Archipelago, even from the Middle East. When crafting the Singapore Constitution, the government decided to lump the orang laut with the other Malays. It is therefore constitutional that the Malay community are regarded as our indigenous Singaporeans.

[@hussainbinshamsuddin9488]

Do you really know what you're talking about? Why are you guys predisposed to lies and constantly trying to rewrite history?

[@umarmars47]

The Malay people are also the indigenous people too. There are just the same people of different culture just like the orang laut or javanese or minang... Etc.

[@gamergenix5429]

You know that orang laut exist in sumatra & riau islands in indonesia as well right? Singapore used to be one of the riau islands during johor-riau kingdom era and only got seperated bcs of british.However,malays are considered as indigenous to sumatra & riau islands as well although orang laut exist in these regions too bcs both of these ethnic groups are austronesians that came from taiwan thousand of years ago

[@yimveerasak3543]

Orang Laut exists in Andaman seas in Thailand and Myanmar borders. They do not have borders.

[@zairatulumierah9436]

This is not org laut,they are orang pulau

[@AbdElHmyd]

Orang Laut a.k.a Orang Seletar/Selat-ar/Selat-an

[@worderbubble2957]

please, more content like this!! i freaking love ur channel 😭😭😭

[@CH-xj6me]

THANK YOU FOR SHOWING ME AN ISLAND IN SINGAPORE THAT I'VE NEVER KNEW

[@deborahpearl1330]

Thank u so much for these videos! Keep up the good👍work!👍💪👏👏

[@shastrihabib1382]

Malaya during Malayan years🤔now peninsula Malaysia n Singapore..😌😔so nostalgic🇲🇾🇸🇬

[@NurinInsyirahAdani]

Your videos are always so interesting, unique & insightful! Kudos to the team!

[@rasidali9986]

Org pulau semakau tak pangil org laut.saya org pulau SEKIJANG PELEPAH tak pangil org laut.org laut tingal d laut..

[@aldidadu3057]

Saya anak arwah Noh Buton..(Pulau Sekijang Pelepah..

[@Aquanout28]

Sorry, ini pendapat i sahaja... Cucu dia yg lelaki tu kena banyakkan cakap melayu, not english. Supaya tak hilang bahasa etnik mereka. Seronok dengar makcik dan nenek tu berbahasa melayu sepanjang interview.

[@thefourthversion]

Kan dia cakap melayu dengan mak & nenek dia tu? Dia cakap english pun sebab dia tengah interact dengan interviewer, untuk english-based channel.

[@catfish5057]

Usah menilai buku dari luarannya.

[@rayaya3342]

Haha, orang melayu biasa la kan ?

[@bakarmadiasin3806]

What is their native language that is widely used when communicating amongst themselves? I need someone who can tell some simple conversation in the Orang Laut/Seleter langua.. Very much welcome...

[@fadzlyag2700]

Sad indeed...never the same when living in your own real environment. Very nice island and seaside tho...shame really

[@DhulQarnyan]

Cute nenek...😂😂😂 barakallah feekum to nenek & her family

[@denyhamdani1336]

Nice story. I hope jiwa laut still remains among younger generation of Orang Laut descent.

[@aldidadu3057]

Ahh sya kenal nek nina isteri arwah wak kanek.. Saya cucu Yang jah Anak arwah noh buton Pulau sekijang pelepah.. Tunjuk miker dia masak ikan buntal masak kerabu..hahaaaa

[@CoolPandamon]

Wah I see their food so nice... makes me hungry 😅

[@carllewis3612]

👍👍👍

[@joransiseksg6546]

THANK YOU Firdaus and family

[@vertigo2930]

C'mon these are Malays. They speak KL Malay too !

[@user-tb6yo9kv7f]

Loved this!!!

[@detroi9387]

It is quite shocking thing to know how singapore government used to take some strict measure to the aboriginal people of singapore inorder to reach the target of rich and powerful singapore

[@bukancalonpns]

how to go there? just curious about that

[@thenasir121938]

4:58 they looked for "snails"? They don't eat snails which is "siput babi". They must mean mussels!

[@flugoaway3398]

Obviously they’re talking about siput sedut

[@thenasir121938]

@@flugoaway3398 Yes. But it's translated into "snails". Bad translator.

[@anaskpalmalaki8804]

What is the difference between orang laut dan orang Seletar?

[@rusyaidisafwan4721]

The Orang Selatar mostly inhabits the narrow strait between SG and Johor, while the Orang Laut inhabited the islands and ocean between SG and Indonesia Riau Islands.

[@abdulrajaf7444]

Salam...Hargai..Pulau Semakau...bnyk Sejarah..Org Melayu...d situ..Sy lahir d Barack Polis Pulau Ubin...mmg Sedih bila lihat..Kenangan Lama hilang..Sy hijrah ke M'sia...sy akui...Bila hilang ROOTS...asal kita itu laa yg kita RUGI...(Orang Melayu bnyk jasa d S'pura...dulu..tp..x jumpa lg mrk yg bnyk berkorban..utk kesenangan org skg..)...Sedih..

[@abdullahba3063]

If the island is empty now, why did they have to leave in the first place?

[@jarakal]

Burung ape tu?

[@ishlazz1307]

Puyuh

[@faizramadan9352]

Org pulau Pinang sini

[@KellyNg123eats]

I never knew you can buy items as little as 1 gram

[@PatrickPereira]

Did I hear her say, "Uncle give me 1gram" this and something else? Or she meant 100g?

[@zo3478]

Satu gram is one gram. Maybe she made a mistake.

[@bakarmadiasin3806]

Orang laut ni bukn juga d kenal sbagai sukut Bajau or Bajo d Indonesia? Ada kawan ckp meka juga d kenal sbagai orang seleter yg bekerja sbagai nelayan. Mohon penjelasan.. Sya suku Bajau juga berasal dri Kota Kinabalu Sabah..

[@muhammadsaiful5202]

I was a resident of Pulau Bukom. We don’t call ourselves Orang Laut but instead Orang Pulau. There are Orang Lauts around mostly from the nearby Kepulauan Riau or Johor

[@mysteryunwrapping9518]

Amazing

[@uncfriday]

Nice footage bro...tempat jatuh lagi di kenang, inikan pula tempat bermain.

[@meggatadi8225]

Assalamulaikum admin.saya org bajau.mak selalu masak sotong masak hitam.mak cakap ini masakan org laut

[@tukijanfnu8151]

Tolong video Lebaran di PuLau semakau... thanks..

[@tukijanfnu8151]

We eat cumi/sotong hitam as well.. they are so tasty..pengen rasanya maen ke saudara melayu di pulau semakau...

[@enableasia9790]

I miss the sea!

[@yimveerasak3543]

They look modern. We have Urok Lawoi (Orang Laut) here in South Thailand.

[@fengfeng9234]

Didnt know Ong Bak is 3rd Gen Orang Laut

[@Destiny-ph3fy]

IKR istg he looks like him

[@kamaruzamanbt3825]

1st sekali org pulau bkn org laut, istilah ni tsasau krn 1. Org pulau btamadon beragame beraje, badap bpelajaran 2. Stroktor masyarakat kg org pulau sgt bbeze dgn kg org laut yg tonggang langgang/lintang pukang x terator. Contoh nye kg org laut d Changi & Geylang Lorong 1, mrk x ade sekolah, masjid/surau/madrasah ustaz jauh sekali & x bpenghulu & mrk pelihare anjing dlm rumah & rumah mrk x ade PINTU & TANDAS. Name2 mrk spt Pugot, Buton, Sopak ade lah lazem. & ramai d antare mrk x bpeljaran, x bnikah & yg paleng worst - incest. Ini yg sy alami ketike thn2 '60-'70han.

[@yimveerasak3543]

Orang Laut yang saya jumpa kebanyakan tak ada agama. Banyak istilah rujukan ke puaknya macam Orang Sireh, Seletar sebagainya ikut kepada pembawaan serta percampurannya pula.

[@mjmu1707]

Rupa parasnya pon ade agak2 same juga..bentuk hidungnya

[@m.jidanandhikafaturrohman8811]

Semoga pemerintah singapura melestarikan keberadaan mereka salam dari melayu indonesia

[@mjmu1707]

Cara masak ni seperti org trengganu masakn...bahasa pon lebih kurang

[@及時雨宋公明]

👀？？

[@robinr3666]

Happy, but also sad

[@mdmza4198]

Bestnya life content! Saya dah subscribe😍

[@nadiamatjusoh9678]

Wonder if foreigners are allowed visitation to pulau semakau,some place to visit indeed

[@ダンゴムシの親指]

pst. cc is out of sync.

[@jessiejames7492]

i loved the siput curry. my mother and my aunt used to make. delcious. but my father wont eat it. must clean the siput properly. these days its not very safe

[@SitiAisyah-ui1pb]

Orang laut or orang pulau? Sheesshh why complicate things, they're already Malays laa haiyyooo

[@jessiejames7492]

sonice these people know so much about our islands and go there to explore . thumbs up

[@hannesmahfuz5323]

The islanders is all forgotten significantly.

[@jessiejames7492]

please write a book about your memories. it is very important.

[@oletv4659]

ni ke kawasan singapore dilanggar todak?

[@dianmohd5174]

Are we able to excess to these island.? Any boat avail?

[@zuldotk960]

Spot mancing baik tu 😂

[@izataqsa5823]

Indahnya suasana kampung

[@damaisapienz9064]

Makan e same ke lempah nanas

[@ShamzKSA]

MashaAllah❤️❤️❤️

[@zack96432]

That little boy my cousin